Gadfly Bites 9/22/25—There’s information and then there’s deflection

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Let’s start today’s clips on the low end of the scale re: newly-released state report cards. TV news in Cleveland is focusing on the I Promise School in Akron, which earned a low Performance Index score, very low test scores, and some of the worst proficiency rates in the state for its students in both English and math. Fordham’s Jessica Poiner, a northeast Ohio native who has written extensively about I Promise’s genesis and evolution, is quoted and linked throughout this piece, but the key for me is the statement from Akron City Schools that has a whole lot of ~~information~~ deflection about why things have not improved given all the money, personnel, and supports poured into the school. (Fox 8 News, Cleveland, 9/18/25)
Jessica has also been keeping close tabs on East Cleveland City Schools, once one of the worst-performing districts in the state and one of just two still subject to an Academic Distress Commission…nominally. Her past work is not quoted in here, but I’m sure she’ll be digging into the data again soon enough. Because things appear to be looking up for the district, and its leader has lots of information (compare to the above “information” provided by Akron City Schools) on how he believes he and his team were able to move up from 2 stars to 3 stars overall. (Cleveland.com, 9/21/25)
Back on the low end again, Fordham’s Aaron Churchill is among the voices discussing the disappointing data on reading achievement statewide in this piece. Math achievement is a little better, but I’m not sure we should be cheering about this information just yet. (Dayton Daily News, 9/21/25)
Let’s end today’s clips on the higher end of the report card scale. The folks at Parma City Schools are celebrating a rise from 3.5 stars to 4 stars this year and while early literacy remains a low-scoring sore spot for them, they too have a lot of information about how they achieved their boost and how they plan to continue their rise. (Cleveland.com, 9/22/25)