OUR VIEW: State education officials’ decision was really a test of leadership

Published 5:00 am Thursday, October 26, 2023

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The Oregon Board of Education last week voted unanimously to not reinstate — until at least 2029 — the requirement to prove mastery of reading, writing and mathematics in order to graduate high school.

This means (choose one of the following):

a) The board recognized that the standardized testing involved leading to that requirement had evolved into something beyond its original intent, ultimately working against the best interests of students;

b) The board has chosen to weaken the standards for proficiency for students in the state, resulting in less emphasis in academic achievement and undermining the perception and reputation of Oregon schools;

c) The board decided to kick the can down the road until some better solution can be found that incorporates achievement while recognizing that “standardized” testing has built-in cultural and ethnic inequities;

d) Once again, those most affected by state education regulations — teachers and students — are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Time’s up, pencils down.

How’d do you think you did? Well, you’re wrong — because it’s a trick question.

The correct answer is e) All of the above.

The truth is that, particularly given the way the world works these days, the intent of an action carries as much weight as how that action is perceived.

The education board decision was based somewhat on a 2021 study by the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission that the efficiency standards played a significant role in predicting or boosting the performance of students when they enrolled in universities or community colleges.

“They did not work,” Dick Farley, data analyst for the state Department of Education, told the board. “What they were designed to do is protect student interests. We have no evidence that they did that.”

Education officials also noted that standardized testing has long been known to work against the best interests of marginalized students, such as those learning English as a second language and special needs students, as well as those whose cultural backgrounds are not reflected in the nature of the tests themselves.

And while all of that might well be true, it’s also important to recognize that the value of an Oregon high school diploma should not carry with it the stigma of a system that gives off the appearance of standing still — or worse, moving backward — when it comes to academic requirements.

Christine Drazan, a former state legislator and the 2022 Republican candidate for governor, said the board decision did little to address improving academic achievement across the state.

“Instead,” Drazan wrote in a press release following the decision, “they cast blame on a tool used to measure a student’s ability to read, write and do math.”

Which brings us to what seems like the most confusing part of the decision. The tests will still be administered, but will not be used to determine whether students have achieved the skills necessary to graduate.

Oregon graduation rates have risen across all socio-economic and cultural groups in recent years, even though proficiency in core subject matters — based on proficiency testing — have remained below pre-pandemic levels.

That sort of dichotomy gives birth to the debate over the effectiveness of the current standards set across the state.

Or, as state Rep. Tracy Cramer, R-Woodburn, a member of the House Education Committee put it: “Just because graduation rates are improving, it doesn’t mean proficiency is.”

Without a coherent way through this thicket of academic uncertainty, all the board’s decision to remove the testing requirement has done is leave teachers and students (once again) left to fend for themselves to find a way out.

On this test of educational leadership, the only possible grade to give the state is an Incomplete.

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