Gadfly Bites 9/6/23—Reality bites…and so do bats

Despite steady gains, much work remains on Ohio’s academic recovery

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.

A new state initiative could help districts address the bus driver shortage

The start of a new school year means that big yellow school buses are back on the road. For many, they’re a welcome sign that a familiar routine has resumed. For others, they spark nostalgia. But for district and school administrators across Ohio, the sight of a yellow bus likely spurs stress and concern thanks to widespread bus driver shortages.

Are college completion grants a no-incentive incentive?

At the same time that the number of degree earners in the U.S.

Ohio Charter News Weekly – 9.1.23

First first day

Gadfly Bites 9/1/23—The circus is in town—all three rings of it

Approximately 7 hours of talks on both Wednesday and Thursday between Youngstown teach

Here’s how Governor DeWine and Ohio lawmakers expanded CTE access this legislative session

Career and technical education (CTE) was a huge priority for Ohio lawmakers during the recent budget cycle.

Dr. Stéphane Lavertu joins the Fordham Institute as Senior Research Fellow

Today, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute announced that Dr. Stéphane Lavertu will join the Institute as a Senior Research Fellow. Dr.

Gadfly Bites 8/30/23—Who’s zoomin’ who?

Contract talks are to resume in Youngstown this afternoon.

Gadfly Bites 8/28/23—No bueno

Back from a little vacation. Sorry (for you) that’s it’s over! 

Are students more likely to cheat on unproctored online exams?

When classes moved abruptly online at Iowa State University in March 2020 as part of Covid-mitigation actions statewide, psychology professor Jason Chan expected big changes in student behavior. Specifically, he worried about his students being easily able to cheat on unproctored online exams.

Lawmakers shouldn’t give up on a Direct Admissions program

The recently completed state budget includes historic education provisions that could have a tremendous impact on students and families.

Gadfly Bites 8/21/23—Saturday School

A busier-than-usual weekend in a couple of northeast Ohio hotspots, it seems.

Ohio Charter News Weekly – 8.18.23

Changing, growing, improving

Gadfly Bites 8/18/23—Cultivating fear

There’s not a whole lot about actual teaching and learning involved in this

Seven ways state leaders can rigorously implement the science of reading in Ohio

With the ink dry on a historic state budget, attention now turns to implementing various components of the legislation.

Gadfly Bites 8/16/23—The Devil Wears Casetify

It’s always something, isn’t it? This year’s new favorite “kids can’t learn if…” boogieman is cellphones.

A tiny provision in the budget could have a big positive impact on Ohio students who exercise school choice

Between expanded voucher eligibility, funding increases for charter schools,

Gadfly Bites 8/14/23—Can he fix it?

As we have previously established, Dayton City Schools’ new interim superintendent is in full Bob the Builder mode, moving at warp speed to tackle literally anything he deems in need of fixing in his district, starting at

Ohio Charter News Weekly – 8.11.23

Ready for the road yet?

Gadfly Bites 8/11/23—Sad trombone

While

Gadfly Bites 8/9/23—You don’t say, padre

Some nice words for Ohio in this opinion piece written by the Senior Vice President of the Commonwealth Foundation in Pennsylvania.

Student acceptance of computer-adaptive testing

Computer-adaptive testing (CAT) is on the rise in K–12 schools, from Seattle to Virginia

An in-depth analysis of the I Promise School’s troubling academic results

In 2018, basketball superstar LeBron James opened the I Promise School (IPS) in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. IPS is a joint effort between Akron Public Schools (APS), the I Promise Network, and the LeBron James Family Foundation. It’s overseen and operated by APS, the state’s seventh largest school district.

Gadfly Bites 8/7/23—“I can’t go anywhere where somebody doesn’t stop me and say, it’s about time.”

Only one clip today, but I think it’s great that this one stands on its own…for a lot of reasons.

Ohio Charter News Weekly – 8.4.23

New support for Ohio students

Gadfly Bites 8/4/23—Grizzled

There are a lot of words in this piece (nearly 2,900 of them) talking in the most negative possible terms about state takeovers of chronically-underperforming districts and schools.

Gadfly Bites 8/2/23—Spreading the Good News

This is the article that every Columbus school parent has been waiting for: Asking the question

Mayoral control has been good for Cleveland schools

A recent headline in Education Week suggested that mayoral control is a “fading school reform.” The piece noted the impending transition to an elected school board in Chicago, as well as efforts in Boston to wrest co

Gadfly Bites 7/31/23—What we did over summer break

Fox News and several other national entities covered the I Promise School story we talked about on Friday.