By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green Superintendent Francis Scruci joined a rally this morning against too much testing for students with too little input from educators.
More than 300 school superintendents and board members joined forces in Columbus to ask state legislators to rework the graduation requirements in Ohio.
“This is one of the first times superintendents have organized together to speak out,” Scruci said after the rally that was held during the annual meeting of the Ohio School Board Association. Also attending from Bowling Green was board of education member Bill Clifford.
“It was a great opportunity for solidarity,” Scruci said.
The concern is that the latest testing standards are expected to keep many students from graduating. The standards place too much emphasis on test taking – and not enough on daily learning, educators have said.
“There needs to be some reform,” Scruci said.
Educators are demanding that they be involved in the decision-making process for testing requirements.
“We want the legislature to hear us and involve us in the decision-making,” Scruci said.
Educators deserve to be part of a serious dialogue, he said. “We are working with kids every day.”
Starting next year, students no longer will be required to pass the Ohio Graduation Test to receive a diploma. Instead, they will have to meet one of three options: earn 18 out of a possible 35 points on seven end-of-course exams taken during high school; get a “remediation-free” score on a college entrance exam; or obtain an industry credential indicating they are ready for a job.
Across the state, school district officials have said that 20 to 50 percent of their students have failed the exams, meaning they are at risk of not graduating.
Scruci said that most Bowling Green students would not be at risk of failing, but the system is still very wrong. “There still needs to be reform,” he said.
Though he didn’t see any legislators at the rally, Scruci is hoping they get the message. He is hopeful that State Senator Randy Gardner and State Rep. Theresa Gavarone, both R-Bowling Green, were listening.
“She said that she supported public education,” Scruci said of newly-elected Gavarone. “She’s going to have to get involved right away.”
