Regardless of whether you believe that too much is being asked of our schools and our educators these days, it is always worth asking whether th
The most commonly expressed motivator for school districts to adopt a four-day school week is monetary: lowering expenditures on hourly staff, transportation, and utilities costs. It is not incidental that the most recent uptick in districts opting for them was in the aftermath of the Great Recession.
Between the state budget, debates over school choice
Our own Chad Aldis is quoted in this piece from public radio here in Columbus, saying that the new state budget “completely divorced” school report cards from vouche
The U.S. Department of Labor defines stackable credentials as a “sequence of credentials that can be accumulated over time.” Research indicates that they can lead to higher-paying jobs for students and improve talent pipelines for employers. Over the last few years, Ohio has become a national leader in developing stackable credential pipelines.
As post-pandemic life cautiously starts to take shape here in America, uncertainty abounds. Will our systems and processes and activities eagerly snap back to their 2019 forms? Or will our lives in 2021 and beyond take on new contours influenced by what we have learned, for good and ill, during the challenges forced upon us by 2020?
Back in 2014, Ohio lawmakers overhauled the state’s dual-enrollment program that gives students opportunities to take advanced courses through two- or four-year colleges.
The state budget has long been the primary vehicle for instituting sweeping education policy changes in Ohio. Amidst all the hustle and bustle and debate, it’s easy to forget that standalone bills are still being proposed. In fact, given the high stakes, it may even seem wise to focus solely on the budget.
It’s rare for policies that are proposed in the state budget to sail untouched from the governor’s office through the House and to the Senate—especially if they’ll have a significant impact on the status quo.
In February, Governor DeWine asked all public schools to create plans designed to address the learning loss caused by pandemic-related school closures.
A new report from the Journal of Chemical Education takes a look—pre-pandemic—at the ways in which college students benefited from a new opportunity to participate remotely in their education.
NOTE: The Thomas B. Fordham Institute occasionally publishes guest commentaries on its blogs. The views expressed by guest authors do not necessarily reflect those of Fordham.
Improving the technical skills of Ohioans to meet changing workforce demands has been a priority for Governor DeWine since taking office in 2019.
In a time when the “traditional” K–12 educational experience is going through upheaval and reconfiguration into myriad pandemic-influenced shapes and sizes, it is important to note that many of the so-called innovations students are experiencing are not new. Sudden shutdowns of school buildings?
At this point, it’s common knowledge that Covid-related school closures are having a major impact on students. Absenteeism rates are high.
It’s no secret that the school closures and remote learning efforts brought about by Covid-19 may be causing a significant amount of student learning loss. To mitigate these losses, leaders at the state, local, and school level will need to get creative.
In March 2020, a group of researchers and economists led by Peter Q. Blair of Harvard University published a working paper exploring the idea that on-the-job skills acquisition could be just as valuable as a bachelor’s degree, or more, in helping workers move up the career ladder to higher-wage work.
It’s been over two years since the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act was signed into federal law with overwhelming bipartisan support. The law is a reauthorization of the Carl D.
Last year, hundreds of business and industry leaders, educators, state policymakers, and advocates gathered in downtown Columbus for Aim Hire, a day-long conference focused on workforce development hosted
When the coronavirus pandemic forced schools nationwide to close their doors abruptly last spring, it imposed similar difficulties onto schools of all types across the country.
In the last decade, Ohio leaders have advocated for an increased focus on career and technical education.
Research has shown that the human visual system is generally better at processing information that’s oriented in the horizontal and vertical planes—that i
Over the last few years, states have attempted to offer a clearer picture of how well high schools prepare students for the future by measuring college and career readiness (CCR), instead of just student achievement and graduation rates.
Research has established—and common sense reinforces—that postsecondary
As of spring 2019, sixteen states have enacted laws requiring schools to hold back students when they fail to read proficiently by the end of third grade.
A new school year typically brings a fresh outlook and new hope.
The pandemic has been a stark reminder of the importance of educational attainment in uncertain times.
Today, the Complete to Compete Ohio Coalition—a group of more than forty education, community, and business organizations—released a comprehensive action plan to increase the number of Ohioans who earn postsecondary cred
In its recent guidance on reopening schools, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) noted that the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed and exacerbated “deeply rooted social and educational inequities.” Sadly, that’s exactly right.
Editor’s Note: The Thomas B. Fordham Institute occasionally publishes guest commentaries on its blogs. The views expressed by guest authors do not necessarily reflect those of Fordham.
