Dem education leaders call for pause on state school report cards that harm students

State Rep. Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo) today joined Ohio Board of Education member A.J. Wagner to call for a pause on faulty state school report cards that the duo says hurts kids, communities and school districts. The lawmakers contend that the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) tests used to develop the Ohio School Report Card – at an estimated cost of $200 million – were not properly vetted, but in fact were hastily designed and put into use without sufficient validation. 

“Every grade on these report cards is tainted by unverified, arbitrary, poorly designed and implemented tests that have been thrown out by the Ohio legislature,” said Fedor, who serves as ranking minority member on the House Education Committee. “The flaws are so pervasive that the grades on the Ohio School Report Cards should not be counted for anything. The state calls it a safe harbor, which should lead one to question: why there are there report cards at all?” 

Ohio pulled out of the PARCC Common Core testing consortium in late June with the signing of the biennial budget bill. The move followed months of angry complaints from parents and teachers about technology glitches related to the new online tests, as well as concerns over how much learning time the tests ate up. 

“The tests, and therefore the grades, violate standards of fairness. My colleague and I urge students, parents, and communities to ignore them,” said Wagner. “These report cards are not just inaccurate, they are harmful to our children, our schools and our communities.” 

More than 17,000 PARCC tests were questioned by school districts after the release of the preliminary results and many of those appeals remain unresolved. PARCC admits that the 35 percent of the tests taken by pencil and paper may have significantly different outcomes than the 65 percent taken on a computer. The state made no adjustments for these anomalies.