The resolution proposed Tuesday would allow the classes of 2018 and 2019 to meet the standard with 15 points on those tests, with the bar moving to 16 points in 2020, 17 in 2021, then back to 18 in 2022.
Some educators have warned, based on early results of the new, harder state tests, that the state graduation rate could plummet from the 83 percent rate of the Class of 2015.
But Ohio Department of Education officials said that roughly the same percentage of Class of 2018 students are on track for graduation under the new system as were on track when that Class of 2015 started their junior years under the old system.
Two-thirds on track
A preliminary ODE data review says 65.4 percent of Ohio’s Class of 2018 is already “highly likely” to meet the existing 18-point graduation standard, based on tests taken as freshmen and sophomores. That compares to 66.1 percent of the Class of 2015 that passed all parts of the old Ohio Graduation Tests on the first try.
As with the old OGT, students can retake state tests.
“The gap between the previous system and the results on this graduation system do not seem to be as dire as they’re being portrayed,” said Chris Woolard, ODE senior executive director for accountability.
Most of the discussion at the board meeting, though, was about the need for a temporary fix, to prevent the predicted drop in graduation rates. Peggy Lehner, chair of the state Senate education committee, warned that if the state board didn’t take action, the legislature would likely do it for them.
Several members of the state board’s standards and graduation requirements committee expressed support for the softer standards, but they were hesitant to have a formal committee vote without knowing what the likely statewide graduation rate would be if the changes were approved.
Board President Tom Gunlock asked ODE officials to calculate those numbers before the board’s Dec. 12-13 meeting.
Opposing views
Emotions ran high among board members, with A.J. Wagner of Dayton again calling the state tests a “process of systemic discrimination” that would lead to 60 or 70 percent of kids in urban and Appalachian schools not graduating.
Shadyside superintendent and testing critic John Haswell said the numbers don’t lie, and many students “just aren’t going to get there.” He said the graduation system needs to be delayed until all stakeholders get it right.
On the other side, board member C. Todd Jones called efforts by school officials to lower standards “a march to mediocrity,” and said a solid, objective standard is needed given differences from teacher to teacher and district to district.
Gunlock said the move to scale back requirements “hurts me deeply,” adding that the new, harder tests merely ask students to achieve at a 10th-grade level, rather than the the old Ohio Graduation Test’s eighth-grade level.
Gunlock sarcastically suggested lowering the required number to 7 points so the graduation rate is 100 percent “and we can all feel really good about ourselves.”
“Life is about choices and consequences,” he said. “Every time we as adults fail to get kids to a 10th-grade level on a very low bar, we take opportunities away from kids, and that does not sit well with me.”
Several board members asked about the disconnect for students who get good grades but score poorly on state tests. State Superintendent Paolo DeMaria said some of that comes from schools not properly teaching state standards. DeMaria and top ODE officials touted new resources to help schools track student progress and offer intervention prior to retesting.
Board member Ron Rudduck suggested a bonus system, where students who earn a C or better from their teacher in a tested subject get a half-point added to their graduation test points. ODE officials said that would require a change in Ohio law, but Lehner encouraged the board to suggest ideas like that to the legislature.
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