Did you know that the Ohio General Assembly created new graduation requirements for students beginning with the class of 2018?
*One third of Ohio’s Class of 2018 is now at risk of not receiving a high school diploma!
*The percentage of non-graduates could reach 60-70 percent in urban areas.
*Students earn 18 points toward graduation on seven end-of-course exams. They can earn one point if they score as Limited on a state end-of-course exam, two for Basic, three for Proficient, four for Accelerated, and five for Advanced.
*High school pupils must achieve four points in Math, four in English, and six between Science and Social Studies, as well as an additional four points somewhere else.
*High schoolers must take exit exams in Algebra I or Integrated Math I, Geometry or Integrated Math II, American Government, American History, English I, English II, and Biology.
*Students will need Proficient scores on four of the seven tests to reach 18 points, or some scores better than Proficient.
*The tests have changed three times in the last three years.
*There are no federal regulations that tie graduation to standardized tests.
*The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) allows districts to use a locally determined, nationally recognized test like the ACT or SAT instead of end-of-course tests in high schools.
*A Certificate of Completion has been suggested as a solution to the graduation crisis. Getting into college without a diploma would be difficult, and students couldn’t get federal student loans with just a certificate of completion.
*According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a person without a high school diploma can expect to earn about $10,000 less per year than someone who has a high school diploma.
Thanks to Matt and Mandy Jablonski of Lorain County for inspiring advocacy and providing details about this pending catastrophe!
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Greg Power, Superintendent of Little Miami Schools, has urged his local community members to send an email to the state Board of Education, state Superintendent Paolo DeMaria, and state legislators voicing their concerns about Ohio’s graduation requirements. https://littlemiamisuper1.wordpress.com/2017/02/21/having-our-say-on-graduation-requirements-we-need-your-help/
Public Education Partners urges all Ohioans to contact those in charge of public education policies about averting this pending crisis. In messages to the state Board of Education and Supt. Paolo DeMaria, add this additional request: Until Ohio’s graduation crisis is fixed, require that letters be sent from each high school to families of students not on track to graduate.
A template, created by Superintendent Power, is provided below.
CALL TO ACTION: Send an email to:
State Board President Tess Elshoff, elshofftess@education.ohio.gov
State Board Vice-President Nancy Hollister, nancy.hollister@education.ohio.gov
State Board of Education, SBOE@education.ohio.gov
State Superintendent Paolo DeMaria, superintendent@education.ohio.gov
Your State Legislators, https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislators/find-my-legislators
Subject: Fix Ohio’s Graduation Crisis
Dear NAME,
I am writing you to voice my concern about the over-testing of students and the lack of local control in K-12 education. The job of educating our children should be up to the local Boards of Education, not the State. I urge you to bring back local control of our schools. I also ask you to fix the current testing system.
Changing the assessment system three times in three years is hurting our students and making them less competitive with students from surrounding states. It is time for the state to follow the federal guidelines and allow the schools to use the ACT test or industry accredited professional certification exams to assess college and career readiness. I ask you to take a hard look at this system and do what is right for all students across Ohio.
Sincerely,
Your Name & Address
If your student is at risk of not graduating due to the state’s new graduation requirements, please consider sending this email as well:
Subject: Fix Ohio’s Graduation Crisis
Dear NAME,
My child has followed all the rules. However, (s)he is now at risk of not walking across the stage and to get a diploma, because the State is once again changing the assessment system and the requirements to graduate. [Insert any information about your child that you want them to know.]
It is wrong to damage my child’s future due to a failed accountability experiment. Enough is enough. I expect you to remedy this situation, and let teachers get back to teaching and our children get back to learning.
Sincerely,
Your Name & Address
A sincere THANK-YOU goes to Supt. Greg Power for implementing this important call-to-action!
Until legislators cut back on high-stakes graduation tests, the future of Ohio’s children will be at stake!
