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[X] OHIO EDUCATION MENU
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CONTENTS
[X] Beginning of letter to the State Board of Education
[X] Time to teach Ohio's academic standards
[X] Word list (or vocabulary envelope) for Ohio's test designers
[X] Beginning of excerpts from the February 25, 2004 letter from the State Board of Education
[X] Counterpoints
to a time-to-teach study
[X] Counterpoints to creating a word list
NOTE: In late 2003, this citizen initiated a communication exchange with the Ohio State Board of Education in an attempt to promote a more practical set of state academic standards and testing methodology. My first letter was sent to members of the State Board of Education on September 30, 2003. On February 25, 2004, Catherine Clark-Eich, Executive Director of the Office of Board Relations, replied on behalf of the Board president. Both of these letters are public records and may be obtained from Office of Board Relations at telephone 614--466-4838. An updated copy of the September 30, 2003 letter is shown below followed by excerpts from the February 25, 2004 letter.
(Beginning of September 30, 2003 letter to the State Board of Education)
Ohio State Board of Education members
25 South Front St. - 7th Floor
Columbus, OH
43215-4183
*** Updated Copy ***
Dear Ms. Jennifer Sheets, President:
Come November, all across Ohio, hundreds of citizens will be running for a seat on their local school districts' board of
education. These candidates will have one thing in common: They want to see students in their districts meet Ohio's academic learning goals.
Unfortunately, the inactions of the State Board of Education have made their job far more difficult than it logically should be. Over the past few years you and other State Board members have:
Time to Teach
Robert J. Marzano et al, in the book Essential Knowledge, 1999, presented two time estimates on pages 102
and 103,
(1) 9,042 hours of classroom time is available for instruction in grades K through 12, and
(2) 15,465 hours is the time required to teach an in-depth set of academic standards in grades K-12.
Trying to teach 15,000 hours of material in 9,000 classroom hours is a no-win situation. Fortunately, this time mismatch does not necessarily apply to Ohio's Academic Content Standards. But, so far, no one has checked to be sure. It is time that you folks on the State Board of Education did your job by: (a) comparing the classroom hours available versus the time needed to teach the current academic standards, and (b) if needed, reducing the academic content standards to a manageable amount. By specifying academic standards for Ohio students that requires less than 70% of teaching time available, local district school boards will then have enough classroom time for: in-school tutoring when needed, in-school challenge projects for some students, and added local-interest subjects to the district's curriculum.
Word List
In the book Living Word Vocabulary (1981), Edger Dale and Joseph O'Rourke showed the vocabulary of most 4th graders to be about 5,000 root words. By 8th grade,
the vocabulary level was over 10,000 root words. Which 5,000 words of the 8th graders' 10,000 words will be taught in the first four grades depends on the reading program used by each school district.
Ohio needs to publish a vocabulary "envelope" that lists the words that will be used on the state-wide 4th-grade tests. The same logic would apply to other state-wide tests. This way, reading tests will test school reading instruction, not a student's household vocabulary. Beyond that, math tests, for example, will test math concepts, not reading vocabulary.
Please note, this is NOT a call for teachers to in any way limit the range of vocabulary they use in their classrooms. This is a call for you, the State Board of Education members, to be open and up-front with the school districts by publishing a testing vocabulary envelope.
Sincerely,
Bill Buckel
Columbus School Board candidate (2003)
(Beginning of excerpts from the
February 25, 2004 letter from the State Board of Education)
Bill Buckel
1641 Hess Blvd.
Columbus, OH 43212
Dear Mr. Buckel:
Time to Teach
* The Ohio Department of Education did not conduct
such a [time] study.
* Teachers were instrumental in the development of the Standards, Benchmarks, and Indicators.
* Students vary in the amount of time it takes for them to master the adopted standards and that is why it is impossible to
calculate the time required.
Word List
* The Ohio Department of Education did not develop a vocabulary list.
* Local Boards of Education make the decision [on] what curriculum will be taught in their
districts and how the curriculum will be taught.
* The development of a vocabulary list is best left to the local level.
- - - - - - - -
Thank you for your interest in education in Ohio.
Sincerely,
Catherine Clark-Eich
Executive Director, Office Of Board Relations
(A copy of the above response may be obtained from the Office of Board Relations at telephone 614--466-4838.)
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Address:
Bill Buckel
1641 Hess Blvd.
Columbus, OH 43212
...Ph. 614--488-8963
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URL = http://www.billbuckel.com
This page last updated: January 11, 2005