So I bet you never stopped to consider the effects of teacher-evaluation reform on county fairs. I can鈥檛 say that we have, either, but apparently this has become a not insignificant matter in the town of Cardington, Ohio.
Starting next school year, teachers in Ohio will be evaluated, in part, on the basis of their students鈥� performance on state assessments, as measured via a value-added formula. In order to have more time to prepare their students for the tests鈥攁nd, it sounds like, to do some benchmark assessing鈥攖eachers and administrators in the Cardington-Lincoln school district have . But there鈥檚 a hitch: The earlier start date would mean that schools would be in session during the county鈥檚 fair week.
That potential scheduling conflict sparked what sounds like some . While the district superintendent insisted that teachers need the extra time to work with students, other attendees questioned the value of still more testing in schools. More pointedly, they stressed the importance of the fair to the area鈥檚 civic life and, not least, to children鈥檚 overall development.
鈥淚 was a 4-H member and we鈥檙e talking about students who are good students in this school district and are good students because of their 4-H background and their participation at the county level,鈥� one board member said. 鈥淲e have discipline problems in our county because we don鈥檛 have enough kids participating in activities like 4-H and learning to make the best better.鈥�
Alternative solutions floated at the meeting include changing the fair date or starting school before the fair but taking the week of the fair off. In the end, however, the board decided to leave the whole difficult matter unresolved, agreeing to take it up again next month.
In the meantime, file this one under things policymakers definitely don鈥檛 consider when crafting school-improvement laws.