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.

2017 Wonkathon: Who was the wisest wonk?

By The Education Gadfly

Gadfly Bites 3/10/17 - If only someone had released a report this week on ways to improve school funding in Ohio...

So there’s some reportage on the topic of school funding to report today. Just not the particular part of the topic I thought might get some coverage.

Text of testimony given before the Joint Education Oversight Committee 3/9/17

NOTE: The Joint Education Oversight Committee of the Ohio General Assembly is hearing testimony this week on Ohio's proposed ESSA accountability plan.

Report Foreword: A Formula that Works

School funding debates are as predictable as the seasons, and right on cue, the release of Governor John Kasich’s biennial budget has precipitated hand-wringing from various corners of Ohio. Why? Like many other states, Ohio’s budget is tightening and his plan would reduce the amount of state aid for dozens of districts that have been consistently losing student enrollment.

Too many school districts forgo acceleration and leave bright students behind

By Josh Dwyer and Carolyn E. Welch, J.D.

Gadfly Bites 3/8/17 - What up, J.D.!

The Middletown newspaper today caught up with local-boy-made-good: J.D. Vance. (Middletown Journal-News, 3/8/17)

Gadfly Bites 3/6/17 - True confessions of outgoing Lorain distress commission members

Interesting coverage of a convening in Dayton last week in which education stakeholders got together to discuss ways to close the racial achievement gap and to end implicit racial and cultural bias in area schools. (Dayton Daily News, 3/3/17)

Providing more gifted classes to children of color in Florida

By Adeyela Bennett and Bradley Bennett

Gadfly Bites 3/3/17 - "A declining pool of applicants"

Sad news from Cincinnati this week: due to a “declining pool of applicants” two Catholic girls schools will merge at the end of the 2017-18 school year, eliminating activity at the century-old Mother of Mercy school building.

Gadfly Bites 3/1/17 - The topic of the day is "rifts"

The reach of Fordham’s Aaron Churchill is wide. Case in point: his guest commentary on the influence of union interests in the current LAUSD school board race. (LA School Report/The 74, 2/28/17)

Fordham Ohio panel discussion: Strengthening school funding in Ohio

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Gadfly Bites 2/27/17 - It's "long overdue to bring back these dollars.”

It was announced last week that Dayton City Schools will be initiating a new online school starting in the 2017-18 school year.

Putting growth closer to the center of Ohio’s overall school grading formula

Under federal and state law, Ohio policy makers are responsible for gauging and reporting on the performance of its 3,000 public schools and 600 districts. To do this, Ohio has a report card system that assigns A-F grades based on a variety of performance indicators.

Gadfly Bites 2/24/17 - Farewell, Lorain ADC. We hardly knew ye.

At its sunset, the Lorain City Schools’ Academic Distress Commission was lionized by the school board at a special meeting this week. Nope. I don’t get it either. (Northern Ohio Morning Journal, 2/22/17)