OEA Response to PD and NPR Teacher shaming

Here's the statement from the Ohio Education Association, which represents over 121,000 educators

Responding to a series of newspaper, web and radio stories on value-added scroes of individual Ohio teachers, Patricia Frost-Brooks, President of the Ohio Education Association criticized the fairness of the stories and the wisdom of using value-added scores as such a prominent index of teacher success:

"The Ohio Education Association was not contacted for comment on the Plain Dealer/StateImpact Ohio stories, despite our expertise, which would have provided desperately needed context and perspective. Reporters and editors admitted this value-added data was 'flawed,' but they chose surprise and impact over fairness, balance and accuracy," Frost-Brooks said.

"We are all accountable for student success – teachers, support professionals, parents, students and elected officials. And the Ohio Education Association is committed to fair teacher evaluation systems that include student performance, among other multiple measures. But listing teachers as effective or ineffective based on narrow tests not designed to be used for this purpose is a disservice to everyone.

"Value-added ratings can never paint a complete or objective picture of an individual teacher’s work or performance. Trained educators can use a student’s value-added data, along with other student data, to improve student instruction. But the stories promote a simplistic and inaccurate view of value-added as a valid basis for high-stakes decisions on schools, teachers and students."

Very questionable that reporters would not contact the largest teachers assoication in crafting their story.

Governor Kasich offers shabby solutions

The Dispatch brings us news of one of the most appalling rationalizations for S.B.5 that the Governor has made to date. Because Bob Evans offers "shabby" benefits, teachers, firefighters and police should be worse off too.

Talking about the need for the collective bargaining overhaul he recently signed, Gov. John Kasich today suggested employees at Bob Evans have "shabby, at best" health insurance benefits.
[...]
"You know, when I go to Bob Evans and I see a woman working in there who doesn't have any pension, and I don't even know that she has health care benefits, and if she does they're shabby, at best, to think we're asking public workers to do a little bit more, people who have guaranteed benefits and people who are not paying very much for their health care, and to ask them to a little bit more to provide balance to that mom who is trying to educate her kids, it's fairness."

The Governor has it backwards. Perhaps if workers at Bob Evans could collectively bargain, their benefits might not be so "shabby". Perhaps the Governor should be less excited to extended millions of dollars of tax payers money so the CEO of Bob Evans can have a shorter commute - and instead insist that companies receiving tax dollars provide their employees benefits that aren't "shabby".

It's time this Governor stopped believing that a race to the bottom is "winning".