My Ohio predictions from last year, if nothing else, proved that I should not make prognostication a full-time career. That being said, I think developments at the state level have the potential to be more interesting than at the national level. That is not necessarily a good thing, as we will see in my top three stories.
The Worst Education Scandal in Ohio History – I have already written about the Columbus City Schools attendance scandal once, but I have a feeling there will be many more coming over the next several weeks. Auditor of State David Yost is already conducting a statewide investigation of attendance practices. Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien is looking into criminal charges because of the truancy cases that were thrown out because of the deleted records. No doubt Attorney General Mike DeWine will be heard from in due course. I do not agree with the author of Plunderbund very often, but I do here when he says “this is going to be big.” It will be big because of the number of careers it will claim (Lockland’s Superintendent is already on suspension). It will be big because of the number of districts that I believe will be discovered scrubbing their attendance data. It will be big because of the numbers of students who will be discovered not just falling through the cracks, but rather being shoved through them. But the biggest aspect of this scandal may well be the timing of it. The recent resignation of State Superintendent Stan Heffner was not related to the attendance scandal (He had his own separate scandal!), but his successor will have this scandal at the top of his or her agenda. The Ohio Department of Education has often been criticized for its inability to enforce its regulations. A 2008 report appeared in the Cleveland Plain Dealer detailing similar practices being done in Cleveland, and the ODE’s response was to shrug its shoulders claiming it didn’t have the technology to follow up on the allegations. Apparently that has been a problem for quite some time. However, those days might be coming to a rather swift end. Why? Because of story number 2 . . .
It’s John Kasich’s Turn at Education Reform – When he was running for Governor, John Kasich promised to immediately do away Governor Ted Strickland’s “evidence based” funding model for education. With the blessing of his colleagues in the General Assembly, Governor Kasich kept that promise. But instead of putting in his own formula in place, he went back to a scaled-down of what previous Republican administrations had done with a time-table of having new plan by the summer of 2012. In a testament to the complexity of school funding in Ohio, that time-table met a rather quick and unceremonious end (I believe that is what led to my miss on the consolidation story from last year.). Well time is now running out. Under state law the next biennial budget is due to the General Assembly in February, 2013 and Governor Kasich has promised a new funding formula with a greater emphasis on money following students will be in it (A possible blueprint was just introduced in that state up north). In my relatively short career, I have learned that these budget processes are watched with fear and trembling by teachers and administrators alike. This one will be no different. After Senate Bill 5 there are not many teachers who will hopeful for better days in this new budget. In addition to that Governor Kasich now gets to name the successor to Superintendent Heffner, whom he also named after forcing out Susan Tave Zelman shortly after taking office. The politics of the moment have given Governor Kasich an opportunity not just to name the next Superintendent but to possibly remake the ODE entirely. There is enough time between now and February to put money in the budget for more regulatory power. He can give the new Superintendent a mandate to clean house and provide the financial backing with which to do it. Add that change along with a new funding formula, and you have the potential for the most sweeping changes in Ohio education since the DeRolph ruling.
The Common Core is Already Here and Still Coming – While Governor Kasich eliminated the financial part of his predecessor’s education reform, he hardly touched the academic part of the plan. Much of that is due to the role Common Core plays in the new standards. Under Strickland, Ohio became one of the 46 states to adopt the Common Core standards for English Language Arts and for Mathematics. With the adoption of the standards come new computerized exams in those subject areas, developed at a much lower cost than what Ohio was doing alone (for fewer tests!). Ohio’s continuing membership in Common Core was sealed with the granting of a No Child Left Behind Waiver and Ohio’s winning of a Race to the Top grant. What you may not realize is that part of the new standards is already here and has been taught for the last year. School districts across the state began teaching the new standards in grades K – 2 last school year. There is no testing in those grades (may that never happen!), but last year’s kindergartners will be in the third grade when the new exams start in 2015. Grades 11 and 12 are also free to implement Common Core, since they are not currently tested either (that also changes when end-of-course exams begin for high school courses in 2015). So this issue that has been outside of the mainstream is already well on its way to full implementation with 25% of Ohio students learning under its standards already. Yet you probably haven’t heard much about it in the mainstream media and won’t hear much more for at least another year. Go figure.
Filed under: cheating, Columbus City Schools attendance scandal, Common Core Standards, curriculum, education reform, Ohio, politics, public education, school funding, standardized testing Tagged: Columbus City Schools attendance scandal, Common Core Standards, John Kasich, No Child Left Behind, Ohio, Race to the Top, Stan Heffner
