What Drives Our Research
Fordham Ohio advocates for policies that advance educational excellence for all Ohio students. High-quality research and analysis—conducted in-house and by external researchers and experts—helps us advance that goal by framing key issues with sound data.
Ohio Education By the Numbers
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute is pleased to present Ohio Education By The Numbers, which is an impartial, fact-based overview of K–12 education in the Buckeye State. We hope these data will inform conversations about improving education throughout the state.
Ohio charter schools after the pandemic: Are their students still learning more than they would in district schools?
One of the most routinely debated questions is whether charters provide a superior education when compared to the district alternative. Just prior to the pandemic, Fordham research showed that students attending brick-and-mortar charters in Ohio made significantly greater academic progress than their peers attending nearby district schools. Our latest research brief provides an updated analysis of brick-and-mortar charter school performance in the years after the pandemic (2021–22 and 2022–23).
2014 Fordham Sponsorship Annual Report
The 2014 Fordham Sponsorship Annual Report is our opportunity to share the Fordham Foundation’s work as the sponsor of eleven schools serving 3,200 students, and our related policy work in Ohio and nationally. We are fortunate as an organization that our policy work benefits our sponsorship efforts; and, that our lessons from sponsorship inform our policy and advocacy strategies.
Poised for Progress: Analysis of Ohio's School Report Cards 2013-14
On September 12th, Ohio released school report-card ratings for the 2013-14 school year. This report compiles and analyzes the statewide data, with special attention given to the quality of public schools in the Ohio Big Eight urban areas: Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, and Youngstown (both district and charter school sectors).
Pluck and Tenacity: How five private schools in Ohio have adapted to vouchers
Roughly 30,000 kids in Ohio take advantage of a publicly funded voucher (or “scholarship”).
Remodeled Report Cards, Remaining Challenges
Fordham's 2012-13 sponsorship annual report addresses our schools’ perspective regarding persistent challenges and how the schools address those challenges.
Parsing Performance - Analysis of Ohio’s new school report cards
This August, Ohio issued for the first time conventional A through F school grades along nine indicators of school performance.
Half empty or half full: Superintendents' views on Ohio's education reforms
This report is based on the responses to an online survey conducted in Spring 2013 with 344 school district superintendents in Ohio. The survey covered seven education policies, specifically: Common Core State Standards, teacher evaluations, the Third Grade Reading Guarantee, open enrollment, A-to-F ratings for schools and districts, individualized learning (blended learning and credit flexibility), and school choice (charter schools and vouchers). It also included several questions on general attitudes towards school reform in Ohio and two trend items. Download today to discover the key findings!
Limitless: Education, The Reynoldsburg Way
The Reynoldsburg City School District, just east of Columbus, is far down the “portfolio management” path – further than probably any suburban school district of its size. This feature article discusses portfolio management and takes readers behind the scenes in Reynoldsburg.
Steps in the Right Direction
Dr. Paul Hill evaluates Governor John Kasich's education budget proposal.
Needles in a Haystack
Profiles of six public high schools that serve poor and minority students to high levels of excellence.
2011-12 Ohio Report Card Analysis
Our annual analysis of school performance in our home state's major urban areas, plus a projection of proficiency rates when the PARCC exams arrive in 2014-15.
Moving Up: Fordham's 2011-12 Sponsorship Accountability Report
"Moving Up" is The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation's charter school sponsorship accountability report for 2011-12. Through it, we hope to help readers understand the complexities of charter schools and better appreciate the hard work of the teachers, school leaders, and board members who serve not only the schools we sponsor but also the schools around the state and nation that are working to make a difference in the lives of children. This year's report features an in-depth look at the struggles of two Fordham-sponsored schools in Dayton; it is researched and written by former Dayton Daily News reporter and editor Ellen Belcher.
Student Nomads: Mobility in Ohio's Schools
Our data show that students frequently change schools. Should public policies try to slow student mobility? Encourage it? Or make policies better attuned to it?