Education News for 05-013-2013

State Education News

• School boards to review 5-year forecasts (Chillicothe Gazette)

Taking a look ahead at the next five years is a common theme of area school board activity this week…Read more...

• Cleveland school district, Cleveland Teachers Union revamp salary system (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

A tentative contract negotiated by the Cleveland school district and Cleveland Teachers Union throws out "step" raises based on years of experience…Read more...

• City schools requiring password changes (Columbus Dispatch)

The Columbus school district soon will require employees to regularly change their passwords to access computerized student data…Read more...

• Taxpayers will soon be able to go online to see how the state is spending money (Ohio Public Radio)

Taxpayers will soon be able to go online to see how the state is spending money. Ohio Public Radio’s Jo Ingles reports on a new database being developed by state leaders…Read more...

• Charter schools in Youngstown need improvement (Youngstown Vindicator)

The chairwoman of the Youngstown Schools Academic Distress Commission is waging what she calls a one-woman crusade to ensure all students…Read more...

Local Education News

• School officers take a hit in city budget (Cincinnati Enquirer)

Cincinnati Public Schools officials were surprised by a proposal to remove police resource officers from schools and to put those officers on city streets to replace laid-off police officers…Read more...

• Noxious ‘crush’ sites plague area high schools (Columbus Dispatch)

Like a digital sleepover game, the Twitter account encouraged Pickerington students to share a secret crush under the cover of online anonymity. And the first nine posts played along…Read more...

• Charter school for troubled students calling it quits (Columbus Dispatch)

A Columbus charter school that serves troubled students in grades 6-9 will close at the end of this school year…Read more...

• Wind Power Cuts Ohio Schools' Electric Bills (WBNS)

Two northwest Ohio school districts say wind power is reducing their electricity bills and adding new learning tools for math and science…Read more...

Is Ohio ready for computer testing?

The Cincinnati Enquirer has a report on how Ohio schools are not going to be ready for the new online PARCC tests that are scheduled to be deployed next year.

Ohio public schools appear to be far short of having enough computers to have all their students take new state-mandated tests within a four-week period beginning in the 2014-15 school year.

“With all the reductions in education funds over the last several years and the downturn in the economy, districts have struggled to be able to bring their (computer technology) up to the level that would be needed for this,” said Barbara Shaner, associate executive director of the Ohio Association of School Business Officials.

Districts could seek state permission to deliver the new tests on paper if they can’t round up enough computers, tablets and gadgets to go around, Jim Wright, director of curriculum and assessment for the Ohio Department of Education, said. A student taking a paper test could be at a disadvantage, though. While the paper tests won’t have substantially different questions, a student taking the test online will have the benefit of audio and visual prompts as well as online tasks that show their work on computer, said Chad Colby, a spokesman for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.

The state really does need to step up and help districts fund this costly mandate that has been foisted upon them. Added to this, the computer industry is going through significant changes as more and more people move away from the traditional desktops and laptops in favor of the simpler more portable tablets. School districts could find themselves having to make costly investments again in the near future if they pick the wrong technologies.

The article makes note of the possibility of paper based test takers being at a possible disadvantage over those taking the computer based tests. There has been a significant amount of research over the years on this, and the results seem to indicate the opposite effect - that computer based test takers score lower than paper based tests.

The comparability of test scores based on online versus paper testing has been studied for more than 20 years. Reviews of the comparability literature research were reported by Mazzeo and Harvey (1988), who reported mixed results, and Drasgow (1993), who concluded that there were essentially no differences in examinee scores by mode-of-administration for power tests. Paek (2005) provided a summary of more recent comparability research and concluded that, in general, computer and paper versions of traditional multiple-choice tests are comparable across grades and academic subjects. However, when tests are timed, differential speededness can lead to mode effects. For example, a recent study by Ito and Sykes (2004) reported significantly lower performance on timed web-based norm-referenced tests at grades 4-12 compared with paper versions. These differences seemed to occur because students needed more time on the web-based test than they did on the paper test. Pommerich (2004) reported evidence of mode differences due to differential speededness in tests given at grades 11 and 12, but in her study online performance on questions near the end of several tests was higher than paper performance on these same items. She hypothesized that students who are rushed for time might actually benefit from testing online because the computer makes it easier to respond and move quickly from item to item.

A number of studies have suggested that no mode differences can be expected when individual test items can be presented within a single screen (Poggio, Glassnapp, Yang, & Poggio, 2005; Hetter, Segall & Bloxom, 1997; Bergstrom, 1992; Spray, Ackerman, Reckase, & Carlson, 1989). However, when items are associated with text that requires scrolling, such as is typically the case with reading tests, studies have indicated lower performance for students testing online (O’Malley, 2005; Pommerich, 2004; Bridgeman, Lennon, & Jackenthal, 2003; Choi & Tinkler, 2002; Bergstrom, 1992)

Surprise! Charters want even more money.

In testimony before the House Finance committee, Charter school operators and their boosters expressed sadness at the Governor's education budget. Despite school districts having to deduct $824 billion this school year to fund charter schools (most of which are failing), they want more. They argued they should receive

• $5,704 per pupil, not $5,000, as the base amount (but would not answer the question of whether or not traditional public schools should receive a base amount higher than $5,000).
• Up to $1,000 per pupil (instead of he proposed $100) for buildings and that online charter schools should also receive building funds

Only 5% of Ohio's students go to a charter school, and much less than 1% go to a quality one, yet charter operators and their boosters want more than 10% of the funding. These aren't fair or tennable requests being made, it is greed at the expense of the majority of students who choose to go to a traditional public school.

Education News for 01-07-2013

State Education News

• Nearly half million Ohio kids likely to fall from ‘proficient’ under new standards and not ready for (Akron Beacon Journal)

In 2014, Ohio will begin using new online tests to determine how our public school children compare on core subjects with those in other states…Read more...

• Rage for robotics could close math, science gap (Cincinnati Enquirer)

The hands that one day help American students close the international gap in math and science skills may be those of their homemade robots…Read more...

• Ohio Graduation Test will be replaced in two years (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

The days of the Ohio Graduation Test are numbered, as the state prepares to replace it with a new test and separate exams…Read more...

• Up to 30 may face discipline over attendance data (Columbus Dispatch)

Columbus City Schools’ internal auditor told The Dispatch she will turn over a list of 20 to 30 employees to the district personnel department for potential discipline or termination…Read more...

• Kasich fills spot on board of education (Columbus Dispatch)

Gov. John Kasich has tapped a retired teacher from Greenville to fill a vacancy on the State Board of Education…Read more...

• Online aid picks lessons best-suited to each student (Columbus Dispatch)

Many Ohio teachers soon will have access to an online system in which they can quickly analyze students’ progress and pick the most appropriate curriculum or lesson plan for them…Read more...

• Lottery will again sponsor schools in spelling bee (Columbus Dispatch)

The Ohio Lottery has reversed course and will restore funding for schools to participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee…Read more...

• The battle facing those who fight for the liberal arts (Hamilton Journal-News)

When Kevin Sims pitches his school’s new liberal arts major to prospective students, parents typically ask him, “What is my son or daughter going to do for a career?”…Read more...

• Local educators support use of seclusion rooms (Hamilton Journal-News)

As the Ohio Board of Education considers a plan regulating the use of restraint and seclusion rooms in public schools, local educators are supporting them as a useful behavior management tool so long as they are used appropriately…Read more...

• After shooting, experts wrestle with arming teachers (Lima News)

Columbine. Virginia Tech. Sandy Hook. They are names forever linked and indelibly etched into the collective memory of a nation. They are the three deadliest school shootings in American history…Read more...

• State to discuss Tecumseh’s fiscal future (Springfield News-Sun)

After an emergency levy failure in November, Tecumseh Local Schools faces a deficit and a possible “state takeover” — something Ohio Department of Education officials will discuss with the community Tuesday night at the high school…Read more...

Local Education News

• Bodies, minds in shape with classes after classes (Columbus Dispatch)

For an extra four hours, middle-school students in Reynoldsburg can exercise their culinary skills, dabble in Mandarin Chinese and shake their hips a la Zumba…Read more...

• Vandalia-Butler considers options for new school structure (Dayton Daily News)

The grade configuration of five schools in the Vandalia-Butler City School District could look very different next school year…Read more...

• Urbana looking at making $1 million in cuts (Springfield News-Sun)

Urbana City Schools board members are considering $1 million in budget cuts this year after a recent levy failure, cuts that could include closing a building and reducing bus service…Read more...

• Monroe district beefs up security by adding guards, locking doors (Toledo Blade)

Jerry Lemanski’s no stranger to the halls of Monroe Public Schools. Most times, he’s walked into schools as a parent. But Thursday, at Custer Elementary…Read more...

Editorial

• Harmful trend (Columbus Dispatch)

Many economic indicators are going in the right direction in Ohio: the state’s unemployment rate has dropped below the national average in recent months, and 132,900 jobs have been added in the past two years…Read more...

• Prepped for success (Columbus Dispatch)

About 40 percent of all Ohio students must take remedial courses in college to make up for what they didn’t learn in high school. That’s an enormous burden for students and for the state’s public universities…Read more...

Power, Ideology, and the Use of Evidence

Consider the three-decade long, unrelenting promotion of classroom computers and online instruction. A recently mobilized corporate and civic-driven coalition chaired by two ex-state governors issued a report that touted online instruction as a way to transform teaching and learning in U.S. schools. (p. 19 of Digital Learning Now Report FINAL lists corporate, foundation, and top policymakers who participated).

Evidence that regular instructional use of these machines will transform teaching and learning is barely visible. Furthermore, evidence of students' academic achievement gains attributed to online instruction, laptops, and other hardware and software in schools is missing-in-action. And the dream that school use of these machines and applications will lead to better jobs (except in programs where technical certificates can lead to work - e.g., Cisco), well, I won't even mention the scarcity of evidence to support that dream.

So what do these two-governors champion in their Digital Learning Commission report?

"Providing a customized, personalized education for students was a dream just a decade ago. Technology can turn that dream into reality today. The Digital Learning Council will develop the roadmap to achieve that ultimate goal."

Sure, this is an advertisement pushing for-profit online outfits such as for-profit K12 and non-profit projects such as the Florida Virtual School and "hybrid" schools. See here and here. These ex-governors want states to alter their policies to accommodate this "Brave New World" where students get individual lessons tailored to what they need to learn.

Question: After decades of blue-ribbon commissions issuing utopian reports promising "revolutionary" and "transformed" schools, where is the evidence that such futures are either possible or worthwhile?

Answer: When it comes to technology policy, evidence doesn't matter.

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Education News for 10-17-2012

State Education News

• Cuyahoga Heights schools' former employee stole almost $4.2 million, state auditor says (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Nearly $4.2 million was stolen from the Cuyahoga Heights school district by its former technology director…Read more...

• Cheating shows charters, testing failed, author says (Columbus Dispatch)

School cheating scandals aimed at improving high-stakes student-proficiency test results are a symptom of a failed reform plan that is wasting billions of dollars…Read more...

• State finally releases school and district grades (Columbus Dispatch)

The Ohio Department of Education released school and district grades for the 2011-12 academic year today, a couple of months late…Read more...

• Online academy takes learning beyond school day (Hamilton Journal-News)

An online school is expanding Hamilton students’ technology knowledge and helping teachers provide more specific remediation…Read more...

• Schools have a role in shaping healthy habits (Newark Advocate)

Jane Krueger’s class at John Clem Elementary School looked more like a school dance than a physical education class as students grooved to the beat…Read more...

Local Education News

• Columbus City Schools: Schools treasurer urges $25M in cuts (Columbus Dispatch)

Columbus City Schools need to cut $25 million from next school year’s budget or risk running out of money, Treasurer Penny Rucker warned school board members last night…Read more...

• Northridge good now, could be in debt in 2015 (Newark Advocate)

The Northridge Local School District is expected to be in the black until 2015, but the district likely will need levy funding to avoid a deficit in three years…Read more...

• TPS drops to academic watch on report card (Toledo Blade)

Toledo Public Schools lost its continuous improvement ranking on Ohio school report cards and slipped into academic watch…Read more...

Editorial

• Ohio schools should have their own EpiPens (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

The Ohio Association of School Nurses is busy writing what it hopes will be lifesaving legislation -- a bill that would require schools…Read more...

• Classroom crime (Columbus Dispatch)

A scandal that landed a former Texas school superintendent in prison — for arranging for test scores of low-performing students to disappear from his district’s records — shows the gravity of the alleged data rigging…Read more...