Punishing TPS for State policy does not make sense…
In listening to the audio of tonight’s TPS board meeting that Chris Myers is kind enough to provide for those of us who can not attend, (link to Swamp Bubbles and link to audio) I’m struck by the response of some of those who spoke that somehow TPS is soley responsible for the regulations stating any student who does not pass all of the sections of the OGT can not graduate. The common statement seems to be “they deserve this” and perhaps they do, but that’s not the way the Ohio Department of Education has done this. That’s where the policy needs to be changed, and threatening to not support any levies or any other retaliatory suggestion directed at TPS won’t change the State rules.
This isn’t just happening in Toledo, it’s not as if this is some conspiracy being done only to Toledo students. I urge people to read a letter written by a teacher in Cleveland who wrote a letter to the editor that expresses his personal experience with students who just like the students here in Toledo did not pass.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer also had some Frequently asked questions that clearly states it is not the decision of local school boards, that this comes from the State.
The Columbus Dispatch also has an article on the topic of those who did not pass the OGT. Apparently our Governor who as a senator did vote for No Child Left Behind now has reservations.
As an update:
Eileen Cooper Reed, president of the Cincinnati Board of Education, said there’s something wrong if otherwise-successful 12th-graders are getting stopped by a test meant to measure 10th-grade knowledge. The board voted yesterday to allow students who passed all their classes, but failed the state test, to participate in graduation ceremonies. That was a reversal of district policy.
These parents and students need to learn some personal responsibility. They both knew that as a condition of their enrollment in an Ohio public school that they were required to pass the OGT in order to graduate.
Take some responsibility for your action or in this case inaction, and don’t pressure people to change the rules after the game because it didn’t turn-out in your favor!
May 30th, 2007 at 12:36 pmCan we please have a full investigation of the girl with the 4.0 GPA who couldn’t pass the graduation test, let’s find the teachers who gave her A’s in the classes covering this material and find out how they justify it!
May 31st, 2007 at 8:37 amDave,
Now, there you go trying to find the REAL reason for the problem…
Let me suggest two possible reasons:
1. Despite the student’s grades, the student failed to learn the material that would have allowed then to pass the OGT.
2. The teacher failed to adequately teach the material required to get the student a passing score.
Having said that, two comments come to mind:
1. As ~90% of the Toledo students did pass the tests, I leave it to you to figure out where the REAL problem lies.
2. re: the 4.0 grades, what were these grades based on, objective testing, or a teacher’s opinion (also on which the teacher’s performance could also be based) as to what the student should get?
Grade inflation is not new. It may also account for some of our teachers graduating too, because others are often judged by how well their students are perceived to have done, which is one good reason for standardized tests and objective grading. . .
June 2nd, 2007 at 3:55 pm