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For the second year in a row, the Oklahoma State Department of Education is throwing out all 97,000 fifth- and eighth-graders’ writing test scores because of questions about the scoring. A report by the State Department of Education found that Oklahoma school districts with large populations of minority or poor students tend to have the least experienced teachers. You can read the full report here.
OK Policy released the FY 2016 Budget Highlights, which include a bullet point summary of the state budget, six charts illustrating different aspects of the budget, and a table showing appropriations for every state agency going back to 2009. Damage from severe storms that dropped historic levels of rainfall across Oklahoma could reach $200 million.
State lawmakers were surprised by news that Sen. Rick Brinkley, R-Owasso, is being investigated for embezzling, and they said he has been expected to succeed Sen. Brian Bingman as leader of the Senate. An audit found that an employee of the private contractor managing Oklahoma City’s downtown parking stole nearly $420,000 from the city’s parking receipts.
Two MAPS 3 projects hit milestones Tuesday as the city council locked in a route for the downtown modern streetcar and authorized staff to seek construction bids for the first senior health and wellness center. Tulsa County Commissioner Karen Keith said she has spoken to Sheriff Stanley Glanz about whether he should resign, while the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is looking into allegations of misconduct in the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office.
The Number of the Day is 17.5% – thepercentage of Oklahoma teachers categorized as “unqualified” because they do not have a standard teaching certification. In today’s Policy Note, The Marshall Project reports on how conservative Republicans led the way in repealing Nebraska’s death penalty.
In The News
Writing tests won’t count on schools’ A-F report cards for second year
For the second year in a row, the Oklahoma State Department of Education is throwing out all 97,000 fifth- and eighth-graders’ writing test scores from the calculation of A-F report cards for individual public schools. In 2013-14, the state switched to passage-based writing tests from those with open-ended writing prompts. Questions about scoring have persisted.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Report: Oklahoma school districts with low-income or minority students have the least experienced teachers
Oklahoma City, Tulsa and the surrounding metros have some of the most inexperienced public school teachers in the state, according to a report submitted to the U.S. Department of Education Monday. The report, written by the Oklahoma State Department of Education, found that districts with large populations of minority or poor students tend to have the least experienced teachers.
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
See the full report from the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
FY 2016 Budget Highlights
OK Policy’s annual Budget Highlights issue brief is one of the most informative and accessible ways to track Oklahoma’s public spending. Today we’ve released the FY 2016 Budget Highlights, which include a bullet point summary of the state budget, six charts illustrating different aspects of the budget, and a table showing appropriations for every state agency going back to 2009.
Read more from Oklahoma Policy Institute.
Oklahoma storm damage may reach $200 million
Damage from severe storms that dropped historic levels of rainfall and spawned tornadoes and flooding across Oklahoma could reach $200 million, the state’s emergency management director said Tuesday. Albert Ashwood, director of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, said damage assessments are underway following storms that crisscrossed the state in May — the wettest month on record, according to the Oklahoma Climatological Survey.
Investigation of Rick Brinkley, rising star in Oklahoma Senate, catches colleagues by surprise
Some state lawmakers were surprised Tuesday by news that a Tulsa-area state senator is being investigated on embezzlement allegations. Officials confirmed that the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is looking into the financial dealings of Sen. Rick Brinkley, R-Owasso, while he was chief operations officer of the Better Business Bureau of Eastern Oklahoma. Brinkley is well-liked among his colleagues. Some viewed him as possibly the next leader of the Oklahoma Senate.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Audit finds nearly $420,000 missing from Oklahoma City parking fees
A Republic Parking System employee stole nearly $420,000 between 2012 and 2014 from city of Oklahoma City parking receipts, according to an audit. The employee, who was not identified, stole nearly $284,000 in 2014 alone, the 21-page audit report says. Covering the 2013-14 fiscal year, the audit documents numerous failures by Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority (COTPA) and city Public Transportation and Parking Department managers who were responsible for contract oversight.
Oklahoma City MAPS 3 streetcar, senior center advance
Two MAPS 3 projects hit milestones Tuesday as the city council locked in a route for the downtown modern streetcar and authorized staff to seek construction bids for the first senior health and wellness center. The council directed consultants to begin the next phase of designing the 4.6-mile streetcar “mainline,” expected to cost $58.3 million to construct.
Tulsa County official talks resignation with sheriff
Tulsa County Commissioner Karen Keith told The Frontier she has spoken to Sheriff Stanley Glanz about whether he should resign. Keith declined to provide specifics of the conversation, but when asked whether she believes the long-time sheriff should step down due to the controversy surrounding his office, Keith said: “My preference would be for him to come to that realization on his own.” On Monday, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced it was officially looking into allegations of misconduct in the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office.
Quote of the Day
“It is very complicated to score. We are able to look at samples and in one example, a student scored advanced with only three or four words in a sentence and very choppy, simple writing, versus a student who was scored unsatisfactory but used complex sentences and great vocabulary words in well-written answers. For that reason, we can’t release those results to students and parents.”
-Broken Arrow Assistant Superintendent Janet Dunlop, speaking about why Oklahoma will for the second year in a row throw out the results of writing tests taken by 97,000 fifth- and eighth-graders (Source)
Number of the Day
17.5%
Percentage of Oklahoma teachers categorized as “unqualified” because they do not have a standard teaching certification.
Source: Oklahoma State Department of Education
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
How Nebraska Repealed the Death Penalty
On Wednesday, Nebraska senators voted 30-19 to override a gubernatorial veto and end the death penalty. Nebraska’s Senate maintains a uniquely non-partisan structure, but each senator’s party affiliation is well known – and it was Republicans who took the lead in voting for the bill. So how did deep-red Nebraska become a leading indicator of the death penalty’s demise?
Read more from The Marshall Project.
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