A new report from an Ohio teachers’ union recommends changes in the way students, teachers and schools are evaluated. StateImpact Ohio’s Michelle Faust has more on the report that was presented to legislators and the State Board of Education this month.
Ohio Education Association Vice President, Scott DiMauro summarized the recommendations the group hopes the school board will adopt.
“We wanted to lay out what a high-quality system that’s well-aligned -- particularly related to student assessment, teacher quality and teacher evaluation, and school accountability and school improvement—looks like.”
The teachers’ union says the current system places too much emphasis on standardized testing, to the detriment of students and teachers alike.
“Moving away from an emphasis on standardized testing and more to authentic assessment, more to performance based assessment, more to student exhibitions and portfolios at the classroom level is a big part of our recommendation.
“We know that there’s entirely too much emphasis on high stakes testing that takes away from quality teaching and learning time.”
The OEA also believes test scores are weighed too heavily in evaluating teachers. The report recommends a process that supports teachers to grow and improve over time. It’s unclear if the Department of Education will follow any of the report’s recommendations.
The report includes praise for the Every Student Succeeds Act signed into law late last year by president Obama.