COLUMBUS, Ohio – Even as schools try to implement the new Common Core standards in Ohio and lawmakers consider repealing them altogether, new legislation introduced in the Statehouse would hit the pause button on school performance rankings and teacher evaluations that are based on student achievement.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo), calls for a longer “safe harbor” on school performance rankings and teacher evaluations based on how students perform on standardized tests aligned to Common Core.
Meanwhile, House lawmakers are holding hearings on legislation (H.B. 597) that would completely remove Ohio from the Common Core standards after this school year.
Fedor says her bill, which has gained the support of 19 other lawmakers, is aimed at making sure the standards are working before teachers are punished if students perform poorly in the first years.
“They’re committed to do their very best and they care about the students and the outcome; we need the appropriate implementation for this transition. To do it quickly and have sanctions for teachers in the public school system would be unreasonable and unfair,” she said.
The testing will now be administered on computer rather than paper, and requires almost double the time. Fedor’s H.B. 642 calls for a three-year delay in the use of student test scores in decisions about teachers’ employment and compensation.