“Urgent” was indeed how St. Charles Parish Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Ken Oertling described the collective message conveyed by 26 school and district leaders from across the state last week at a public hearing addressing the changes. The hearing took place during a 90-day window where input on new BESE policies can be heard before the policies are officially adopted.
The Louisiana Association of School Superintendents and the Louisiana School Board Association requested the hearing so principals and superintendents could address how these changes will affect their students.
The 26 leaders across the board argued the new system significantly devalues college and career preparation, instead putting extreme focus on end of course test scores.
“As you can see from the many groups represented here this morning, including principals, school board members, teachers, legislators … the system in its current form has drawn serious concerns from those closest to the work of educating our students,” Oertling said during the hearing.
Oertling credited BESE (Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education) for pushing for academic standards and pushing students to be their best. But Oertling said the new system’s heavy reliance on six end of course tests – which will account for 75 percent of a school’s overall score – undermines the broader goals of the board and state Department of Education in preparing students for college, careers and life in general.
“While assessments are certainly important, putting too much emphasis on these standardized tests will limit the focus on education in our high schools significantly,” Oertling said.
“All of the progress we’ve made in terms of college and career education could be lost.”
Oertling stressed that it would be a mistake to use standardized testing as a sole indicator of a student’s readiness to enter the real world.
To further illustrate his point, Oertling pointed to recent simulation results provided by the state Department of Education that estimated the current top four ranked school districts in terms of college and career readiness – Livingston, East Baton Rouge, Ascension and Tangipahoa parishes – would see their letter grades drop to two Cs and two Fs.
Meanwhile, 80 percent of high schools across the state, Oertling noted, will see their grade drop significantly.
“Our priority (under the new system) will not be to prepare for future jobs but focus solely on end of course test preparation, which has no direct correlation to college or career readiness,” Oertling said.
It is expected that BESE will provide a written response to the feedback taken in at the meeting.
