NOTE: We’re back with a catch up edition covering clips from 12/23 – 12/31/20. Hope you missed me! Wednesday’s edition will catch us up with clips from 2021 so far. Fingers crossed for sanity! 

1. Lots of stuff “left hanging” at the end of 2020 if Ohio media outlets are to be believed. Case in point: Standardized testing for this school year. Fordham’s Chad Aldis is among the voices quoted here, noting that since we don’t yet know that testing will have to be cancelled due to pandemic considerations it would have been precipitate to have done so too early. Seems like the simple message should be, “Until they hear otherwise, schools should conduct their business as if testing will happen as usual.” What could be the harm in doing the job they are supposed to be doing anyway in the meanwhile? (Dayton Daily News, 12/29/20)
    
2. Turning to the topic of money, Springfield Local Schools finally got moving on spending cuts—as the year ran out—in order to dig themselves out of fiscal caution status and state fiscal oversight arising therefrom. They are doing so by reducing the number of janitors on staff (or whatever), but the point I wanted to emphasize is one that we have noted many times here: It’s never about new money from the state’s perspective when fiscal oversight is in force. It’s about spending control. “We are basically on budget,” said the district treasurer. That was his way of explaining the reduction-in-force plan, but I’m not sure if that counts as over- or understatement on his part. (The Suburbanite, 12/30/20)
   
   

3. Speaking of money and things “left hanging”… Lots of kvetching by folks about the non-passage of a school funding bill in lame duck. Including this guy, whose name, message, and 25-year-old photos should be mighty familiar to you by now. (Columbus Dispatch, 12/24/20) But here also are a couple of newbs to the discussion – both sporty people and both former (!) Ohio residents – one of whom likely doesn’t live or even pay taxes in the U.S. these days. Oddly enough, their opinion on our school funding system is exactly the same as that other dude. (Cleveland.com, 12/27/20)
    
4. As 2020 ended, the reopening of schools post-holiday was another of those open questions. Specifically, when would it happen and in what form(s)? Opinions differed. (Cleveland.com, 12/23/20) Lots of folks seemed to favor a later-in-January opening regardless of form. However, a change in school quarantine rules announced by the governor on New Year’s Eve seemed to indicate a change of his mind on that topic from just the week previous. (10TV News, Columbus, 12/31/20)
    
5. What the new year will look like in terms of school – in both the near term and the far – is also up in the air. But I do have some catchy taglines evidence that might guide our predictifying on this topic. First up, Richmond Heights Local Schools got a grant just as the year was ending which was going to be used to support next year’s “Hope Squad to Learning Pod” initiative. That lilting title is defined as “an adaptive response to the changes in traditional learning measures brought on by the pandemic” but the description sounds like kids sitting in classrooms doing online school while supervised by non-teaching staff. (Cleveland.com, 12/24/20) A little further south, Cloverleaf Local School District is planning to implement what is termed “in-person remote learning”. Just like the previous plan we looked at, I personally would call it “school without teachers”. (Medina Gazette, 12/31/20) Akron City Schools calls their plan “Remote Plus”, which we have discussed before. It is an effort to bring students in the most need (academic and otherwise) into school buildings for as much in-person academics and support as can be mustered. But it seemed that the mustering was an unsolved problem. To wit: The plan was originally supposed to begin back in November, but staff members were asked to volunteer to be in their buildings to provide the in-person support. “Some schools had enough staff volunteer,” Superintendent David James told the ABJ, “but the majority did not.” According to the supe, that means the program “can't be voluntary” if it is going to work as intended. And as time expired on 2020, the plan and the kids who need it had to be left hanging. (Akron Beacon Journal, 12/31/20)

Did you know you can have every edition of Gadfly Bites sent directly to your Inbox? Subscribe by clicking here.

At this point, we’re all tired of hearing the word “unprecedented.” But clichés are clichés for a reason, and 2020 has certainly been an unprecedented year. Many of us would like nothing more than to leave this difficult year in the rearview mirror. Unfortunately, the events of 2020 seem likely to stretch into the new year. That’s especially true in education, as several of the biggest issues in 2021 will have a pandemic-related tinge.

Here’s five predictions about what’s in store for Ohio education in 2021.

5. Ohio will continue to focus on career and technical education

The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, often referred to as Perkins V, was signed into federal law with overwhelming bipartisan support approximately two years ago. Since then, states have been hard at work creating their plans for how to implement the law. Ohio is no exception. In fact, the Buckeye State was part of national efforts to improve career training and readiness long before the reauthorization of Perkins, and an increasing number of students are earning industry-recognized credentials. Governor DeWine’s first budget contained several CTE initiatives, and it’s expected that his upcoming budget will do the same. As one of the few remaining education policies with bipartisan support, look for Ohio to continue expanding and refining CTE in 2021.

4. State and local leaders will look for creative ways to catch kids up academically

One of the big headlines of 2020 was that school closures and remote learning efforts led to significant learning lags, especially for low-income and minority students. To address unfinished learning and prevent it from becoming permanent, schools will need to get creative about intervention efforts. Research indicates that increasing instructional time can narrow achievement gaps, so expect leaders to call for schools to offer a plethora of additional learning opportunities outside of regular school hours, such as intensive summer school or beefed-up tutoring programs.

3. State testing will return, but accountability consequences will remain on pause

For intervention and remediation efforts to work, schools will need to know where students are academically. This means testing is more important than ever. The type of testing matters, too. Local diagnostic assessments are vital, but so are state assessments that offer leaders and the general public a big picture look at how students are doing—especially low-income and minority students who were probably hit hardest by the pandemic. Although some Ohio lawmakers—with the backing of traditional education groups—have attempted to eliminate state testing for the 2020–21 school year, administering these tests is a federal requirement. That means Ohio can’t lawfully skip them unless it’s granted a waiver by the U.S. Department of Education. It’s unclear whether the incoming Biden administration will grant such a waiver, but high-ranking congressional Democrats and national civil rights groups have expressed their support for state testing in 2021. If the vaccine rollout goes smoothly, and the majority of schools are able to safely reopen in person by the spring, it’s reasonable to assume that the feds will tell states to go forward with administering state exams. Regardless of what occurs with state assessment, though, it’s a safe bet that school ratings and other accountability consequences will remain paused for the 2020–21 school year (as Fordham recommended back in June).

2. Resuming in-person school will be contentious and complicated

Speaking of schools operating in person, the early days of 2021 will probably be a redux of this fall, when reopening conversations were controversial. Holiday gatherings, colder weather forcing people indoors, and pandemic fatigue are just a few of the reasons for skyrocketing case numbers. Experts predict that the next three months—including when students are set to return to school after holiday breaks—could be “horrible.” The fact that we’ll soon have vaccines available for essential workers such as teachers is good news, but it’s important to be realistic. Vaccines won’t make things safe overnight, and families with high-risk members may prefer to keep their students home for longer periods of time. The vast majority of schools are going to be facing tough questions early in the new year related to in-person learning and reopening, and those questions may linger into the spring. With any luck, however, the start to the 2021–22 school year will mark a very welcome return to normalcy.

1. Debates about the school funding formula will dominate the budget cycle

When the Cupp-Patterson plan was introduced in the spring of 2019, Ohio’s long-standing school funding debate took on new life. A pair of companion bills appeared before the House and Senate during their lame duck sessions, but nothing was signed into law. That means that, as budget talks gear up next year, debates over the school funding formula are going to be hotter than ever—especially since budget season will occur in the backdrop of an economic downturn, and the Cupp-Patterson plan would add a whopping $2 billion per year (if not more) to state spending.

***

There you have it, folks. Things are looking up—yay vaccines!—but for better or worse, 2021 will likely retain some of 2020’s drama.

Happy New Year!

Only a glutton for punishment would want a rehash of the biggest K–12 education stories of 2020. They are no secret—and frankly depressing: widespread school closures, predictions about massive learning losses, and students going M.I.A. from remote learning. In the world of policy, states including Ohio pressed pause on state exams and standard accountability measures, trimmed education budgets due to the economic turmoil, and dealt with fraught debates over whether to re-open schools.

Sunnier times hopefully await Ohioans in the coming year, but amidst the gloom of 2020, there were still a few things to celebrate. What were the education stories that made last year merry and bright? Here’s my top five:

5. Charter school performance on the upswing. Recognizing the potential of a model that gives educational leaders freedom from red tape and offers parents more school options, Fordham has long advocated for public charter schools. At the same time, we’ve also insisted that charters provide quality options for the students who attend them. While Ohio has long been home to some excellent charter schools, the historical performance of the sector as a whole has tended to be spotty. But in October, a new Fordham report by Stéphane Lavertu of the Ohio State University brought good tidings about charter performance. His analysis reveals significant improvements in the sector in recent years, and he finds that brick-and-mortar charters today are making a big impact on student achievement, especially for pupils from less-advantaged backgrounds. These results should give charter advocates a reason to cheer. For open-minded skeptics, we hope these results will encourage them to reexamine their presuppositions.

4. Expanded private school opportunities for middle-income Ohioans. Going into 2020, the hottest topic of debate in education was the future of Ohio’s EdChoice voucher programs. School district officials around the state were lambasting the impending “explosion” of voucher eligibility, while private school advocates argued that rolling back eligibility would pull the rug out from parents. Through the early months of the year, lawmakers were knee-deep in negotiations trying to resolve the issue. But with the pandemic bearing down on the state, those debates were wisely put on hold. In November, legislators quickly took care of this bit of unfinished business by enacting much-needed updates to the EdChoice programs. One of the key reforms now permits households with incomes at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty guideline to apply for a voucher ($65,500 for a family of four). By raising the income threshold (it was previously set at 200 percent), private school opportunities will soon be within the reach of more middle-income Ohioans.

3. Innovative educators using the lessons of the pandemic to rethink education. It’s cliché, but the saying that “every cloud has a silver lining” is an age-old truism. While the pandemic has caused tremendous disruption to education, one possible upside is that it could be encouraging educational leaders to rethink how teaching and learning is done. To their credit, Ohio’s brightest and most innovative educators are already thinking about how they can leverage the lessons of the pandemic to improve education. In his local paper, Hilliard City Schools’ superintendent John Marschhausen recently discussed how the new norm of video conferencing could help forge stronger and more parent-centric relationships between school and home. On the Ohio Gadfly blog, charter school leaders John Dues and Ben Pacht of the United Schools Network shared a number of lessons they’ve learned during the pandemic. The practices and lessons of the Breakthrough Schools in Cleveland and KIPP Columbus were also featured in a national publication from Bellwether Education Partners and Teach For America. As Marschhausen writes, “Every event, even a crisis, provides opportunities for improvement.” With any luck, all of Ohio’s educators will adopt just that mindset as we move forward.

2. Communities stepping up to lend a hand. Legions of stories could be told about how communities and citizens helped their neighbors during this turbulent year. To give but a small sampling: First up, a story from Cincinnati, where just after the pandemic shuttered schools in that city, General Electric and Staples teamed up to ensure that parents were able to print take-home learning packets for free. Also in the realm of supporting students in the shift to at-home instruction, stories from the Canton, Dayton, and Lorain areas illustrate the generosity of community members who recognized the technological needs and took action to help. Last, kudos to the nonprofit groups, community centers, and churches that have stepped up to provide space for students to learn. Stories from Columbus and Cleveland offer terrific examples of civic organizations pinch-hitting to meet student needs during the health crisis.

1. Parents taking the initiative to ensure continuity of learning. The dedication of Ohio parents who were thrust into an even greater role in their children’s education deserves the top spot on this list. Much of their work went unseen. The countless moms, dads, grandparents, and other caretakers who labored to help the children they love stay on track didn’t make too many headlines. Yet there were stories about parents taking initiative that did garner attention. As schools moved to online learning for the longer term, some parents banded together to create “pandemic pods,” where a parent or tutor could fill in the learning gaps. One Lakewood parent explained the rationale, “Parents, they’re kind of stressed out trying to figure this out. I think we all are. A little bit of normal for them, that’s what motivates me to do it.”

***

The past year in education has been one for the record books. The pandemic has unfortunately led to a constant stream of disheartening stories. But in the midst of such tumult, it’s also worth reflecting on and giving thanks for the tireless work that Ohio educators, community leaders, policymakers, and parents did on behalf of students. Onwards to 2021!

It’s that time of year again when we at Fordham are forced to ask ourselves, “What were they thinking?” The “they” in question is you, our readers and subscribers. And we’re asking the question not to take issue with your level of discernment (as a loyal Gadfly reader, your good taste is a given!), but because we are genuinely interested in what subjects interested you this past year.

We are happy to know which of our opinion pieces and short reviews caught readers’ attention over the last twelve jam-packed months, although the “why” is always the most valuable question.

Here are the top five most-read pieces published on the Ohio Gadfly Daily blog in 2020—excluding some of our perennial hits like “Bless the tests” and “My experience with AP U.S. History” published in previous years and remaining popular—along with our best guess as to the reason they resonated with you.

5. “The impact of coronavirus on Ohio’s private schools” (Jessica Poiner, 6/4/20).

Four out of five of our most-read pieces this year were related to the coronavirus pandemic, which makes sense, given that it dominated every other aspect of our lives. As the 2019–20 school year limped to a close and the economic effects of pandemic-mitigation shutdowns were starting to be felt, Jessica Poiner looked at the possible implications for private schools. Tuition collection and charitable support were both expected to take a hit, with potential ripple effects into the public school sector as families faced with financial challenges could well be forced to move their children from a private to a district or charter option. In a state with a widespread private school community and popular voucher programs, this discussion clearly was of interest to readers.

Honorable mention: “What does the federal stimulus package mean for Ohio schools?” (Jessica Poiner, 4/7/20). Another prescient piece, almost tied for readership with our official number five entrant, this looked at Ohio’s options for using testing waivers and CARES Act funding to best serve students.

4. “State testing, report cards, and coronavirus” (Aaron Churchill, 3/19/20)

Readers looking for answers to difficult questions about state testing and report cards due to uncertain times ahead gravitated to this blog. On March 12, 2020, Governor Mike DeWine announced that all Ohio schools would close for three weeks in the face of the oncoming Covid-19 wave. Aaron Churchill shared the governor’s optimism at the time that in-person school could potentially resume before the scheduled end of the 2019–20 school year. Aaron posited in this piece that a modicum of normalcy could be retained by having students sit for state tests at some point before the year ended, provided improving health conditions. Needless to say, that did not come to pass, as the crisis has persisted for month after agonizing month. Here’s hoping the optimism remains for more normalcy and collection of vital student achievement data in 2021.

3. “Hard lessons about SEL implementation” (Aaron Churchill, 2/24/20)

The only non-Covid piece in our top five this year was this short review (a staple of Fordham’s analysis and commentary work for many years) of a RAND Corporation study looking at implementation of a social-emotional learning (SEL) program at a large school district in Mississippi. The downbeat findings—that no significant differences in SEL outcomes, school climate, attendance, suspensions, or test scores were observed after multiple years of implementation—coupled with national interest in SEL likely drove readers to this piece. Whether readers were looking to validate their perspectives or to pick a fight with the evaluation is unknown.

2. “Dayton Public Schools keeps missing the bus on student transportation” (Jessica Poiner, 7/1/20)

No such national interest can be attributed to this piece. Honestly, it is surprising that anyone outside of the city of Dayton would have an interest in the ongoing struggles the district has had with transporting its own students, as well as resident students attending private and charter schools. But readers came in droves to this look at Dayton’s years-long saga, including three different schemes in the preceding twelve months. The latest plan this summer, ultimately scuttled by the pandemic, was rolled out with minimal and conflicting information mere days before the scheduled start of the school year, leaving charter school leaders and their families with more questions than answers. Perhaps transportation struggles are so widespread among families utilizing school choice that this localized fiasco struck a deeper nerve than Jessica expected.

1. “Will more Ohio parents continue homeschooling after the Covid-19 crisis?” (Aaron Churchill, 3/27/20)

Our most-read blog of the year hails from a few weeks into the pandemic, when families were reeling from school closures and they, along with policymakers and the education establishment, were realizing that three weeks would not constitute the end of the upheaval. It is prescient in that Aaron was quick to equate the spring’s “remote learning” effort to old-fashioned homeschooling, a fact which had perhaps not come into general awareness yet. But as those final months of the 2019–20 school year wore on, the onus of educating millions of students seemed to shift from schools and teachers to parents and “pods” for the longer term. Aaron laid out the steps required for any Ohio parent to utilize homeschooling—formally taking on the compulsory education of their children from the “education system.” “Out of necessity,” he wrote, “millions of Ohio parents are experiencing first-hand what homeschooling would be like.” Many, he concluded, will likely “come to a deeper appreciation of the hard work their local schools do to serve children. But some might just find themselves attracted to a form of schooling they would’ve never otherwise considered.” Readers continued to find and visit this piece as spring turned to summer, and summer turned to fall. When the pandemic disruption to education is over—February? March? June?—perhaps we will finally see just how predictive it was.

* * * * *

There you have it: The blogs and reviews that you, our audience, read the most during the last twelve months. In case you didn’t know, we also had a robust research slate this year that complements our blogging. Here’s hoping for a less turbulent, more “normal” (for lack of a better word) year in 2021. We hope you’ll stay with us for more analysis, reviews, and commentary on the issues impacting Ohio schools.

The Fordham Institute has built its reputation over the years on the strength of its commentary and research. We’ll leave the former for another blog, but given all of the newsworthy events, you may have missed one of our research studies released in 2020. Some of the reports have maintained our traditional focus on data and rigorous analysis of long-term trends, while others were shorter-term analyses meant to inform the hot-topic debates presently facing Ohio policymakers. The following summarizes the past year in Fordham-Ohio reports—and be sure to give them a read!

The fourth edition of our Ohio Education by the Numbers publication was done and dusted before the pandemic started, but the shadow was being felt and thus the typical February publication date held back. While the companion website was updated with a panoply of vital statistics on anything from enrollment to achievement data, the print and downloadable versions on the Fordham website did not appear until April. Visits to both websites were brisk throughout the year, reinforcing our belief that these birds-eye data on Ohio’s K–12 education system are widely useful to researchers, policymakers, and the general public.

Our next research report was born of the state’s Covid-19 response: specifically, of legislative action in April that put Ohio’s school accountability system on pause. This was the right and proper course, given the vast unknowns facing policymakers and K–12 education at that time. But understanding that preparation is always key, we started to contemplate what accountability might look like in the wake of the pandemic. To that end, we spent weeks analyzing Ohio’s accountability mechanisms and the assessment and report card data that underpin them. In June, we published a set of recommendations that we believe would enable Ohio leaders to successfully reboot the accountability system. Titled Resetting school accountability, from the bottom up, authors Chad Aldis and Aaron Churchill provide both short- and long-term recommendations that would move Ohio from a top-down accountability framework to one that is driven primarily by parent choice and clear information about school quality. While it remains to be seen whether our recommendations will be heeded, the paper should be useful to anyone interested in the future of accountability in the Buckeye State.

For more than two decades, charter schools have offered thousands of Ohio students a public school option in their communities. But whether charters have provided a high-quality education has long been debated. In August, we released a report that rigorously evaluates the impact of Ohio’s charter schools on student outcomes during the 2016–19 school years. Conducted by Ohio State University professor Dr. Stéphane Lavertu, the analysis finds significant gains on state math and English language arts exams for brick-and-mortar charter students in grades four through eight, as compared to their peers in traditional district schools. Consistent with prior research, Lavertu finds that Black students make particularly strong progress. Additionally, attendance rates increase and disciplinary incidents decrease when students attend a brick-and-mortar charter school. These data not only show the strong improvements of Ohio’s charter school sector in recent years, but also underscore the importance of data and analysis to drive a fact-driven debate.

Next up, we released an analysis of Ohio’s teacher pension system, conducted by national pensions expert Chad Aldeman and published in November. This report examines the expected lifetime benefits for Ohio teachers under the state’s three retirement options, which include a traditional pension, a 401(k)-style defined contribution plan, and a hybrid plan that combines features of both. In conjunction with the release, we held an online event and a lively Q & A showed the depth of interest in both the findings and Aldeman’s recommendations. Want to know which option performs best for teachers—and what the state can do to ensure more teachers are in it? Read the report or watch the event video to find out!

Our final research report of the year was both historical and up-to-the-minute. As changes to the state’s school funding system were being debated in the General Assembly, an oft-stated reason for the expensive overhaul was to bring Ohio’s funding system into compliance with the state constitution. But is it actually true that today’s system is unconstitutional? In this report (and the release event) author Aaron Churchill examines the arguments and the rulings in the 1997 Ohio Supreme Court’s DeRolph decision, and analyzes the data from the 1990s until the present day. Investigating four areas of concern, Churchill argues that, by any reasonable standard, Ohio’s funding system is likely to meet constitutional requirements. Whether you agree or disagree with that conclusion, it’s hard to dispute the facts that show that today’s system varies in important ways from the one ruled unconstitutional nearly a quarter century ago.

* * * * *

As you can tell, we at Fordham believe that debates founded on evidence rather than myths and presuppositions are more likely to yield policies that can truly benefit Ohio students, families, and citizens. In the coming year, we’ll continue to deliver high-quality research that we hope provokes thoughtful discussion about key policy issues. We thank all readers for their interest in our work, and look forward to the coming year. Stay tuned!

We have had a challenging year with news cycles filled with troubling news about the coronavirus, racial injustices, violent rioting, and polarizing elections. But through all this, we have seen people come together and care for one another, such as how teachers drove by in a motorcade to greet their students. Our commentary this year has touched on the heart of many of these topics, reminding Americans to remain hopeful and remain committed to excellence in our schools and to quality education options.

The last two days, we have published a recap of this year’s most popular commentary pieces and of our research. Today, let’s look back at ten of our best blog posts.

1. The chronic condition of American education, by Dale Chu

Although the pandemic exposed weaknesses in our school systems, we would be wise to remember that they have always existed. Dale encourages education reformers not to let the crisis feed into cataclysmic rhetoric that undermines efforts to win people’s hearts, especially when achievement has been stagnant for a while, but reminds us that it’s still important to maintain a proper sense of urgency.

2. David Brooks, please don’t give up on education, by Michael J. Petrilli

In his pessimistic column, Brooks concludes that, because increased college graduation rates are not closing income gaps for Black adults, educational attainment is not the equalizer we hoped it would be. Mike pushes back, however, and argues that controlling for differences in academic skills reveals similar outcomes for Black and White adults. He concludes that “more education might not lead to greater equity, but better education almost certainly will.”

3. How fundamental change happens in America, by Chester E. Finn, Jr.

Everyone hopes that crises will turn into a Sputnik moment that spurs the nation to action to bring transformative change. But for this to happen with our schooling, Checker explains, it requires the combination of successful models, sustained bipartisan leadership, and the most challenging one, a culture shift among parents. When the dust settles on the coronavirus, there will be families who now crave a structural change. Those, he believes, are the ones innovators should focus on.

4. How states can meet the rising demand for school choice, by Dale Chu

With so many parents dissatisfied with the education status quo, what alternatives are or should be available to them? Dale offers his thoughts, including employer-provided early childhood education, letting families enroll children outside their district, and improving access to extracurricular activities for homeschoolers.

5. It’s school culture, stupid, Robert Pondiscio

Wealthier Americans enroll children in private schools on the basis of what values they want their kids to adopt, not their test scores. School culture, Robert explains, is key to student success in the long-run—even reducing criminality rates for at-risk students. While he believes this is a strong argument for giving underserved communities more choice, he also invites reformers to consider how to help schools where poor culture could be worsened if families leave them.

6. Leadership makes a difference: Lamar Alexander and K–12 education, by Chester E. Finn, Jr.

Senator Lamar Alexander will be retiring from his long career of public service. In his honor, Checker writes about his education legacy, from exiting party leadership to focus on passing bipartisan legislation to advancing the Every Student Succeeds Act, and, more recently, a bill to simplify the FAFSA application process. While he will be missed, Checker and other reformers hope he will continue his excellent work from outside Congress.

7. Reopening decisions are mostly a matter of trust, by Michael J. Petrilli

Low-income and parents of color were more afraid than affluent and White peers to send their kids back to schools that tried to reopen. Mike explains that besides being harder hit by the virus, those communities do not trust schools to keep their students safe. He argues that schools should work to do better and build reservoirs of trust to better serve students in the future—and in times of crisis.

8. The lessons that last in the time of pandemic, by Robert Pondiscio

Just as the Depression defined a generation and made it more resilient, writes Robert, the pandemic will define ours. He reflects on the ways in which it has brought people together, such as teachers distributing food or showing up to help a student from outside her porch, and believes children will remember these fondly in their later years.

9. To protect students during the economic downturn, schools need to spend money wisely, by Frederick M. Hess and Brandon L. Wright

The pandemic has heightened the importance of making sound decisions about education finance. Here, the coeditors of Getting the Most Bang for the Education Buck bring together a few lessons from their volume, such as how to use technology smartly, make district budget legislation more flexible, and use parent input to guide decision-making.

10. With his remarks on the murder of George Floyd, Joe Biden showed us how to teach empathy and American history, by Michael J. Petrilli

This has been a challenging year for many Americans, especially for the Black community. Mike, moved by Joe Biden’s words, writes that despite the culture wars and piling injustices, we can still come together as Americans. Mike believes that Biden's speech modeled well how we can teach our history without partisanship and how, through it, we can grieve injustice together and fight for our ideals.

We look forward to 2021, the vaccine, and schools reopening again, and we encourage you to keep following the Flypaper blog for more quality commentary.

President-Elect Biden has confirmed that he will nominate Dr. Miguel A. Cardona to serve as the next U.S. Secretary of Education. He appears to be a prudent choice for Biden, earning support from teachers unions and education reform groups, including charter operators. Cardona is the current Connecticut Commissioner of Education. He has served in many roles before becoming commissioner in August of 2019, including elementary school teacher, principal, district administrator, deputy superintendent, and adjunct professor. He has also led various state-level groups, co-chairing both the Connecticut Legislative Achievement Gap Task Force and the Connecticut Birth to Grade Three Leaders Council.

One of his titles is remarkable because it isn’t newsworthy: Dr. Cardona is a current charter school authorizer.

Authorizing is an important task, but decreasingly newsworthy because it has gradually become just one task among the many responsibilities borne by contemporary leaders at the helm of state or district school systems.

Of the nation’s roughly 1,000 entities that authorize charter schools, about 900 are school districts. Local districts may serve as authorizers in thirty-six states, and districts currently oversee more than half of all charter schools nationally. In many of these states, districts are the main authorizers. At some level, the superintendents and school boards of these districts are all responsible for the implementation of charter authorizing work.

In twenty states, state education agencies also authorize charter schools. In these jurisdictions, the ultimate responsibility for authorizing decisions is vested with either state commissioners or state boards of education. In either scenario, both state boards and commissioners share responsibility for developing and implementing charter authorizing initiatives, and commissioners oversee charter school offices or programs.

In many places in America now, it is difficult to rise to leadership positions in public education at the district or state level without acquiring responsibility for overseeing charter schools. For some leaders, authorizing is a calling and the focus of their professional work. For many more, authorizing is a secondary role that counts as just one function in their array of responsibilities.

While it need not be controversial, charter authorizing is still difficult to do well. It always deserves organizational attention and resources, and it should be a priority for any entity doing it. Leadership matters in such circumstances.

If confirmed by the Senate, Cardona will be the third of the last four U.S. Secretaries of Education who went to Washington after overseeing charter authorizing work. Secretary Arne Duncan led the Chicago Public Schools, currently responsible for 122 charters. Secretary John King served as New York Commissioner of Education, a state whose Board of Regents is an authorizer and oversees ninety-three charter schools. In his role, he oversaw the authorizing shop within the New York State Education Department. Although well-known for her support of school choice in general, Betsy DeVos is the only recent secretary who has not held responsibility for charter authorizing decisions before leading the U.S. Department of Education.

Cardona’s statements about charter schools are innocuous by contemporary standards. Connecticut’s charter sector is modest in scale, with only twenty-five schools in operation. Commissioner Cardona closed no charters during his tenure and re-upped the charters of all those that came up for renewal. When assuming the role of Connecticut's Commissioner, he commented, “Charter schools provide choice for parents that are seeking choice, so I think it’s a viable option. But [neighborhood schools] that’s going to be the core work that not only myself but the people behind me in the agency that I represent will have while I’m commissioner.”

It is a sign of the charter school sector's maturity that authorizing work has become an assumed, almost ordinary part of state and district officials’ resumes. Leaders should know that doing a great job as a charter school authorizer is not a political act and that it does not require someone to be pro- or anti-charter. But, increasingly, it is part of education systems leaders' job—one that they should aspire to do well.

NOTE: This is the last edition of Gadfly Bites to be published in 2020. We’re back on January 4, 2021 with a wrap up of 2020 stories. Regular service for 2021 will resume on January 6. Thank you so much for reading and subscribing! 

1. House Bill 409, the latest Covid/education bill, passed the Senate this week as work wrapped up for this edition of Ohio’s General Hospital Assembly (well, it kind of felt like a soap opera at times, didn’t it?). Here’s some deets on the pandemic-influenced changes it will make for this school year—and the next—if signed by the governor. (Cleveland.com, 12/22/20)
    
2. Speaking of Governor DeWine and the 133^rd General Assembly, here is notice of the release of a report tracking the Student Wellness and Success Funding authorized in their last biennial budget. The Ohio Department of Education seems pretty happy with the efforts documented, so I guess that’s good. I’m sorry to clip a press release, but this is the only media coverage I could find thus far. (EIN Presswire, 12/22/20) If I were a cynic (pipe down back there!), I might suggest the lack of whoop here I due to the rough early rollout of those wellness funds. Loyal Gadfly Bites subscribers will no doubt recall several school officials saying out loud and on the record that they “didn’t need” that money at the time or how others explained in all seriousness that they would be building empty, unstaffed, unprogrammed rooms to “maybe” provide counseling or other outreach “someday”…should more money be forthcoming from the state. Oh how the tables have tabled in 2020, right? Anywho, you can check out the full report here if you’re the kind of person who likes that sort of thing.
   
   

3. And speaking of grievances, here’s a story full of them from a teacher in Shaker Heights City Schools describing “the stress and anxiety of in-person learning during the pandemic”…for her. I don’t want to add too much commentary here, not being a parent with school-age kids these days, but if you are one this piece will probably be pretty informative. Not that you don’t already know what teachers think of you and your kids. It’s just sometimes…helpful to have it on the record. (Cleveland.com, 12/23/20)
    
4. Speaking of pandemic-era education tradeoffs, here’s a nice story about two central Ohio school districts who have been sharing bus drivers as their schools moved back and forth between hybrid and fully-remote models. “It’s a great partnership,” they say, “and a way to keep more drivers working.” They hope to continue the partnership in January as long as schedules allow. Here’s hoping this partnership has also been a boon to families exercising school choice. (ThisWeek News, 12/17/20)
   
   

5. While it feels like 100 years ago now, Ohio put a requirement on school districts to create readiness seals for students as part of their graduation requirements. Here’s an inside look at how three such seals were eventually created in United Local Schools in rural eastern Ohio. While asking students to complete some “additional work” (I use that term loosely because it definitely seems like they were trying to fit in stuff that kids already were doing) in the areas of community service, fine and performing arts, and “student engagement” (another loose term) sounds good, I’m not sure that “mak[ing] the seals easily accessible to all students, regardless of their participation in any given activity,” as it is termed here, is really capturing the intent of the effort. (Salem News, 12/20/20)
    
6. Finally, I don’t know what this media outlet is, but kudos to them on their detailed look at the development and current status of the I Promise School (and many of its adjuncts) in Akron. While the plans are up-to-date and moving forward quickly, I might humbly suggest that the test score/student growth data touted here is somewhat past its prime and in need of some additional updating. But that’s probably just me. (Uproxx, 12/18/20)

Did you know you can have every edition of Gadfly Bites sent directly to your Inbox? Subscribe by clicking here.

As with most years, 2020 has been a busy one for the Fordham research team. We published many groundbreaking studies, adding contributions to the evidence base on literacy, civic education, education funding, school choice, and gifted programs, among others. The pandemic has exacerbated many problems in our education system, including inequities in access to technology, but has also proven the adaptability of many talented and motivated educators and school leaders who responded well. Above all, it has shown how crucial it is to apply research-informed practices to keep kids learning during the Covid-19 crisis and beyond.

Here are the ten research studies, briefs, and books we published in 2020:

1. Great Expectations: The Impact of Rigorous Grading Practices on Student Achievement, by Seth Gershenson

In our first study of the year, Seth Gershenson finds that rigorous graders improve their students’ outcomes in math end-of-course exams—and that effects continue for up to two years. This was true for students of all races, and it reiterates the importance of teachers’ high expectations and transparent grading practices to better serve students.

2. The Role of Advanced Placement in Bridging Excellence Gaps, by Chester E. Finn, Jr. and Andrew Scanlan

While this year has seen increased hostility towards schools and programs for talented students, Fordham believes in expanding access to challenging courses for all students. Checker Finn and Andrew Scanlan explain how enrollment in AP courses has increased among low-income and minority students, but stress the need to add more supports for disadvantaged students to close the gap in test scores.

3. How to Educate an American: The Conservative Vision for Tomorrow's Schools, coedited by Michael J. Petrilli and Chester E. Finn, Jr.

In this coedited volume with a preface by Senator Lamar Alexander, twenty leading conservative thinkers lend their thoughts on how schools can cultivate civic virtue and patriotism without glossing over the nation’s checkered past. This year has seen heightened divisions and uncovered many injustices, making this book all the more relevant to educators and district and school leaders.

4. What You Make Depends on Where You Live: College Earnings Across States and Metropolitan Areas, by John V. Winters

This study on college earnings by John V. Winters finds that bachelor’s degree-holders out-earn peers with less education, but there is significant variation between regions. On that note, we hope young Americans begin to consider where they intend to live and work when making their postsecondary education plans.

5. The State of the Sunshine State's Standards: The Florida B.E.S.T. Edition, by Solomon Friedberg, Tim Shanahan, Francis Fennell, Douglas Fisher, and Roger Howe

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis promised to replace the state’s Common Core-based math and reading standards with better ones. Unfortunately, our expert reviewers found the new standards lacking, and recommend significant and immediate revisions. This year has forced states everywhere to slow down and rethink how they do education, so we hope Florida takes this opportunity to improve its standards.

6. Moonshot for Education: A Federal Policy Proposal to Spur Effective Research and Development for K-12 Education, by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and the Center for American Progress

Across the nation, federal funds helped schools reopen, close the digital divide, transition to remote learning, and now, distribute a vaccine to end the pandemic. But what if the federal government invested in education-related R & D the way it does in other fields? The Fordham Institute published this bipartisan policy brief in partnership with the Center for American Progress with a vision for a federal program that will develop tools to make schools more adaptable and resilient in the future.

7. Getting the Most Bang for the Education Buck, coedited by Frederick M. Hess and Brandon L. Wright

The Covid pandemic brought unemployment and decreased economic activity in its wake. This coedited volume brings the expertise of a dozen education experts to consider how schools and districts can cope with the coming drop in education revenue, covering topics such as how to leverage technology to improve staff performance, how parent input can inform district spending decisions, and how to get better results for students with disabilities.

8. Schooling Covid-19: Lessons from leading charter networks from their transition to remote learning, by Greg Vanourek

The transition to remote learning was hard for schools of all kinds—district, charter, and private. But there were some outstanding charter networks with quick and effective transitions that offer lessons for their peers. Greg Vanourek, one of the Fordham Institute’s founders, interviewed parents, teachers, and leaders from eight charter networks to learn about their approaches and see what they had in common.

9. Social Studies Instruction and Reading Comprehension: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, by Adam Tyner and Sarah Kabourek

As the wars over literacy instruction rage on, the findings in this report by Adam Tyner and Sarah Kabourek support the importance of building background knowledge. The report finds that students who receive more social studies instruction have better reading outcomes, but finds little improvement for those whose schools spend more time on English language arts.

10. Teacher Effectiveness and Improvement in Charter and Traditional Public Schools, by Matthew P. Steinberg and Haisheng Yang

Charter networks tend to have more junior staff than district peers, so how is it that they tend to be more effective in boosting student achievement? This study looks at data from Pennsylvania and finds that teachers in charter networks improve on the job at much faster rates than those in standalone charters or traditional public schools, especially in math. Yet again, we see that offering quality education options helps everyone out by encouraging others to learn from their successes.

Stay tuned for another slate of rigorous, relevant studies from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute in 2021!

1. While there isn’t anything good—if you ask me (which, thankfully, no one ever does)—about the plan to induce school districts across the state to pay a bunch of lawyers to execute what will likely be a years-long court battle against school choice, the launch of the public induction effort to that end late last week did (if you ask me, which no one, assuredly, did) have one positive point. It generated some media attention for Fordham’s most recent report looking at the constitutionality of school funding in Ohio today. Our own Aaron Churchill is thus quoted in this piece. Thanks, gang! (Gongwer Ohio, 12/18/20)
    
2. Speaking of school funding, while the hotly-debated bill which included the Cupp-Patterson overhaul plan did not advance in the Senate before the end of the lame duck legislation session, one aspect of that bill—a raft of studies looking at the specific funding processes for special education, gifted services, incentives for rural districts serving gifted children, educational service centers, English learners, e-schools, and charter schools—was incorporated into the capital budget bill, which did pass. If signed by the governor, the bill requires the Ohio Department of Education to complete those studies by December 31, 2022. The idea is that the data from the studies would give legislators a clearer picture of the current funding system so as to inform the next iteration of a revamp. (Ohio Capital Journal, 12/21/20)
   
   

3. Here’s a nice look at the independent STEM school in the Youngstown area—the one with the great reputation and the faintly ridiculous name (Valley STEM + ME2 Academy). While I kind of feel my previously-unbounded love for Ohio’s STEM schools receding a tad due to their seeming pivot from math/science-centrism to a project-based learning focus (at least in the picture they have been presenting of themselves in the media lately—including this one), Valley STEM is still probably a better option than a lot of other schools in the area if I do say so myself. You can get a snapshot of how they’ve handled their hybrid learning model this year and their plans for next school year from this piece. Applications for next year are being accepted now if you’re interested. (Vindy.com, 12/20/20)
    
4. Here’s an interesting piece discussing the results of a transportation survey conducted by West Holmes Local Schools in Millersburg. The survey was conducted in response to some unrest among transportation staff that the district was perhaps working them too hard for not enough pay. The survey indicates that, compared to a number of local (and similar non-local) districts, West Holmes ends up about in the middle in terms of pay, benefits, and workload. This picture of the busing landscape seemed to make the district folks happy, but it also seemed that the mileage of the transportation staffers may have varied on this. (See what I did there?) (The Daily Record, 12/17/20)
   
   

5. The main thrust of our last story today is an increase in failing course grades among students in Akron City Schools—and in a number of other nearby districts—this semester. This is something we’ve heard elsewhere, including two pieces clipped last week, and there are once again a lot of pieces to the puzzle as discussed throughout this one. But there are also a couple of other points made in this piece that, while peripheral to the main story, are to me both far more interesting and far more positive than the “sky is falling” headline may suggest. First up, it is undisputedly given here that Akron City schools has “largely tackled internet connectivity issues” for its entire student body. Seems kind of huge, doesn’t it? Second, it is noted in the piece twice that some students who previously struggled in traditional classrooms are now thriving in the online environment. Don’t know who’s responsible for that, but kudos…and keep up the good work! Third (and perhaps related to the first two), Akron City Schools is not one of those districts with large numbers of “missing” students either, having maintained nearly identical attendance numbers from last year’s all-in-person first semester and this year’s all-remote first semester. They could probably do better on both counts, but the lack of a precipice seems a point worth touting. Fourth, about a quarter of Akron students are still earning As in math and English while working remotely, consistent with the number of top grade-getters during last year’s traditional learning model. Excellent work on behalf of reporter Jennifer Pignolet for getting all of this information into her story. I point out all this out to suggest that the idea of all-remote learning as a total failure/dumpster fire/apocalypse (choose your favorite meme!) is not completely accurate and should probably not be thrown around without some better and more accurate context. While that slogan might be true, it doesn’t have to be true. And it some places, it likely isn’t at all. Here is some vital context from which to start building the accurate portrayal. (Akron Beacon Journal, 12/20/20)

Did you know you can have every edition of Gadfly Bites sent directly to your Inbox? Subscribe by clicking here.