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A Christmas Carol for our schools
Despite reports to the contrary, reformers acknowledge the role of poverty in education outcomes.
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Look out for Medicaid!
Medicaid now exceeds education spending as a proportion of state budgets. What does that mean for schools?
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A bold reform plan in Indianapolis looks to halt the status-quo of under achievement
The Mind Trust in Indianapolis released a plan over the weekend that proposes a bold and dramatic transformation of public education akin to what has taken place in New Orleans and New York City.
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The case for more details in Ohio’s history standards
Hearken back to junior high and high school for a moment. What “historical documents” were you taught in social studies and American history classes? The U.S. Constitution? Your state’s constitution?
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Charter Schools
Ohio school districts refuse to compete with nuns
Ohio's districts are shrinking from competition with parochial schools through expanded voucher programs.
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Curriculum & Instruction
All Over the Map: Comparing States’ Expectations for Student Performance in Science
The Proficiency Illusion, science edition
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"Multiplication is for White People": Raising Expectations for Other People’s Children
Let’s discuss the elephant in the room
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Schools of choice need to be schools of quality
David Brennan played a crucial role in expanding school choice in Ohio. Who will lead the next wave of reform?
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Charter Schools
Is there an Act II for David Brennan the Revolutionary?
Recent news that White Hat, the big, Ohio-based, profit-seeking charter school operator, faces financial problems was surely received as an early Christmas present by many long-time charter opponents, particularly within the Buckeye State. The company?s founder and leader, Akron industrialist David Brennan, has been a larger-than-life-target for school choice foes since Governor George Voinovich appointed him in 1992 to head a commission intended to advance choice in Ohio k-12 education.
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Unsolved problems and signs of hopeas 2012 dawns
The central problem besetting K-12 education in the United States today is still—as for almost thirty years now—that far too few of our kids are learning nearly enough for their own or the nation’s good. And the gains we’ve made, though well worth making, have been meager (and largely confined to math), are trumped by gains in other countries, and evaporate by the end of high school.
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Charter Schools
Incubate to promulgate
Since 2005, Fordham has been working in Ohio to recruit high quality charter schools to neighborhoods badly in need of better schools. During our six-plus years of effort as a charter authorizer we have managed to recruit just two high-performing models to Columbus (KIPP and a BES school).
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Charter Schools
From talking the talk to walking the walk of urban school choice
My husband and I have to decide in the next year where our 4-year old son will go to school and it is a daunting decision.
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NAEP results from Cleveland show that achievement needle is stuck in place
The NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) results for mathematics and reading were released last week. The TUDA results look specifically at 21 large urban school districts that volunteered to have their NAEP scores reported separately (three of which participated for the first time; see the complete rundown of cities here).
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Columbus Collegiate Academy teacher is teacher of the year
We?d like to extend our congratulations to Jennifer Felbaum, a teacher at Fordham-sponsored Columbus Collegiate Academy in Columbus. Jennifer was the recipient of the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter School?s annual teacher of the year award, a distinction given to just one teacher in Ohio for significant contributions when it comes to advancing student achievement
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Grading on a Curve: The Illusion of Excellence in Ohio's Schools
The number of districts rated excellent in Ohio has risen dramatically over the past several years, from 85 in the 2002-2003 school year to 352 in the 2010-11 school year (almost 60 percent of all districts in the state).
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Striving for Student Success: A Model of Shared Accountability
Like any large city, Cincinnati faces challenges in educating youth living in poverty. When it was reported that the number of Ohio and Kentucky students attending college lagged far behind that in other states, organizers at the KnowledgeWorks Foundation and the University of Cincinnati decided to increase Ohio and Kentucky?s post-secondary enrollment numbers.
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Rick Scott, meet the Iron Lady
The Rick Scott (and the Tea Party) could learn some lessons from Margaret Thatcher.
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Newt 2: more jobs for kids
Is Newt Gingrich the GOP candidate with the most thought-out education policy?
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How can we broaden a narrowing curriculum?
Is testing the cause of or solution to the crowding out of important subjects?
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Charter Schools
Charter school incubation 101
View the footage from the Fordham & CEE-Trust charter incubation panel discussion, "Driving Quality."
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New approaches to education governance
View the footage from the third and fourth sessions of the December 1, 2011 Fordham-CAP "Rethinking Education Governance" conference.