'Rigged' charter school ratings need immediate fix, charter critics and backers say
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Key critics and supporters of charter schools called today for an immediate change to Ohio's main charter improvement effort so that online and dropout recovery schools are included in the fixes.
The Plain Dealer reported Sunday that those two controversial sectors of Ohio's $1 billion charter industry were excluded from calculations of the performance of the agencies overseeing charters this year, even though the schools serve thousands of students and receive millions in state tax dollars.
Rating those oversight agencies, known as sponsors or authorizers, is the centerpiece of the state's indirect plan to improve charter schools that teach kids less than traditional districts across the state.
And that omission by the Ohio Department of Education, never announced formally, caught legislators and charter advocates by surprise. Without the low grades of these schools counted in sponsor ratings, sponsors have higher ratings that could allow them to gain benefits and avoid penalties.
Innovation Ohio, a left-leaning advocacy group that has been a sharp critic of charter schools for years, this afternoon called for the state to fix this "flawed" plan when it votes on charter school reform legislation now under consideration.
Stephen Dyer, the group's education policy fellow, said not counting online and dropout schools represents a "carve out" for charter companies that donate to Republican candidates in Ohio while making money from online schools.
If online and dropout recovery schools aren't included in those reviews, he said, it gives sponsors a free pass from not making the schools improve.
"This sponsor-rigging practice at ODE represents a severe setback for the broad-based effort to reform Ohio's nationally ridiculed charter school system," said Dyer, a former state representative and consistent critic of charter school policy on his blog. "This is outrageous and the legislature must fix this flawed evaluation process and work to pass real charter reform before they adjourn for the summer."
Chad Aldis, vice president of Ohio policy and advocacy of the Fordham Institute, an group that is pro-charter but which has campaigned for stronger standards, agreed that online and dropout recovery schools should be included in the program.
Fordham has backed using review of charter oversight agencies, known as sponsors or authorizers, to put pressure on schools to improve. But he said those reviews need to be complete, not leave out some of the state's largest schools.
"I think its critical as we focus on sponsor quality that we have an accurate measure of sponsor portfolios," Aldis said.
Aldis said he understands that there are concerns about accuracy of test scores for online schools that need to be resolved. And he understands that the state won't have 'Rigged' charter school ratings need immediate fix, charter critics and backers say | cleveland.com:
