Accountability & Testing

Displaying 391-420 of 503 results
Event
12.6.2018
Accountability & Testing, Advanced Education

Education 20/20: Ian Rowe and Michael Barone

The Education 20/20 speaker series resumes on December 11th with another all-star double-header. Ian Rowe will lead off by arguing for the inclusion of family structure in measures of student achievement. Then Michael Barone will explore the educational travails—past, present, and future—of gifted students and what might be done to ease the pain.

Report
11.29.2018
Accountability & Testing, ESSA, Curriculum & Instruction, Standards

Gotta Give 'Em Credit: State and District Variation in Credit Recovery Participation Rates

Adam Tyner, Ph.D., Nicholas Munyan-Penney

Credit recovery, or the practice of enabling high school students to retrieve credits from courses that they either failed or failed to complete, is at the crossroads of two big trends in education: the desire to move toward “competency based” education and a push to dramatically boost graduation rates.

Event
11.8.2018
Accountability & Testing

Inflated Grades: What Happens When Report Cards Lie

Join the Thomas B. Fordham Institute on November 8, as we present the findings of Fordham’s latest study, Grade Inflation in North Carolina’s High Schools, and a panel of experts discusses the causes and consequences of inflated grades and possible policy solutions

Report
9.19.2018
Accountability & Testing

Grade Inflation in High Schools (2005–2016)

Although the vast majority of American parents believe their child is performing at or above grade level, in reality two-thirds of U.S. teenagers are ill-prepared for college when they leave high school.

Commentary
7.9.2018
Accountability & Testing

More (yes, more) on Akron's graduation rate

Chad L. Aldis

Over the past two years, Fordham has been an outspoken critic of some of the efforts to modify Ohio’s graduation requirements. It’s not that we think the current graduation requirements are perfect. Heck, we’ve even offered a variety of ideas to modify the current framework.

Podcast
5.9.2018
Accountability & Testing

Racial disparities in special education identification: The conventional wisdom is all wrong

On this week's podcast, Paul Morgan, Professor of Education and Demography at Penn State University, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss the evidence on racial disparities in special education identification and services. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the effect of online versus paper tests on student achievement.

Podcast
5.2.2018
Accountability & Testing

Most parents still live in Lake Wobegon

On this week's podcast, Bibb Hubbard, founder and president of Learning Heroes, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss better ways to communicate students’ academic progress (or lack thereof) to parents. On the Research Minute, David Griffith examines the recent AEI study that questioned the relationship between test scores and long-term outcomes.

Podcast
4.25.2018
Accountability & Testing

O-H-I-No?

On this week's podcast, Paolo DeMaria, Ohio's State Superintendent of Public Instruction, joins Mike Petrilli and Brandon Wright to discuss the state’s new strategic plan for education, which Fordham’s gadflies find disappointing. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the access, perseverance, and outcomes of first-generation college students.

Commentary
4.16.2018
Accountability & Testing

When it comes to graduation requirements, mastery matters

Jessica Poiner

A recent paper from the left-leaning Center for American Progress (CAP) examined high school graduation requirements across the nation to determine whether they were aligned with requirements for each state’s public university system.

Podcast
4.11.2018
Accountability & Testing

Is America still a nation at risk?

On this week's podcast, Bruno Manno, Senior Advisor to the Walton Family Foundation’s K–12 Education Reform Initiative and a Trustee Emeritus at Fordham, joins Mike Petrilli and Checker Finn to discuss this week’s NAEP results in the context of the thirty-fifth anniversary of A Nation at Risk. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how accountability metrics related to student subgroups affect teacher turnover and attrition.

Podcast
4.4.2018
Accountability & Testing

America’s “lost decade” of academic achievement

On this week’s podcast, Hanna Skandera, former New Mexico education chief, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss next week’s NAEP score release and why we’ve seen so little progress in recent years. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how NCTQ’s ratings affect teacher education programs.

Commentary
2.12.2018
Accountability & Testing

Ohio could take a cue from Indiana on diplomas

Jessica Poiner

Ohio’s State Board of Education recently voted in favor of recommending that the legislature extend softer graduation requirements to the classes of 2019 and 2020.

Commentary
2.2.2018
Accountability & Testing

Five ideas for resolving Ohio’s debate over graduation requirements

Chad L. Aldis

Malcolm X once said, “Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.” Wise words. Education has long been the source of opportunity, a passport if you will, for Americans to pursue a better life. But education isn’t a passive activity; it’s earned through hard work, preparation, attainment.

Back to the basics report cover image crop
Commentary
12.7.2017
Accountability & Testing

A plan to simplify and balance Ohio’s school report cards

Aaron Churchill

Today, Fordham released a new report suggesting changes to Ohio’s school report cards to help parents and taxpayers get the best information about the performance of their schools and districts. This is the preface to that report.

Back to the basics report cover image crop
Report
11.14.2017
Accountability & Testing, ESSA, Governance

Rating the Ratings: An Analysis of the 51 ESSA Accountability Plans

Brandon L. Wright, Michael J. Petrilli

The Every Student Succeeds Act grants states more authority over their accountability systems than did No Child Left Behind, but have they seized the opportunity to develop school ratings that are clearer and fairer than those in the past?

Commentary
9.25.2017
Accountability & Testing

Fordham is your one-stop shop for state report card data and analysis

Ohio Education Gadfly

You have no doubt seen numerous media stories regarding the recent release of school report card data in Ohio. As supporters of a robust accountability system, we urge you to pay attention to the stories and the ongoing discussion. The success of our public schools (charter and district) in doing the vital work with which they are entrusted must be assessed, reported, and analyzed.

Report
9.20.2017
Accountability & Testing, Charter Schools, Teachers & School Leaders

Teacher Absenteeism in Charter and Traditional Public Schools

David Griffith, Ph.D.

Research confirms what common sense dictates: Students learn less when their teachers aren’t there. According to multiple studies, a ten-day increase in teacher absence results in at least ten fewer days of learning for students.

Commentary
9.11.2017
Accountability & Testing

Three things to look for when Ohio releases school report cards this week

Aaron Churchill

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.

Commentary
8.25.2017
Accountability & Testing

Superintendent DeMaria and the “kids who don’t care”

Jessica Poiner

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

Commentary
8.21.2017
Accountability & Testing

Why all high school diplomas are not created equal

Jeff Murray

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.

Report
7.27.2017
Accountability & Testing, ESSA

Rating the Ratings: Analyzing the First 17 ESSA Accountability Plans

Brandon L. Wright, Michael J. Petrilli

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) grants states more authority over their school accountability systems than did No Child Left Behind (NCLB)—meaning that states now have a greater opportunity to design improved school ratings. Rating the Ratings: Analyzing the First 17 ESSA Accountability Plans examines whether states are making the most of the moment.

Commentary
6.13.2017
Accountability & Testing

Beware of fake policy solutions

Jamie Davies O'Leary

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.