The database might not be operational until the state creates a system to collect the needed data, which could take two years. But Battelle for Kids plans to launch an advertising campaign this weekend, generally supporting the state commission's recommendations for standards-based reform, annual proficiency exams through eighth grade, and for holding schools accountable for the results. The business community, through our grant, is basically saying, 'Let's get behind this, let's get it in place, let's make it happen,' '' said Doug Olesen, president and chief executive officer of Battelle. . The Web-based database would track student performance so that the public can conduct its own research. The idea is to allow for better comparisons of schools by adjusting for such factors as students' family income, race and ability to speak English.
Similar databases are in use in Texas and other states.
The cornerstone of the accountability movement is proficiency testing, which has come under fire in Ohio from a grass-roots movement. Taft has turned to the Commission for Student Success in hopes that it can get the education-reform movement back on track by writing new standards for what students should know at certain grade levels. A diverse group of educators and citizens is at work on the standards in association with the Ohio Department of Education, the Board of Regents and the State Board of Education. Once they're complete, they will replace standards written in 1983. According to the plan, the state will be able to use the new standards to develop curriculums, teacher guides and new proficiency tests designed to measure what students learn.