Gifted Assessment Update- As a result of concerns expressed to State Superintendent Paolo DeMaria and members of the State Board of Education, ODE released the following in an email last week:
“Given the number of concerns raised by districts that already purchased tools for the 2018-2019 school year prior to the release of the new list, the Department will offer a “grace period” for previously approved assessments across all areas covered by the Common RFQ. The Department will allow the use of previously approved assessments for the 2017-2018 school year through June 30, 2019. Districts also can use the newly approved assessments for the 2018-2019 school year. After June 30, 2019, districts can only use the assessments on the new list. The Department will open a new RFQ early this fall for approval of any area without assessments or for vendors that are not on the new list. The new list will be available in March 2019 for use in the 2019-2020 school year.”
While OAGC appreciates the one-year grace period, many concerns remain about the list of gifted assessments and the process used to determine the list. OAGC President, Colleen Boyle along with OAGC President-Elect, Suzanne Palmer provided testimony to the State Board of Education this week about our on-going concerns. OAGC will continue to try to work with ODE to ensure that the gifted assessment list will meet the needs of gifted students in Ohio.
State Report Card Update – The State Board of Education report card working committee released a draft of report card recommendations to the full board this week. The committee plans to meet again in October. The most concerning recommendation for gifted advocates is the one that would eliminate a grade for the indicators component. The indicators component contains the gifted performance indicator, which is the only form of accountability for gifted students. This change would require a change in law. OAGC will continue to monitor any potential changes to the report card including HB591 (Duffey), which did not pass out of the House Education and Career Options Committee before the summer break.