As stakeholders in Ohio public education, we strongly oppose the overreliance on high-stakes standardized testing to assess student achievement, evaluate teacher effectiveness, and determine school quality.
We recognize the efforts of those who have already taken up the effort and stand in solidarity. Statements by educators and researchers in Chicago, Georgia, Massachusetts and New York, as well as petitions such as the National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing outline the growing crisis in educational policy.
We consider using high-stakes test scores for high-stakes decisions such as graduation or retention, or to hire, fire, or reward teachers is a misuse of standardized testing.
We believe the overuse and misuse of standardized testing serves to widen racial/ethnic and income-based gaps, negatively impacts curriculum and instruction, creates adverse consequences not only for students but also for educators, and ultimately harms schools, as well as their students and teachers individually.
We call on the governor, state legislature and Ohio state education boards and administrators to reexamine public school accountability systems in this state, and to develop a system based on multiple forms of assessment which does not require extensive standardized testing, more accurately reflects the broad range of student learning, and is used to support students and improve schools.
Further action/ reading:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/02/22/massachusetts-professors-protest-high-stakes-standardized-tests/?tid=pm_local_pop
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ohio/2013/02/18/how-ohios-new-teacher-evaluations-will-change-student-teaching/
