Ohio was recently shook by the revelation that some Ohio districts might be cheating on data to affect the Ohio Standardized Test scores for their districts. Three districts are being investigated with one district, Lockland currently facing the harshest criticism and allegations.
Stan Heffner, the Ohio Superintendent, stated
“I will be asking our office of professional conduct to launch investigations along with the attorney general’s office if I find there is evidence of fraud so we have civil and criminal investigations at the same time,” Heffner said after speaking at the Columbus Metropolitan Club yesterday. “Those people have no business in our public schools.”
...and then it starts to get interesting.
Yes, the superintendent, Stan Heffner, is setting a high ethical standard for the state of Ohio districts. He states,
“Those people have no business in our public schools.”
Most Ohio citizens would agree. If you are in public education to make a name for yourself or to falsely enrich your own personal fortune ahead of the education of Ohio students then you don't belong in public education.
Accurate data is essential to making effective decisions. Decisions that can affect student lives for decades to come. A high ethical standard is essential. Making yourself look good by falsifying data cannot be tolerated. Stan Heffner has to establish and maintain this high ethical standard. This standard has to be maintained throughout the state and serious consequence must be the result.
In addition to pursuing criminal charges against school district officials who cheat on state data, the Ohio Department of Education will look for signs of cheating among the state's more than 600 school districts, a department spokesman said this morning.
Lockland School Board has
acted.
All districts in Ohio will be subjected to an audit of testing data. Any cheating must be rooted out. Reliable data must be assessed in order to make data-driven decisions about student education. Most Ohio citizens would agree with these actions.
OK, Mr. Heffner explain this.
Falsely testifying before an Ohio Senate committee displays a lack of ethical standing in most Ohio citizens eyes I can safely guess. I am sure that most Ohio citizens would conclude, the same as Mr. Heffner,
Those people have no business in our public schools.”
How about an individual, like Mr. Heffner, who directs policy and influences every public school in Ohio?
What about making a decision to use a test from a company that could be of possible financial gain to you. An improper testing instrument chosen because of personal gain would clearly skew the results.
“Those people have no business in our public schools.”
Stan Heffner was appointed by Mr. Kasich our governor, who worked for the Lehman Bros. previous to being governor, set the ethical standard for public service in the past election cycle. We need serious change in the state of Ohio.
Ohio Education funding is plagued with difficulties.
Kasich will become the fourth governor to try his hand at a different approach to school funding since a landmark 1997 Ohio Supreme Court ruling -- and three subsequent rulings -- found the state's system of funding schools unconstitutional. Before relinquishing jurisdiction over the case in 2002, the Supreme Court found that an over-reliance on locally voted property taxes, which resulted in a wide disparity between property-rich and property-poor districts, was never fixed.
The Ohio Education System: testing and funding is rotten to the core.