Connecting psychology research to gifted education practice

By Matthew C. Makel, Rena Subotnik, Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, and Jonathan Plucker

Gadfly Bites 4/10/17 - The answer to that headline's question is NO!

Our own Aaron Churchill is quoted in this piece looking at the proposal being floated in Ohio to water down graduation requirements. Spoiler alert: Aaron is against said watering down. (Columbus Dispatch, 4/9/17)

"Gifted": We can all do something right

By M. René Islas and Marc Webb

Gadfly Bites 4/7/17 - How can you measure success if you define your job by what it's not?

All six members of the new five-member Lorain Academic Distress Commission were named simultaneously yesterday.

Hits and a miss: Ohio’s Educator Standards Board recommends teacher evaluation changes

In March, Ohio’s Educator Standards Board (ESB) released six recommendations for revising the

Text of testimony given before the Senate Education Committee 4/5/17

NOTE: The Senate Education Committee of the Ohio General Assembly is hearing proponent testimony this week on Senate Bill 85, a proposal that would significantly alter Ohio’s voucher programs. Below is the written testimony that Chad Aldis gave before the committee today.

Gadfly Bites 4/5/17 - The defiance edition

The Dayton Daily News announced this week – with something akin to relief, or maybe glee? – that there are no changes to Ohio’s testing regimen for the first time in three years. Not for lack of trying, I’m sure.

Ohio budget bill tugs College Credit Plus in wrong direction

NOTE: An addendum to this blog post, incorporating important new information, was published on Ohio Gadfly Daily on 4/17/17.

Evaluation of Grades 2 and 3 Reading Tutoring Intervention in Youngstown

Research on individualized, in-school tutoring such as Match Corps has demonstrated impressive results.

Gadfly Bites 4/3/17 - No varsity sports + lots of school choice = Dayton's worst nightmare?

Our own Chad Aldis today offers a suggestion or two for folks interested in reducing standardized testing in Ohio schools. (Columbus Dispatch, 4/3/17)

Gadfly Bites 3/31/17 - How on earth do we sell this thing?

What’s the biggest education news story going in Ohio this week?

Text of testimony given before the House Finance Committee 3/30/17

NOTE: The House Finance Committee of the Ohio General Assembly is hearing testimony this week on the education portion of Ohio's next biennial budget.

Gadfly Bites 3/29/17 - The art(s) of the deal

Leaders at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center have rejected an offer from Cincinnati City Schools to move to the old mansion next door, which the district recently purchased, saying it’s too small for their needs and would require too much renovation.

Ohio’s assessment committee is stacked

“Government by the people” is one of the most powerful ideas in American government. It represents the belief that, in a democracy, the people hold sovereignty over government and not the reverse.  

Ohio’s method of funding charter schools is convoluted, in need of change

Do grades or test scores better predict new students’ success in credit-bearing college courses?

A recent report from Education Northwest extends previous research by the same lead researcher, drilling down into the same dataset in order to fine-tune the original findings.

Gadfly Bites 3/27/17 - Feeling nettled about school choice

At the risk of diluting the cool factor of my kids’ current favorite word, reporter Patrick O’Donnell appears to be “nettled” over the possible expansion of private school vouchers in Ohio.

Gadfly Bites 3/24/17 - Sports-related animosities run deep. Really deep. Like, completely unfathomably deep.

During the divisive teachers strike in Louisville, Ohio, we learned that there were also serious divisions between Louisville and other nearby towns.

Ohio: Give up on teacher “evaluations” and focus on teacher feedback instead

When the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES) went into effect in 2011, it was the culmination of a process that began back in 2009 with House Bill 1.

Should Ohio cut any of its tests?

After much criticism, state superintendent Paolo DeMaria decided to delay Ohio’s submission of its ESSA plan until September.

Gadfly Bites 3/22/17 - Education news clip bonanza!

Despite what was discussed – and however heatedly that discussion was had by board members this week – I am reasonably certain that neither the number of school buses actually available to be driven (HOW MANY do they want?!) nor the ages of those vehicles are part of

Gadfly Bites 3/20/17 - Kasich-for-a-day

Interesting rhetorical pivot from the state supe this week. After announcing that Ohio was going to delay submitting its ESSA accountability plan due to “public outcry” over a lack of changes in the state’s standardized testing regimen (i.e.

Gadfly Bites 3/17/17 - The Clifton Miracle

We mentioned earlier this week that Ohio has decided to postpone submission of its ESSA accountability plan until September due to “outcry” from folks who said they hadn’t been heard during the input process.

Text of testimony given before the House Finance Subcommittee on Primary and Secondary Education 3/16/17

NOTE: The House Finance Subcommittee on Primary and Secondary Education of the Ohio General Assembly is hearing testimony this week on the education portion of Ohio's next biennial budget. Below is the written testimony that Chad Aldis gave before the subcommittee today.

Born to lead? The effect of birth order on non-cognitive abilities

Research into non-cognitive aspects of human development is all the rage, and this study marries it with our fascination with birth order.

Building Equity: Fairness in Property Tax Effort for Education

Local property taxes provide $180 billion for education nationally (29 percent of all funding), which makes the administration’s $20 billion promise seem cheap. A new study by EdBuild looks into the fairness of the local property taxes that raise those funds.

The winner of Fordham's 2017 Wonkathon is...

In Fordham’s fourth annual Wonkathon, twelve policy experts opined on how President Trump should structure his highly anticipated $20 billion school choice proposal:

Gadfly Bites 3/15/17 - Praise Be to St. Plimpton!

In case you missed it, those previously-mentioned supplications to St. Plimpton – Patron Saint of Ink-Stained Wretches and Soother of Caffeine-Induced Ulcers – appear to have worked. It was announced this week that the Ohio Department of Education would delay submitting the state’s proposed ESSA accountability plan from April to September.

Why requiring juniors to take the ACT or SAT is good policy

Back in 2014, the passage of House Bill 487 ushered in major changes to Ohio education policy, including new high school graduation requirements for

Gadfly Bites 3/13/17 - Dear St. Plimpton, hear thou our supplication...

We start today’s Bites with a bit of coverage of our latest report – A Formula That Works – and of last week’s release event. I get the impression that the reporter doesn’t buy in to the title of said report. Thanks for coming anyway.