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The Oregon State Board of Education voted unanimously in October to eliminate the requirement that students be proficient in reading and writing to graduate, marking a long period of recklessness that is undermining academic expectations for America’s students. I decided to join the movement.
The Oregon Department of Education issued a statement calling the literacy standards “a burden for teachers and students.” Dan Farley, the Oregon Department of Education’s assistant superintendent for research, evaluation and data, said the standards simply “didn’t work.”
There is no evidence that suspending these standards will improve student achievement, rather the opposite. Had the Oregon State Board of Education conducted a 15-minute investigation, it would have found that relaxing academic standards had a dramatic negative impact.
Oregon Mothers Union slams removal of standardized tests from high school graduation requirements: ‘Not surprising’
Ohio State tried the same strategy in 2020, and the results are already grim. Then-state Superintendent Paolo DeMaria reformed graduation requirements, abandoning “proficiency” in math and English. Since that decision, Ohio State’s math proficiency has declined.
The Ohio State University report on math and English proficiency in Ohio states that middle school and high school math performance has “significantly declined.” Since 2020, his math performance for grades 3 through 10 has declined between 1% and 4%, with no signs of improvement.
Why is this so? If math proficiency is no longer a graduation requirement, why should schools spend time verifying students’ math proficiency?
Although Baltimore City Public Schools has relaxed math standards several times since the early 2010s, zero students in its 13 high schools currently tested proficiency in math on the 2023 Maryland State Assessment.
Blue states again suspend basic skills graduation requirements due to harm to students of color
Public school districts in California, Michigan, New York, and South Carolina are trying similar approaches, lowering academic standards and expectations in the name of “racial equity.” The results are as you might expect: None of the districts that tried to lower academic standards saw academic gains.
Why is Oregon different?
Although Baltimore City Public Schools has relaxed math standards several times since the early 2010s, zero students in its 13 high schools currently tested proficiency in math on the 2023 Maryland State Assessment.
The Oregon State Board of Education does not offer an alternative to the reading and writing graduation standards. Therefore, we can and do expect the same outcomes that other states and districts have suffered due to embarrassingly bad decisions made by individuals immune to illiteracy, ranging from mediocrity to abject failure. We should expect it.
American education is rapidly becoming a toxic system that promotes standards of “good enough” to boost self-esteem by acting as if student failure doesn’t exist or is not the student’s responsibility. be.
As Daniel Buck, a former educator and Fordham Institute researcher, points out, grade point averages have increased significantly in the United States since 2010, but ACT test scores have remained constant. Student performance as measured by standardized tests has not improved, but achievement is still improving. how?
Standards are plummeting and performance will follow suit.
Thankfully, some states are bucking this trend. To close the gap, Tennessee has begun requiring third-graders who don’t meet performance requirements on the state’s annual math test to attend summer classes.
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Florida has not only kept students in the classroom during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also increased expectations for students in both math and English, and has seen results in student achievement. . Average reading and math scores for 4th, 8th, and 12th grade students in Florida have increased year over year since 2020.
Over the past decade, a lack of academic expectations has led many parents to seek alternative education options for their children, with STEM and classical education seeing the biggest increase.
Other states and schools have consistently proven that ignoring standards and expectations for any reason leads to lower grades, and students end up paying the price for the rest of their lives.
Science, technology, engineering, and math charter schools and private schools have become common in cities across the country, helping students develop their academic skills and prepare for challenging careers by taking on heavy workloads with intensive assessments. A harsh environment is promised.
It’s no surprise that STEM-certified schools consistently outperform local public schools in both reading and math.
Classical education, which teaches classic works of literature, history, science, philosophy, and theology to students from preschool through 12th grade, is also very popular, with organizations such as Classical Learning Test creating alternatives to the SAT and ACT. Masu. Many universities are starting to prefer it.
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The jury is out on Oregon’s decision to waive reading comprehension. Other states and schools have consistently proven that ignoring standards and expectations for any reason leads to lower grades and students pay the price for the rest of their lives.
Unfortunately, Oregon wasn’t the first state and probably won’t be the last. Every department, board, administrator, and policymaker who doesn’t set expectations for students is robbing them of their potential for growth and achievement.
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