Oklahoma takes a step back for education’s future
The July 2024 change in cut scores for state tests of English and math involves complicated statistical analyses into which few would delve. For Oklahoma Secretary of Education Nellie Tayloe Sanders, however, it is personal.
At the May 21 meeting of the state’s Commission on Educational Quality and Accountability, Sanders shared a message from an older friend. The friend, knowing Sanders has dyslexia, urged her saying she is particularly suited to help all Oklahoma children who struggle with learning.
"Oklahoma has struggled with reading for a hundred years,” yet it is "the access children have to learning," Sanders said. Sanders is a parent of two children who also struggle with reading, at a time when the Commission she leads is grappling with a process "complicated by politicians, politics, attorneys and bureaucracy."
Sanders encouraged members to "ask the hard questions and tell the truth about what has happened" when performance levels on the Oklahoma School Testing Program (OSTP) assessments were set for 2024. “Since we haven't gotten it right in 100 years,” she said, this is an opportunity for the CEQA to “align outcomes to expectations” so parents and other stakeholders have sound data upon which to make decisions.
Read the full report here or access the original on LinkedIn.
