Commentary
Commentary
Every American school has talented students. It's time to start acting like we believe that.
By Jonathan Plucker, Ph.D.
Commentary
Commentary
Narrowing the gifted gap for disadvantaged students
By Chester E. Finn, Jr. and Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/31/18 - Basking in the pure glow of pragmatism
Editors in Toledo this week offered their opinion on the closure of ECOT. It’s generally what you’d expect, but it curiously includes something of a warning that might seem a little odd at first blush, but will not be that big of a surprise for all of my loyal Gadfly Bites subscribers.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing
Can mixed assessment methods make biology classes more equitable?
Much attention is fittingly paid to race- and income-based achievement gaps in K-12 schools. But research has also documented similar and worrying gender-based gaps in college classes on high-stakes science tests.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/29/18 - Why we work, and why we must work harder
It’s always interesting when education stories are covered in unconventional outlets.
Commentary
Commentary
Teachers & School Leaders
Cleveland casts a shadow on a solid teacher evaluation bill
Over the past few years, there’s been a lot of talk about changing the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES).
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/24/18 - Big old "duh"
Columbus City Schools is, apparently, facing a budget shortfall within two years, and the initial discussions about solving it involve closing it down immediately so it can repay lost revenue to the state of Ohio the elimination of up to 163 positions.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/22/18 - The saddest surprise party
With ECOT closed, a special master appointed by the court to help oversee things like records transfer and asset management, and families working to find new schools that are at least the second-best fit for their kids, it seems there is little else for education reporters
Commentary
Governance
Superintendent DeMaria joined Chiefs for Change: Here’s what it could mean for Ohio
Earlier this week, Chiefs for Change (CFC) announced that Ohio’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, Paolo DeMaria, joined their network.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/19/18 - Why shouldn't we give up on our education? You just did.
The 2018 Quality Counts ratings are out and very little has changed for Ohio from the previous year. Doesn’t stop folks from trying to spin those results into a vision of speculative doom. Our own Chad Aldis is quoted in this piece as the voice of anti-spin.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/17/18 - Enhancements
Changes are coming to the popular College Credit Plus program as early as this summer, courtesy of the Chancellor of Higher Education (at the request of the General Assembly).
Commentary
Governance
A birds-eye view of school funding policy in the U.S.
Creating school funding policy is a delicate juggling act for state leaders. Contentious issues include deciding the responsibilities of local and state governments; determining efficient and fair ways to allocate funds; and ensuring economically friendly tax policies while raising sufficient revenue.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/12/18 - "Fighting" is the operative word
We should probably start with the big ECOT news, I guess. Did you see that ECOT’s request to become a dropout recovery school was rejected by the Ohio Department of Education yesterday? No? How on earth did you miss that? Wonder what else was screaming off the headlines that took your attention?
Commentary
Accountability & Testing
The cohort graduation rate problem: What Ohio data tell us
By Jessica Shopoff, M.Ed. and Chase Eskelsen, M.Ed.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/10/18 - "What is the purpose and what is the outcome?"
Editors in Akron opined in favor of revamped state report cards for schools and districts, opining in favor of Fordham’s recent report on same along the way.
Commentary
Governance
Four big education stories you might have missed over the holiday
I don’t know about you, but for the most part, I shut down my social media and news apps over the winter holiday this year. As it turns out, tending to your neighbor’s chickens, building gingerbread houses, and riding sleds are all good strategies for recovering from the dumpster fire that was 2017.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/8/18 - Ohio's War on Knowing Stuff continues unabated
Ahead of this week’s state board of education meeting, the Dispatch took a look at the issue of graduation requirements, sure to be a highlight of the agenda. If the one board member quoted here is anything to go by, extending the no-competency diploma pathways to the Classes of 2019 and 2020—two new fronts in the state’s War on Knowing Stuff—is a slam dunk.
Commentary
Governance
It’s time to be more than just a critic
One of the perils of working at a think tank, especially one like Fordham, which encourages provocative ideas and never shies away from a debate, is that it can be easy to anger or frustrate even your closest allies. That’s especially true in this polarized, fraught time we’re living in.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/5/18 - Let the DeLorean rust in peace
A task force was created this week to lead discussion and recommend a course of action to deal with the—frankly pretty enormous—problem of Dayton City Schools’ numerous underutilized buildings.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/3/18 - Back on schedule and even reporting the current year!
Fordham is namechecked in this brief New Year’s Day story on possible report card changes for schools and districts coming via legislation in 2018.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/2/18 - Rounding up the last stories of 2017
Closing out the year with a further discussion of graduation rates, the Dispatch settled on the topic of charter school grad rates, finding them to be far lower than for traditional district schools.
Commentary
Governance
Predicting the top 5 education issues for 2018
To ring in the New Year, we at the Ohio Gadfly have a tradition—two years running!—of predicting the top issues in education for the coming year.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 12/22/17 - "A pharmacist may have a great pill for headaches, but that may not be what a patient needs for a broken femur"
The outgoing school board and the interim supe made some fairly permanent decisions this week regarding the school closure process in Dayton.
Commentary
Governance
The top 7 Ohio education stories of 2017
In the world of American politics, controversy dominated 2017. In the world of Ohio education policy, things were a bit quieter—but still eventful. As we say goodbye (or good riddance) to 2017, here’s a look at the seven biggest education stories of the year.7) State budget
Commentary
Gadfly Bites 12/20/17 - Is it to early to call it "Breakfastgate"?
In case you missed it, Aaron Churchill had an op ed published in the Dispatch yesterday in which he argues for a revamp of Ohio’s school and district report cards. He lays out in brief the recommendations of his recent Back to the Basics report. (Columbus Dispatch, 12/19/17)
Commentary
Governance
Top Fordham Ohio blog posts of 2017
Here at Fordham, we try to keep our finger on the pulse of what our Ohio readers are interested in. But every year, we are pleasantly surprised when blog posts take on lives of their own.Herewith, the most-read Ohio Gadfly blog posts of 2017, with some thoughts as to why these pieces caught your attention.1. The student perspective
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 12/18/17 -- Why should it be a leap of faith for a parent to expect a district school to prepare her child for the future?
Fordham’s Aaron Churchill is quoted in this Dispatch piece on the topic of rising high school graduation rates. Our research guru warns that giving out unearned diplomas just for the sake of “fairness” can devalue both the piece of paper and the education it is supposed to represent.