Charter Schools Get New Testing Rules (Except White Hat)
So here's a little nugget that completely slipped by me. I was looking through the ORC yesterday, and found this little tidbit: next school year, some community schools "shall administer a reading and mathematics assessment approved by the department in the fall and spring of the school year to each student who is enrolled in any of grades one through twelve to measure the academic progress made by students during the school year. For each grade level, the community school shall administer the same assessment in the spring that the school administers in the fall. "
In addition, "Each community school that administers the assessments required by division (B) of this section shall be responsible for all costs associated with the administration and scoring of the assessments." This is huge. It costs the state of Ohio millions of dollars to pay for our tests. I can only imagine the impact that would have on a new school.
Why do I say new school? because the testing requirements are only for schools that have "not been in operation for at least two full school years". I smell David Brennan something fishy... This seems to me like another way that White Hat is locking down thier monopoly. They've created a way to seem like charters in Ohio have "standards" (I'm no fan of standardized tests, and even less of a fan of calling them "having standards" but that's a whole different post) while making it cost prohibative for any competition to come into the field... Exactly what these people claimed to be trying to create.
"in need of continuous improvement, under an academic watch, or in a state of academic emergency"?
The way the section to which you link is written, it implies that community schools are subject to ratings just like all other schools. I just spent a few minutes at the ODE and it's local report card sites and also the community schools pages and can't find anything that indicates ratings for community schools.
However, it would seem, from the language of that section, that White Hat's schools must have ratings and if any of them are "in need of continuous improvement, under an academic watch, or in a state of academic emergency" then the kids would be subject to testing. I guess this means that there should be benchmarks set up for community schools that would allow the state to give the community schools ratings. I don't have any specific experience with this, as others like Scott Piepho might, I'm just trying to be logical (ha).
As for cost of testing, remember, community schools, theoretically, are getting the same amount of money per child that the district has available per child. And that amount includes whatever the district is going to spend on testing, wouldn't you think? So I'm not exactly sure that this amount of money should be extra. If anything, it means that for all the time that community schools aren't testing kids, they get a "windfall" in regard to whatever amount of the per student rate goes to testing at the district schools.
That's my take on first reading.
Those categories correspond to how many benchmarks have been met. The benchmarks, and the number of them, for public schools, are the same for everyone being rated but change from year to year (I know there have been as many as 27 and as few as 18 depending on the year) and they do include many that have to do with the tests. But some also have to do with attendance and graduation I think. I don't know why they couldn't reflect measurements that are relevant to the charters, all charters, no matter how unique each one might be. Not to mention, as we're reading, the law clearly implies that these ratings are to be made. If anything, if the ratings are not being made, then that's another way in which the OEA's lawsuit makes sense re: lack of oversight. I just don't know a lot about this yet re: what if any oversight there's been in regard to the ratings for charters.
I'm no fan of White Hat, but this is more of an ODE effort at holding new charters accountable (sooner) than it is some Brennan plot.
FACT: All charter students get tested and all charters get ratings -- even older than 2 years charters. (The ratings are on the ODE site someplace) The ratings range from excellent to academic emergency and they go up and down just like the tradtional public school districts. No escape hatch for old White Hat schools and they range up and down the ratings too.
FACT: I'm no lawyer either but Jill's reading of the law is right. It has no escape hatch for old schools (not even White Hat) and there is no extra money paid for testing. Charters have to take it out of the same basic aid ($5,000 plus per pupil) that they and the publics get from the state. It's an illegal "windfall" if they're not testing, as Jill noted. If you find a White Hat charter not testing, blog on it before the Beacon Journal or PD gets to it.
FACT: The ODE has oversight problems when it comes to charter schools, but this ain't one of them. Double testing new schools will give them assessment benchmarks faster and maybe help them improve test scores if not (gasp) real education.
Dem progressives are right to hold charters (and ODE) more accountable but many of us don't get the facts first on a very complex subject. At last Jill acknowledges it even when she's right. Go back to school, redenemy.