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Ways In Which Oklahoma’s New Standards (OAS) Do Not Conform To CC Repeal Law

Save our standards without text

or Save Our Standards Part 2

After studying the Oklahoma Academic Standards (OAS) reviews posted on the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) website, I produced a document that listed the consistent issues brought up by reviewers over the course of the four draft standards documents produced by the OAS writing teams.

There were 13 separate standards reviewers outside the OSDE that contributed reviews posted to the OSDE website.**  These are as follows:

1st Draft

Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education Standards Review

ROPE

2nd Draft

Southern Regional Education Board (SREB)

South Central Comprehensive Center (SC3)

Partnership for 21st Century (P21)

Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO)

Center for Standards and Assessment Implementation Review (WestEd)

Dr. Larry Gray

3rd Draft

Oklahoma Technical Advisory Committee (OK TAC)

Oklahoma Educated Workforce Initiative (OEWI)  (State Chamber provided)

College & Career Readiness & Success Center (CCRS)

Dr. Sandra Stotsky

Dr. Christopher Yakes (no resume provided)

4th Draft

Dr. Christopher Yakes

Ms. Shellie Klein (no resume provided)

Oklahoma Educated Workforce Initiative (OEWI)

 

The issues/concerns consistently addressed over the course of the four drafts were as follows:

ELA:

  • Vague; uses imprecise terminology
  • Not measurable or precise; not easily testable
  • Needs more work on glossary of terms
  • Needs examples of literary texts at each grade level
  • Needs reading/writing lists of Oklahoma authors
  • Needs reading material from the founding documents
  • Needs student exemplar writing samples

Math:

  • Too much overlap of standards across grades; lack of focus on alignment
  • Needs specific examples of problems
  • Need much more work on glossary of terms
  • Needs resources for teachers to utilize

 

Here, I’m going to try and point to some ways in which these critiques could add up to ways in which the new OAS do not satisfy the Oklahoma Common Core Repeal Bill HB3399.

 

 

Section 2; Section 11-103.6 A. (pg 7)

         6. The subject matter standards for English Language Arts shall give Classic Literature and nonfiction literature equal consideration to other literature. In addition, emphasis shall be given to the study of complete works of literature.

         7. At a minimum, the subject matter standards for mathematics shall require mastery of thee standard alogrithms in mathematics, which is the most logical, efficient way of solving a problem that consistently works, and for students to attain fluency in Euclidian geometry.

6. The new OAS violate number 6 simply because there are no text exemplars provided in the new standards documents so there is no way to know whether or not students are being exposed equally to fiction and non-fiction, or classical literature. Clearly, this section was added to prevent Common Core’s addiction to non-fictional (technical) texts from being overused on Oklahoma students. Clearly the legislature had an investment in this ideal enough to prescribe this specifically in law. Therefore, the OAS should provide text exemplars.

7. I scanned the Mathematics standards and pulled out the following specific standards
1.N.2.1 Represent and solve real-world and mathematical problems using addition and subtraction up to ten. 3.N.2.8 Use strategies and algorithms based on knowledge of place value, equality and properties of addition and multiplication to multiply a two-digit number by a one-digit number.4.N.1.3 Multiply 3-digit by 1-digit or a 2-digit by 2-digit whole numbers, using efficient and generalizable procedures and strategies, based on knowledge of place value, including but not limited to standard algorithms.

No specific examples were given in the glossary, or within the standards themselves, describing any manner of method for instructing students in the standard. What are the standard algorithms in these cases? There are standards algorithms, yet the OAS does not prescribe them or provide examples of them as does this example found on HelpingWithMath.com.

SECTION 3; Section 11-103.6a
G.1. (pg 20)

  • a. effective preparation for active citizenship and postsecondary education or the workforce,
  • e. clarity for educators and parents,
  • f. exemplars tied to the standards,
  • g. measurability of student proficiency in the subject matter,

Letter a.

Dr. Stotsky, in her final review says, (pg 3, #7)

Nowhere does one find the only clear content that was in Common Core’s High School ELA Standards. Its standards required study of this country’s founding and seminal documents.

Letter e.

Unfortunately, nearly every review read marked the OAS as ‘vague’ in some manner or form, from the first draft through the fourth. Obviously, standards considered ‘vague’ cannot provide clarity for educators or parents

Letter f.

Reviewers from the first OAS draft through the fourth complained of the lack of exemplars tied to the standards.

Letter g.

Several individuals associated with the Oklahoma Technical Advisory Committee provided reviews of the third draft. Several quotes were pulled from these reviews for the post that includes my full review analysis. Unfortunately, many of the standards were deemed as ‘untestable’ or too expensive to assess

In fact, one of the reviewers from OK TAC said the following,

“Speaking and Listening will not be assessable in a standardized format. Be careful with that as peer review clearly calls for all standards to be assessed.” Marianne Perie Director, Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation (pg 3)

SECTION 3; Section 11-103.6a
H. (pg 21)

All subject matter standards and corresponding statewide student assessments adopted by the State Board of Education shall be carefully circumscribed to reflect direct application to subject matter proficiency and shall not include standards or assessment questions that are designed to collect or measure noncognitive, emotional or psychological characteristics, attributes or skills of students. Standards that are ‘vague’ or ‘untestable’ cannot be either “carefully circumscribed” nor are they capable of being declared as not being “designed to collect or measure…”.

CONCLUSION:

This review and critique of the new Oklahoma Academic Standards stems from no other desire than for Oklahoma to create the very BEST academic standards possible. Certainly, as I’ve said before, Oklahoma has the opportunity – using advice and assistance from top two education standards creators in the nation, and other prominent reviewers – to create the best NON-COMMON CORE standards in the entire nation.

Oklahoma must avail ourselves of this ability and return the OAS to the OSDE where they can be revised. In fact, this is necessity if the new OAS are to comply with the full extent of HB3399.

 

 

**[I did not take into account reviews provided by the community, business leaders and others provided on the OSDE website OAS page because these comments were not often tied to specific standards but were more general comments about the standards as a whole. While I’m very happy there was so much input obtained by the OSDE on the standards drafts, and I certainly appreciate all the time laypeople took to look over the standards or attend OAS presentations, these were very hard to survey because of their generalities.]

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Oklahoma State Board of Education Approves Final Draft of New (Non-Common Core) Educational Standards

press release.jpg

Unfortunately, ROPE has a good deal of skepticism regarding the new Oklahoma Educational standards approved by the Board of Education today. Let me be clear here, the new standards were approved by the board just today, so none of us (at ROPE) would have had the opportunity to review them at this point.

It is important to note, however, that while the OSDE press release contained comments in support for the standards from many quarters, none of these were attributed to the experts that were invited by the Standards Steering Committee last February to consult on the standards writing process.

Though we would never be so dull as to suggest the organizations and individuals mentioned in the press release weren’t educational experts, were they standards writing experts? Where were comments from Dr. Larry Gray, Dr. Jane Scheilack, or Dr. Sandra Stotsky in the press release? These were standards writing experts called in to advise the Standard Steering Committee on the standards writing process.

In fact, after the third revision of the standards were released in October of 2015, Oklahoma Watch and ROPE posted a standards review by both Dr’s. Gray and Stotsky, and neither was terribly impressed. Mrs. Hofmeister has informed us that her office has sought comments from Dr. Stotsky and incorporated these in their standards revisions, but how do we know that? Pardon our skepticism here, but where are any public comments regarding the standards? Dr. Stotsky in her original presentation to the Standards Steering Committee suggested that all comments made regarding the standards be made publicly, ostensibly so changes to the documents could be seen by all Oklahomans. Clearly, Gray and Stotsky had specific concerns regarding the standards at that time. Had Oklahoma Watch and ROPE had not publicized their comments, who would have known their concerns? Legislators? The public?

Early on, ROPE complained to the State Department of Education concerning the lack of published public comment and were told that the standards documents were a work in progress and that allowing the public to see the ongoing process of developing the standards could hurt the reputation of the standards writers. Laypersons are not normally able to read and decipher the standards documents themselves. This is why standards experts were called on – to provide ‘expert’ advice – information the public could rely on.

We believe the only way the public can truly be certain that these standards satisfied the full measure of HB3399, passed by the legislature at the overwhelming request of the public, is to have the standards reviewed by the legislature via a public forum where comments from the standards writing experts and others can be heard. We do appreciate all the work of the standards writing committees and will be pleased to see the standards vetted in a public forum.

 

Jenni White

Education Director

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Full Text of Oklahoma’s Parents’ Bill of Rights

Parents with Child

Parents’ Bill of Rights

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:

SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2001 of Title 25, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:

A. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Parents’ Bill of Rights”.

B. This state, any political subdivision of this state or any other governmental entity shall not infringe on the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of their children without demonstrating that the compelling governmental interest as applied to the child involved is of the highest order, is narrowly tailored and is not otherwise served by a less restrictive means.

C. As used in the Parents’ Bill of Rights, “parent” means the natural or adoptive parent or legal guardian of a minor child.

SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2002 of Title 25, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:

A. All parental rights are reserved to a parent of a minor child without obstruction or interference from this state, any political subdivision of this state, any other governmental entity or any other institution, including, but not limited to, the following rights:

1. The right to direct the education of the minor child;

2. All rights of parents identified in Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes, including the right to access and review all school records relating to the minor child;

3. The right to direct the upbringing of the minor child;

4. The right to direct the moral or religious training of the minor child;

5. The right to make healthcare decisions for the minor child, unless otherwise prohibited by law;

6. The right to access and review all medical records of the minor child unless otherwise prohibited by law or the parent is the subject of an investigation of a crime committed against the minor child and a law enforcement official requests that the information not be released;

7. The right to consent in writing before a biometric scan of the minor child is made, shared or stored;

8. The right to consent in writing before any record of the minor child’s blood or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is created, stored or shared, except as required by Sections 1-516 and 1-524.1 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or unless authorized pursuant to a court order;

9. The right to consent in writing before the state or any of its political subdivisions makes a video or voice recording of the minor child, unless the video or voice recording is made during or as a part of a court proceeding, by law enforcement officers during or as part of a law enforcement investigation, during or as part of a forensic interview in a criminal or Department of Human Services investigation or to be used solely for any of the following:

a. safety demonstrations, including the maintenance of order and discipline in the common areas of a school or on student transportation vehicles,

b. a purpose related to a legitimate academic or extracurricular activity,

c. a purpose related to regular classroom instruction,

d. security or surveillance of buildings or grounds, and

e. a photo identification card; and

10. The right to be notified promptly if an employee of this state, any political subdivision of this state, any other governmental entity or any other institution suspects that a criminal offense has been committed against the minor child by someone other than a parent, unless the incident has first been reported to law enforcement and notification of the parent would impede a law enforcement or Department of Human Services investigation. This paragraph does not create any new obligation for school districts and charter schools to report misconduct between students at school, such as fighting or aggressive play, that is routinely addressed as a student disciplinary matter by the school.

B. This section does not authorize or allow a parent to engage in conduct that is unlawful or to abuse or neglect a child in violation of the laws of this state. This section shall not be construed to apply to a parental action or decision that would end life. This section does not prohibit courts, law enforcement officers or employees of a government agency responsible for child welfare from acting in their official capacity within the reasonable and prudent scope of their authority. This section does not prohibit a court from issuing an order that is otherwise permitted by law.

C. Any attempt to encourage or coerce a minor child to withhold information from the child’s parent shall be grounds for discipline of an employee of this state, any political subdivision of this state or any other governmental entity, except for law enforcement personnel.

D. Unless those rights have been legally waived or legally terminated, parents have inalienable rights that are more comprehensive than those listed in this section. The Parents’ Bill of Rights does not prescribe all rights of parents. Unless otherwise required by law, the rights of parents of minor children shall not be limited or denied. The Parents’ Bill of Rights shall not be construed to apply to a parental action or decision that would end life.

SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2003 of Title 25, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:

A. The board of education of a school district, in consultation with parents, teachers and administrators, shall develop and adopt a policy to promote the involvement of parents and guardians of children enrolled in the schools within the school district, including:

1. A plan for parent participation in the schools which is designed to improve parent and teacher cooperation in such areas as homework, attendance and discipline;

2. Procedures by which parents may learn about the course of study for their children and review learning materials, including the source of any supplemental educational materials;

3. Procedures by which parents who object to any learning material or activity on the basis that it is harmful may withdraw their children from the activity or from the class or program in which the material is used. Objection to a learning material or activity on the basis that it is harmful includes objection to a material or activity because it questions beliefs or practices in sex, morality or religion;

4. If a school district offers any sex education curricula pursuant to Section 11-105.1 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes or pursuant to any rules adopted by the State Board of Education, procedures to opt out of a school district from providing sex education instruction to a child if the child’s parent provides written objection to the child’s participation in the sex education curricula;

5. Procedures by which parents will be notified in advance of and given the opportunity to withdraw their children from any instruction or presentations regarding sexuality in courses other than formal sex education curricula pursuant to Section 11-105.1 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes;

6. Procedures by which parents may learn about the nature and purpose of clubs and activities that are part of the school curriculum, as well as extracurricular clubs and activities that have been approved by the school; and

7. Procedures by which parents may learn about parental rights and responsibilities under the laws of this state, including the following:

a. the right to opt out of a sex education curriculum if one is provided by the school district,

b. open enrollment rights,

c. the right to opt out of assignments pursuant to this section,

d. the right to be exempt from the immunization laws of the state pursuant to Section 1210.192 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes,

e. the promotion requirements prescribed in Section 1210.508E of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes,

f. the minimum course of study and competency requirements for graduation from high school prescribed in Section 11-103.6 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes,

g. the right to opt out of instruction on the acquired immune deficiency syndrome pursuant to Section 11-103.3 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes,

h. the right to review test results,

i. the right to participate in gifted programs pursuant to Sections 1210.301 through 1210.308 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes,

j. the right to inspect instructional materials used in connection with any research or experimentation program or project pursuant to Section 11-106 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes,

k. the right to receive a school report card,

l. the attendance requirements prescribed in Section 10-106 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes,

m. the right to public review of courses of study and textbooks,

n. the right to be excused from school attendance for religious purposes,

o. policies related to parental involvement pursuant to this section,

p. the right to participate in parent-teacher associations and organizations that are sanctioned by the board of education of a school district, and

q. the right to opt out of any data collection instrument at the district level that would capture data for inclusion in the state longitudinal student data system except what is necessary and essential for establishing a student’s public school record.

B. The board of education of a school district may adopt a policy to provide to parents the information required by this section in an electronic form.

C. A parent shall submit a written request for information pursuant to this section during regular business hours to either the school principal at the school site or the superintendent of the school district at the office of the school district. Within ten (10) days of receiving the request for information, the school principal or the superintendent of the school district shall either deliver the requested information to the parent or submit to the parent a written explanation of the reasons for the denial of the requested information. If the request for information is denied or the parent does not receive the requested information within fifteen (15) days after submitting the request for information, the parent may submit a written request for the information to the board of education of a school district, which shall formally consider the request at the next scheduled public meeting of the board if the request can be properly noticed on the agenda. If the request cannot be properly noticed on the agenda, the board of education of a school district shall formally consider the request at the next subsequent public meeting of the board.

SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2004 of Title 25, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:

A. Except as otherwise provided by law, no person, corporation, association, organization, state-supported institution, or individual employed by any of these entities may procure, solicit to perform, arrange for the performance of, perform surgical procedures, or perform a physical examination upon a minor or prescribe any prescription drugs to a minor without first obtaining a written consent of a parent or legal guardian of the minor.

B. No hospital as defined in Section 1-701 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes may permit surgical procedures to be performed upon a minor in its facilities without first having received a written consent from a parent or legal guardian of the minor.

C. The provisions of this section shall not apply when it has been determined by a physician that an emergency exists and that it is necessary to perform such surgical procedures for the treatment of an injury or drug abuse, or to save the life of the patient, or when such parent or legal guardian cannot be located or contacted after a reasonably diligent effort.

D. The provisions of this section shall not apply to an abortion, which shall be governed by the provisions of Sections 1-740 through 1-740.6 and Sections 1-744 through 1-744.6 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes or any successor statute.

E. A person who violates a provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or imprisonment of not more than one (1) year in the county jail, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

SECTION 5. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2005 of Title 25, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:

A. Except as otherwise provided by law or a court order, no person, corporation, association, organization or state-supported institution, or any individual employed by any of these entities, may procure, solicit to perform, arrange for the performance of or perform mental health evaluation in a clinical or nonclinical setting or mental health treatment on a minor without first obtaining the written or oral consent of a parent or a legal guardian of the minor child. If the parental consent is given through telemedicine, the health professional must verify the identity of the parent at the site where the consent is given.

B. This section does not apply when an emergency exists that requires a person to perform mental health screening or provide mental health treatment to prevent serious injury to or save the life of a minor child.

C. A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or imprisonment of not more than one (1) year in the county jail, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

SECTION 6. This act shall become effective November 1, 2014.

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