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The Ohio Gadfly Daily News has arrived
Ohio education news and Fordham commentary, just what the doctor ordered
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Advanced Education
The Icarus Syndrome: Why Do Some High Flyers Soar While Others Fall?
Why do many high-achieving students struggle to sustain their academic performance over time? Eric Parsons, an economist at the University of Missouri, takes a crack at finding the answer—and unearths a paradox. In this study, he follows a single cohort of high-performing students in Missouri from grade 3 through grade 9 to see which school factors influence their academic success.
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Preparing Today’s Students for Tomorrow’s Jobs in Metropolitan America
This edited volume, courtesy of University of Pennsylvania education professor Laura Perna, addresses the widening gaps between the education qualifications of the population and the demands of the job market. Since a different analyst wrote each chapter, we are presented with a smorgasbord of data and recommendations.
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Not So Modest: Pension Benefits for Full-Career State Government Employees
Just how generous are public pension plans? In this AEI report, Andrew Biggs tabulates the benefits—including pension and Social Security benefits, but not including health care benefits—that an average, full-career, state employee who retired in 2011 or 2012 now receives and compares the total with the income of full-time, full-year employees in his state.
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Ohio's billion dollar bonanza
The proposal of a few members of the state legislature to increase the transparency around charter schools is a fine idea. But their allegation that charters “waste” public funds—apparently without acknowledging the infirmity of Ohio’s urban districts—is shameful discourse that conceals the woeful facts about public schools in urban areas, where most charters reside.
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The electorate's apathy toward school boards
School boards matter. Indeed, in Fordham’s new report Do School Boards Matter? researchers found that knowledgeable, hard-working boards that prioritize student achievement govern higher-performing districts.
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PISA 2012 Results: Creative Problem Solving
Is a consolation prize better than no prize at all? That’s the question American educators might ponder with this week’s release of the PISA 2012 problem-solving-assessment results.
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PISA 2012 Results: Creative Problem Solving
Is a consolation prize better than no prize at all? That’s the question American educators might ponder with this week’s release of the PISA 2012 problem-solving-assessment results.
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Building a Better Teacher: How Teaching Works (and How to Teach It to Everyone)
Author Elizabeth Green on what makes a great teacher—and great teaching.
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A big win for the Big Apple’s charters
Governor Andrew Cuomo and embattled Mayor Bill de Blasio have reached a tentative deal.
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The Petrilli Putsch
As announced last fall, Michael J. Petrilli will be succeeding Chester E. Finn, Jr. as president of the Fordham Institute come August. Here’s an update on the transition.
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A facilities fracas and well-deserved kudos
An ODE data guru gets a big honor and a Toledo charter school gets a big run around.
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Skill-Based Sorting in the Era of College Prep for All: Costs and Benefits
To sort or not to sort? That question vexes many schools. And still will, despite this new research brief, which summarizes pros and cons of tracking students by skill level but fails to resolve anything. The authors looked at a number of studies of the effects of two Chicago Public Schools policies—one that reduced skill-based sorting and one that increased it.