43
School officials oppose repeal of standards
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Paul Imhoff compared legislation being considered in the Ohio House to repeal Common Core standards to trying to build an aircraft while in flight.
The move, the superintendent of the Upper Arlington school district in suburban Columbus told lawmakers Tuesday, would mean three different sets of academic standards in five years — “five years in which teachers and other dedicated professional educators must scramble to build a new educational product at the same time they are attempting to teach it,” he said. “That’s a lot like building a plane while flying it, and that is not what we want for any child. It doesn’t make sense, and it isn’t good for students.”
Imhoff was among more than three dozen school officials, researchers, teachers and others who testified in opposition to HB 597, which would repeal Common Core standards in math and English-language coursework and replace them with new standards to be developed over the next few years.
The legislation had three hearings last week, with proponents of a repeal saying the standards represent an overreach of the federal government and corporate interests into local classrooms, with resulting textbook lessons so convoluted or awkwardly phrased that students and their parents don’t understand them.
Two hearings scheduled for this week and one next week are open to those who oppose the repeal. Supporters of Common Core said Tuesday that the standards were developed with input from teachers and others, that curriculum, textbook and other decisions still are made at the local level and that the setup is providing students with a better foundation for future college courses and careers.
Speakers also said Tuesday that the standards are ensuring “rigorous” classroom instruction, with increased emphasis on critical thinking.
“I am not aware of a single teacher in our district who feels that the standards expect too little of students,” said Kimberly Yoak, a licensed teacher and former mathematics consultant for Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools. She added, “I hear many teachers saying that they wish they had had the chance to learn mathematics like this because it would have made so much more sense to them. ... And I wonder how many fewer adults in the general population would have such a strong distaste for mathematics if they also had this kind of learning experience.”
Dawn Henry, Oregon City Schools director of teaching and learning, said HB 597 would take away some control over curriculum decisions from local districts.