Ohio’s voucher students no longer have to take state tests—here’s why that matters
About a month ago, Governor DeWine signed Ohio’s general operating budget into law.
About a month ago, Governor DeWine signed Ohio’s general operating budget into law.
As with most education issues, the research on private school choice is a mixed bag. Some studies indicate positive effects, while others suggest neutral or negative effects. What the vast majority of studies have in common is a focus on short-term outcomes—mostly student test scores.
For prosperous families, the universe of K–12 school options is almost limitless. But the possibilities for poor and working-class families are far fewer, especially when it comes to private schools.
This week, the Ohio Senate introduced its proposals for the biennial state budget, House Bill 166. The Senate retained important features of the executive and House versions of the budget, including substantial school funding increases to enhance student wellness.
All families deserve the opportunity to choose schools, whether public or private, that meet their needs and wants. To its credit, Ohio has been a trailblazing state when it comes to supporting private-school choice via state-funded scholarships, a.k.a.
Editor’s Note: Back in September 2018, awaiting the election of our next governor, we at the Fordham Institute began developing a set of policy proposals that we belie
The genesis of vouchers in Ohio stretches back to 1995 and the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring program. In 2006, vouchers expanded statewide via the Educational Choice Scholarship (or EdChoice), which aims to assist students assigned to a low-rated public school.
Shortly after Ohio lawmakers enacted a new voucher program in 2005, the state budget office wrote in its fiscal analysis, “The Educational Choice Scholarships are not only intended to offer another route for student success, but also to impel the administration and teaching staff of a failing school building to improve upon their students’ academic performance.” Today, the
Roughly 30,000 kids in Ohio take advantage of a publicly funded voucher (or “scholarship”).
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.
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?
This survey covers such topics as school quality and funding, academic standards, school reforms, proposals to improve how the public schools are run, teacher quality, charter schools and school vouchers. It follows up a survey conducted in 2005 and many of the questions are repeated, allowing us to gauge whether attitudes have shifted over time.