The countdown to midnight is a time-honored tradition for New Year’s Eve. And while education might not be at the top of many minds while ringing in the new year, 2024 had plenty of headlines that deserve attention. Let’s take a look.
Five: Ohio leaders tackle cellphone usage in schools
In early April, Governor DeWine used his state of the state address to call on school leaders to prohibit cellphone use in the classroom, and the General Assembly to pass a bill requiring schools to establish and communicate phone and social media policies. A few weeks later, lawmakers unanimously did so, requiring each school board to adopt a policy governing the use of cellphones. DeWine signed the bill into law in May, and the Department of Education and Workforce (DEW) released a model policy a short time later that forbids student use of cellphones at all times. Districts and schools are required to develop policies by July 1, 2025. To cap off the year, DEW released the results of a survey showing that most schools are well on their way to completion.
Four: Chronic absenteeism remains staggeringly high
Chronic absenteeism skyrocketed during Covid and has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. In 2018–19, the statewide rate was just under 17 percent, meaning one in six students were missing at least 10 percent of instructional time. By 2021–22, that number had jumped to 30 percent. After a small decline to 26 percent during the 2022–23 school year, many hoped that a much bigger drop was in store for 2024. Instead, the September release of 2023–24 school report cards revealed a statewide chronic absenteeism rate of 25 percent—a decline of just 1 percentage point from the year prior. That means a fourth of students across the state missed roughly eighteen days of school at minimum, amounting to nearly a month’s worth of lost learning. In some districts, the numbers were even higher. Every district in the Ohio Eight, for example, clocked in above 38 percent. In at least three of those districts—Cleveland, Columbus, and Youngstown—the chronic absenteeism rate was above 50 percent. This is a slow-motion disaster.
Three: Low math scores are a problem that Ohio needs to solve
As with chronic absenteeism, many were hoping to see a big improvement in math scores on 2024 state report cards. Unfortunately, they ended up disappointed. Among all students statewide, the math proficiency rate increased by only half of a percentage point. That’s better than English language arts, which remained flat. But overall proficiency rates in English have been 7 to 9 percentage points higher than math during the last few years, making it a hollow victory at best. Moreover, math proficiency rates appear to decline as students grow older. In 2024, proficiency rates went from 61 percent in third grade to 57 percent in fifth and 49 percent in seventh. As for high school students, Algebra I results (56 percent proficient) were slightly better than middle school test scores, but not by much. Geometry proficiency, meanwhile, was abysmal (40 percent).
Two: Columbus City Schools once again sets an example for what not to do
Columbus City Schools is the largest district in Ohio. It might also be the most dysfunctional, given its persistently low report card ratings, scandal-plagued history, sky-high chronic absenteeism rate, and longstanding refusal to deal with underenrolled buildings. This year, the district took its shenanigans to a whole new level when officials chose to flout a state law requiring them to provide transportation to students who live within district boundaries but attend non-district options like charter or private schools. In doing so, they robbed more than 1,300 students of access to safe and free school transportation. To make matters worse, district officials made this decision just a few short weeks before the first day of school, leaving hundreds of families—many of whom were low-income—scrambling to find alternatives.
In September, Attorney General Dave Yost sued the district for refusing to fulfill their legal obligation to transport kids. In October, the district began busing roughly 100 students who disputed the district’s claim that they were “impractical” to transport. And in November, one of the charter schools affected by the debacle opted to pursue a class action lawsuit. At the time of this writing, the legal mess has yet to be resolved and the full extent of the disruption to students’ learning remains unclear.
One: The science of reading initiative hits the ground running
Let’s end our countdown on a positive note. In 2023, Ohio policymakers established a statewide initiative focused on the science of reading, an evidence-based instructional approach that focuses on phonics and knowledge-building. As part of the initiative, public schools must use curriculum, instructional materials, and intervention programs aligned with reading science. To assist schools with the transition, lawmakers charged DEW with two important tasks: surveying districts and charters about their reading programs, and establishing a list of high-quality materials from which schools could choose.
Survey results were published in February, as was an initial list of state-approved materials (which has been subsequently updated). According to survey results, several core curricula that appear on the state-approved list were already commonly used in Ohio classrooms. But there were also dozens of districts and schools that reported using ineffective curricula that did not meet Ohio’s new science of reading guidelines. In fact, two-thirds of Ohio districts were not using fully aligned core ELA elementary curricula. Fortunately, lawmakers set aside $64 million in state funds to subsidize the purchase of new materials.
Ohio’s science of reading initiative wasn’t limited to curricula. Thousands of teachers and administrators participated in mandated professional development and received stipends upon completion. Reading coaches provided intensive support to staff in more than 100 schools and districts. The Department of Higher Education prepared to begin audits of Ohio’s teacher preparation programs to ensure their training aligns with the science of reading. And just last month, Governor DeWine announced that the U.S. Department of Education awarded Ohio a $60 million grant that will provide further help with implementation. Ohio still has a long way to go to boost its literacy outcomes. But so far, implementation is off to a promising start.
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And there you have it—a countdown of Ohio’s biggest education stories from 2024. Stay tuned for Fordham’s predictions about what the new year will bring.
