COLUMBUS—State Representative Margaret Ann Ruhl of Mount Vernon applauded today’s Ohio House passage of House Bill 7, legislation that provides academic protections for students taking new state assessments during the 2014-15 school year. New assessments in mathematics and English language arts are supplied by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC).
House Bill 7 prohibits schools from using test scores from state assessments when determining a student’s advancement to the next grade level and granting of course credit. The bill also states that schools are not permitted to share individual student test scores to outside sources without consent from either the student or his or her parents.
“I am proud to support House Bill 7, which allows the schools time to review the tests and keep them private,” Ruhl said. “Last year, the 130th General Assembly passed legislation providing teachers with a “safe harbor” from being evaluated based on their students’ test results for the 2014-15 school year. House Bill 7 will extend this “safe harbor” to the students for the same amount of time, though it has no effect on the Third Grade Reading Guarantee requirements. I believe this bill will alleviate some of the pressure the PARCC tests may cause our students, as they can now take them knowing their results will not be shared, nor will they determine their status for the upcoming school year.”
The bill passed unanimously out of both the House Education Committee and on the House floor. It will now go to the Ohio Senate for further consideration.
