INTERESTED PARTY TESTIMONY BY TRACY RADICH,
1ST VICE PRESIDENT OF CLEVELAND TEACHERS UNION
ON HB 64
BEFORE THE SENATE FINANCE – EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEE
MAY 7, 2015
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee my name is Tracy Radich. I am the 1st Vice President of the Cleveland Teachers Union, but more importantly I am a 20 year veteran teacher in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and currently a 7th & 8th grade math and science teacher. I came to speak to you today about the importance of a safe harbor from the results PARCC & AIR assessments that impact teachers. I believe that there is a general misunderstanding and belief that teachers may already have safe harbor from the results of these high stakes tests, however as of now there is no provision in Ohio law that guarantees teachers safe harbor from the results of the PARCC and AIR assessments.
It is critical that there is a 3 year moratorium that will not allow PARCC & AIR assessments or any new assessments, to be used to make decisions regarding an educator's compensation, position for lay-off, evaluation, or final effectiveness rating. We know in the first year that the PARCC was administered in Tennessee, scores dropped dramatically. In New York state, only 30% of students were deemed as "passing". This is for the whole state - whether urban, suburban, public, private, rich, or impoverished. In 2010, twenty-six states had signed on to the PARCC, this year less than a dozen are left. In our own state, we have seen the amount of over testing and the test fatigue (and lack of actual time spent learning) that our children have faced. The table is set for low test scores based on data from other states and the concerns that have been raised in Ohio regarding the amount of time students spend taking tests, the test format, impact on instruction, speed of implementation, accommodations for ESL and special needs students, and testing stress. I would like to take a moment here to say on behalf of myself and my colleagues, that we commend Senator Lehner, Senator Hite, Senator Sawyer, Senator Faber, and Senator Gardner for their leadership in addressing these issues through the Senate Advisory Committee on Testing.
State law in Ohio requires that all teachers’ final effectiveness rating is a combination of teacher evaluation and student growth measures. This means that every teacher in Ohio that teaches students reading and math in grades 4-9 will be evaluated based on student test scores from PARCC and AIR. In Cleveland, it is even more dramatic. In 2012, HB 525, also known as the Cleveland Plan was passed by the legislature and became law. After HB 525 was introduced, the Cleveland Teachers Union did come to the table and at the end of the day we did support the legislation. As a result of HB 525, the student's results on PARCC and AIR tests do directly impact our compensation, our evaluation ratings, and our placement on a potential lay-off list. Student test results are directly tied to all of these things in Cleveland. In Cleveland we took a big leap of faith with the legislature and our city. We never imagined an assessment placed in front of our students that would raise so many flags. As I referenced before, just some of the concerns raised by educators and parents include: over-testing, the new technology platform, the rush to implement, the tremendous loss of actual time for instruction, and the amount of stress this has put on children. Until it is ensured that districts are prepared (as educators, students, and with technology infrastructure), that the tests are proven valid, and the tests are fair for all groups of students (urban, rural, suburban, special needs, English as a second language etc.) these assessments and any new assessments should not be used for high stakes decisions that impact educators.
In 2014, HB 487 provided safe harbor for school districts for the 2014-2015 school year. The law specifically prohibits report card ratings issued for that school year from being considered in determining whether a school district or school is subject to sanctions or penalties. HB 487 recognizes that school districts should not be "punished" based on the results of new PARCC assessments. Earlier this year, in an emergency measure, HB 7 was passed that provided safe harbor to students taking these assessments. I am here to today, to ask the Legislature to also put forward and pass legislation that would provide safe harbor for teachers in Cleveland and throughout the state of Ohio. It is the fair thing to do. Thank you for your consideration and I am happy to answer any questions you may have.