In 2021 the Ohio State Board of Education decided in Brown vs. Board of Education that the use of a performance chart in schools was no longer needed. The Ohio State Board of Education felt that the state had enough information to determine what the best educational goals for students were. However, the Ohio State Board of Education was widely opposed to the decision and said that the decision in Brown vs. Board of Education set a bad precedent for the courts. The court decided that the use of a performance chart was not only relevant, but in fact, required by the state board of education.
The board’s decision in Brown vs. Board of Education effectively banned the use of charts in determining a student’s scores on the Ohio State Board of Education’s standardized testing. The Ohio State Board of Education claimed that the use of a performance chart in determining a student’s performance in reading, writing, and math was not necessary because the students could calculate their own scores on a calendar. Teachers claimed that they used to draw a line through the middle of a week to determine whether a child had understood the material or not. The practice of drawing the line between too much and too little was extremely easy for the teacher to determine and easy for the parents to see as well. In addition to this practice, many of the students who actually did poorly on one day could simply adjust their work to improve that particular day’s performance.
The teachers’ original argument against the use of a performance chart in the school was that it was not necessary to have individual students assess how well their children were doing on a certain test. Furthermore, the argument went on to say that the teachers needed the opportunity to discuss lessons with each other about the lessons they learned. One of the problems with the original argument is that nothing has changed since the decision was made. The practice of drawing a line through the middle of the week is still utilized by the schools in Ohio. There is no longer a need to determine the individual performance of students on a daily basis when the school can simply use a simple performance chart and determine individual progress. While this may seem like an easy solution, the problem that many parents run into when they are trying to decide which school is best is that the chart is used as the one main way to grade the students.
The bottom line when using a chart to determine individual progress is the accuracy of the chart. It is important for the chart to show definite marks for every test that is taken in a specific period of time. Additionally, the chart should be able to show a trend where the students can see how their performance fluctuates throughout the entire year. The data that is shown on the chart should be consistent and should show an upward trend for every student.
When the Ohio State Board of Education changed the grades in classrooms across the country, they also changed the practice of drawing a line through the middle of the week to the point where the teacher would determine the highest and lowest mark to be given to a particular student. Instead of drawing the line at the middle of the week, the educators now allow the students to “overcome” their lowest marks with a better mark. This change was done in order to make the schools more competitive and give the students a reason to strive for excellence.
There was another very important decision that was made by the Ohio State Board of Education in the springtime. After the school year ended, the teachers received a letter in the mail that informed the teachers that their classroom evaluations would no longer be based on the value of a test score, but rather on the actual skills and knowledge that each student has learned throughout the year. This new policy will allow the students to rise to the challenge of learning new lessons and retain the valuable information that they have been taught throughout the year. Both the students and the teachers of the schools in Ohio are excited about the new changes, and the decision in Brown vs. Board of Education is expected to set a new standard in the classroom for the future.
