News Staff
JAMES M. COX PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD
Dayton Daily News

view full image

There was a time in early 2000 when proficiency tests enjoyed the unqualified blessings of Ohio's governor and legislature.

The political mood changed, however, after the Dayton Daily News began publishing its series "Educating our Children" in March of that year. In its articles, the Daily News exposed widespread problems with the proficiency tests, and a growing public outrage over them.

By December, the situation had turned around completely and a commission hand-picked by the governor recommended an overhaul of the testing program.

At this writing in April 2001, various reforms are "going through the legislative process, with the Governor's Student Success Commission recommending a host of changes," said Ray Marcano, Regional Editor of the Daily News.

In part one of the Daily News series in March 2000, Reporters Mark Fisher and Scott Elliott exposed problems with scoring accuracy in the tests.

At a North Carolina company, the reporters found temporary workers — mostly retirees and moonlighters — sitting elbow to elbow behind a strip mall forefront. Each worker was grading 28 essays an hour and deciding whether Ohio students would graduate from high school.

In part two, the Daily News showed how students in poor school districts are cheated by the state's system.

In part three, Elliott and Fisher found Dayton had grown into the state's hottest laboratory for publicly funded, privately managed schools that were legalized in Ohio in 1997.

The commission appointed by the governor requested 100 copies of the reprint of the Daily News articles. Raymond Fitz, president of the University of Dayton and a key member, said the Daily News' series was "very helpful" in guiding the commission's recommendations.