Ohio receives a federal grant to support its early literacy efforts
Last year, Ohio policymakers established a statewide science of reading initiative. And this year, that initiative is well underway.
Last year, Ohio policymakers established a statewide science of reading initiative. And this year, that initiative is well underway.
The term “citizen science” refers to research in any field conducted with participation from the general public and/or amateur researchers—a way of crowd-sourcing data in more volume through observations or experiments conducted outside of a lab.
The jury remains out regarding the true impact of pre-K enrollment on early elementary outcomes. Some research finds a positive impact, some a negative, and much of it shows the fading out of impacts by third grade or soon thereafter.
Author update (10/11/24): Since this piece was posted, sources have indicated Canton’s kindergarten data were misstated on its report card—a possibility acknowledged in this piece. The district's report card, as well as its elementary school report cards, now have “watermarks” flagging the data reporting error and indicating that the error may have impacted the ratings.
One of the most pressing challenges facing American education is closing achievement gaps.
New early literacy data from state report cards are part of the baseline from which we can measure the impact of Science of Reading reforms going forward. Here’s a look at ten Ohio districts whose results fill in important details for the future.
Ohio has a lot to be proud of when it comes to the post-pandemic academic recovery—but also much work left to do. That’s the message that comes out of my recent analysis of spring 2024 state assessment data released earlier this month.
Last week, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (DEW) released updated school report cards that offer a
Ohioans now have access to a brand-new set of school report cards based on results from the 2023–24 school year. The data they contain provide policymakers, advocates, and families with an updated look on how students are progressing academically in the wake of the pandemic.
Today, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce released its annual school report card, which is based on data from the 2023–24 school year. Included are five-star ratings that provide parents and the public with a user-friendly overview of district and school performance.
The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (DEW) will soon release Ohio’s school report cards for the 2023–24 school year.
When Ed Kurt came home to Margaretta Local School District in the summer of 2020, it was his second tour as superintendent. He had left the district six years earlier to lead Findlay City Schools.
Ohio students have yet to fully recover from pandemic-era declines in achievement.
Ohio elementary schools are moving to the Science of Reading, an approach that emphasizes phonics along with vocabulary- and knowledge-rich content. Keen on learning what this transition looks like inside classrooms, we asked Ellen Belcher, a former journalist with the Dayton Daily News, to visit Northridge Local Schools to shine light on their literacy practices. Our latest publication details Northridge's approach to updating their reading curriculum and instruction.
Dual enrollment (DE) is a catch-all term for the means by which students earn college credit while still in high school (or middle school). But that singular term covers a number of pathways with varying structures and delivery models. Do those differences impact student outcomes? And can program structure help ensure quality?
Ensuring rigorous implementation of the science of reading in Ohio's public schools is a heavy lift, but the payoff for success will be huge for students. Here's a look at three more important areas where implementation is underway.
Earlier this year, the Louisiana Department of Education launched a Let Teachers Teach workgroup. More than two dozen educators were tasked with identifying “common classroom disruptions and unnecessary bureaucracies” and then brainstorming solutions.
This is the fifth in a series in which I examine issues in K–12 education that Ohio leaders should tackle in the next biennial state budget.
Ohio is making bold moves to center its early literacy instruction fully on the Science of Reading. Our latest report examines one of the key implementation steps in the effort: Creating a state-approved list of high-quality literacy curricula and instructional materials.
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This is fourth in a series in which I examine issues in K–12 education that Ohio leaders should tackle in the next biennial state budget.
State tests are an important annual check-in for parents, teachers, communities, and policymakers, as they provide an objective assessment of student achievement based on grade-level standards.
What are the best ways to deploy finite resources for the betterment of young children? What inputs provide the most beneficial outcomes later in life? These are big, important questions whose answers matter to individuals, families, and society.
Changes to the way districts are funded when they accept open enrolled students from outside their borders threatens to shrink a popular and important public school choice program. This longstanding option must remain widely available and robust.
In 2023, Sarah Stitzlein—professor of education at the University of Cincinnati—asserted that “the health of our democracy in the United States depends directly on our public schools.” Her assessment summed up decades of thought and scholarship on the subjec
The soap opera at the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS), the entity that manages Ohio’s teacher pensions, has made non-stop headlines of late.
“Teaching to the test” is a common pejorative term that touches on a number of hot-button education policy issues—top-down mandates to schools, shrinking curriculum, hamstringing teacher autonomy and creativity, and dampening student interest in learning to name just a few.
Evidence from the state’s largest school district indicates that there are some potential pitfalls facing Ohio on its road toward improved reading achievement that policymakers should keep an eye on.
NOTE: Today, the Ohio House Higher Education Committee invited testimony from state and national policy leaders as part of their exploratory
This is second in a series where I examine issues in K–12 education that Ohio leaders should tackle in the next biennial state budget.