Mansfield Senior High science teacher Brad Kentosh watches as student teacher Patrick O’Connell of Capitol University prepares a lesson plan in Kentosh’s classroom.
Don’t get Brad Kentosh wrong: He isn’t opposed to academic standards.
But the veteran Mansfield Senior High School educator – the only classroom teacher on Ohio’s Science Academic Content Standards Review Committee -- has serious concerns about how the new standards are implemented and measured.
After the first of what will be several committee meetings through November, Kentosh already feels like the proverbial voice crying in the wilderness.
“I think standards are good. We need standards. But one size does not fit all. What works in an affluent suburb like Upper Arlington won’t work in Mansfield,” he said. “How these standards are implemented could be very damaging to our community.”
Kentosh does not hide his opposition to Common Core and the resulting PARCC testing. He has taught science for 34 years, the last 22 in Mansfield where he is chair of the Senior High science department. He was appointed to the seven-member statewide standards committee by William Batchelder, Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives. Similar review committees are evaluating new academic standards in English language arts, math and social studies.
In a letter to Kentosh after his appointment, Dr. Richard A. Ross, state superintendent of public instruction, said the role of the committee will be “to ensure that the standards are clear, concise and appropriate for each grade level … ensure that the standards promote higher student performance, learning, subject matter comprehension and improved student achievement … and promote college and career readiness …”
For Kentosh, a key sentence in Ross’s letter was the directive that the committee is expected to determine whether subject area assessments meet the academic standards adopted under the law and “community expectations.”
“What exactly is the definition of ‘community expectations’? The key word is community. What’s best for our community is the goal from my standpoint,” said Kentosh. “These standards are unfair when applied across the board. They will cause confusion and frustration in the community. Using resulting test scores for teacher evaluations is highly discriminatory. It will drive many good teachers from Mansfield City Schools.
“I am not advocating lower standards but for us to get to those standards takes longer than many other districts. There has to be tolerance,” he said, resting an elbow on the 2-inch-thick binder of material provided to each committee member.
“And it concerns me too that focus on standards is at the expense of content. We cannot forsake content needed to get into college.
“I am in no way lowering my expectations for our students; I have always maintained high academic rigor in my classrooms and I will continue to do so. But socio-economic issues impact learning. The poverty rate in Mansfield City Schools, as measured by the number of free or reduced-price lunches, is 84 percent. I’ll bet it’s in the single digits in affluent suburbs of Columbus.”
Kentosh recalled the “model lesson plan curriculum” outlined at the committee’s first meeting.
“It was based on only 12 students in the classroom and each student had a laptop. Other equipment in the classroom was phenomenal,” he said. “I started the year with more than 30 students in a biology class. I have 27 now, but that’s more than twice the number in the model and we don’t have laptops.”
Kentosh’s professional influence extends beyond his teaching. His family includes a dermatologist serving in the U.S. Navy and an elementary school teacher.
“I’m glad to have a role on the standards review committee. As I said, I support the need for standards,” he said. “But I don’t believe these standards, the resulting testing and the impact on teacher evaluations have taken ‘community’ into consideration. That will be my focus: What is best for the Mansfield community.”