During the 2014-15 school year, a new set of academic standards will take effect in Ohio. These standards are predicted to significantly lower student test scores.
The Common Core is a set of rigorous academic standards for K-12 students targeting skills in English and mathematics. It is designed to increase standards of learning and motivate students to score higher.
However, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute in Columbus estimates the proficiency rates of urban, suburban and charter school districts to fall as much as 20 to 50 percentage points, according to a report analysis by Aaron Churchill of the institute.
“There are several good reasons (to implement Common Core),” said John Charlton, associate director of communications at the Ohio Department of Education. “(We want) to give students the ability to think and analyze instead of regurgitating information.”
Ohio is one of 46 states to implement Common Core as well as Washington, D.C. That means it will be easier to compare results to other states, Charlton said.
Another positive outcome of using the standard in multiple states is that if a child moves to another state, it is highly likely that he or she will be academically proficient in that state because he or she will learn the same material at the same time, said Emmy Portin, director of Ohio policy and research at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.
Though the Common Core is meant to better prepare students for college and global competition in the workplace, the predicted decline in test scores remains a concern.
However, the state of Ohio does not have the ability to adjust test standards under the Common Core in any case, such as having too many students failing, Portin said.
Charlton added that a change in expectations is unlikely because the Common Core is in place to raise the bar so that students will reach higher. Also, because a significant amount of other states are involved, Ohio must follow the same standards and agree on a definition of proficiency.
Although the test scores are predicted to have a huge impact, the exams have yet to be released to Ohio schools and therefore it is difficult to predict students’ performance, said Thomas Parsons, director of testing in Athens City School District.
“The only marker that school districts have is advice the Ohio Department of Education has given,” Parsons said.
He added that Athens’ test scores have been fairly consistent over the years, which will hopefully be a good sign that local students will maintain steady scores in the future.
kf398711@ohiou.edu
