Watch out for unfair comparisons between charter and district schools
As Ohio’s annual report cards are released this week, Fordham is gearing up to dive into the data and explore what it means about K-12 public education in the Buckeye State.
As Ohio’s annual report cards are released this week, Fordham is gearing up to dive into the data and explore what it means about K-12 public education in the Buckeye State.
The Ohio Department of Education is expected to release report cards for the 2016-17 school year by the end of this week. Like an annual checkup with a physician, these report cards offer valuable information on the academic health of Buckeye schools and students.
As part of the most recent state budget, Ohio lawmakers created alternative graduation pathways for the class of 2018 in response to widespread fears on the part of district administrator
Confronted with the paradox of a simultaneous rise in high school graduation and college remediation rates, researchers from The Alliance for Excellent Education examined diploma pathways across the country for evidence as to how well they match college or career expectations.
This blog originally appeared as an editorial in today’s edition of the Columbus Dispatch.
When I was growing up, “fake news” was the black-and-white photograph of the infamous bat child. Staring back at me in the supermarket check-out line, it was easy to spot—the line demarcating fiction from reality was as recognizable as the red and yellow tabloid headlines.
In its version of the state budget bill, the Ohio House included language that would place more weight on student growth measures when calculating charter sponsor ratings.
Note: This blog originally appeared in a slightly different form as a guest commentary in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.
By Tom Gunlock
On this week's podcast, Checker Finn, Alyssa Schwenk, and Brandon Wright discuss the ongoing debate about whether school accountability is best done via the parent marketplace or state assessments. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines whether struggling students are more likely to leave charter schools than traditional public schools.
NOTE: The Thomas B. Fordham Institute occasionally publishes guest commentaries on its blogs. The views expressed by guest authors do not necessarily reflect those of Fordham.
On this week’s podcast, Checker Finn, Robert Pondiscio, and Alyssa Schwenk discuss America’s performance on two recent international assessments, TIMSS and PISA. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines a U.S. Department of Education guide on how to teach writing.
On this week’s podcast, Mike Petrilli, Alyssa Schwenk, and Robert Pondiscio discuss states’ neglect of high achievers and how ESSA might prompt them to do better. During the research minute, Amber Northern reports on the good news about narrowing socioeconomic gaps in kindergarten readiness.
On this week’s podcast, Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk refute the idea that CTE is at odds with college, critique draft ESSA regulations’ neglect of high-achievers, and discuss a New York City lawsuit alleging the city’s schools are unsafe. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern explains charter high schools’ effects on long-term attainment and earnings.
Petrilli and Pondiscio discuss the fallen NAEP scores, debate the meaning of Obama’s pledge to reduce testing, and ponder school dress codes. Amber takes a look at NAEP’s alignment with Common Core math.
Test refusals may force reformers to rethink their priorities. Robert Pondiscio
The era of judging New York City Schools on academics is over. Robert Pondiscio
The testing “opt-out” movement is testing education reform’s humility.
Promising early signs that the standards are working. Jane Song
Parents should use the threat of test refusal to demand a well-rounded education for their kids.
What is the critical mass of opt-outs and to what might it lead?
Arne Duncan was half right about those “white suburban moms.” Robert Pondiscio
An open letter to the candidates. Tim Shanahan
It takes more than a "gut feeling" to know how a school is doing
When we talk about high standards, accountability, and school choice, one essential element is often overlooked: giving parents and education leaders information they can actually use. It’s one thing to produce data, but quite another to make it useful—easily understood, comparable, and actionable.
A few weeks ago, I used a graphic to show the four dimensions of federal accountability, each of which has a range of options. I then used this graphic to show the consensus for preserving NCLB testing.
A couple weeks ago, I created a graphic to help explain the contours of the debate about federal accountability in the ESEA reauthorization process.