Ohio’s school funding formula is hurting open enrollment
This is third in a series in which I examine issues in K–12 education that Ohio leaders should tackle in the next biennial state budget.
This is third in a series in which I examine issues in K–12 education that Ohio leaders should tackle in the next biennial state budget.
The soap opera at the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS), the entity that manages Ohio’s teacher pensions, has made non-stop headlines of late.
“Teaching to the test” is a common pejorative term that touches on a number of hot-button education policy issues—top-down mandates to schools, shrinking curriculum, hamstringing teacher autonomy and creativity, and dampening student interest in learning to name just a few.
This is second in a series where I examine issues in K–12 education that Ohio leaders should tackle in the next biennial state budget.
A new report from the Hoover Institution’s Education Success Init
Ohio regularly creates and funds major education policies in a two-year biennial budget, so it’s never too early to start thinking about the 2025 cycle. This is the first of several posts where I’ll discuss issues that should be on lawmakers’ radars as they gear up.
As we approach September 2024, the education community is bracing for the expiration of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. There’s a growing narrative that this marks a significant funding cut for schools.
Although it’s a brand-new year, many Ohio students are still caught in the education riptide of the pandemic era.
What is the impact of teacher salary increases on recruitment and retention? A new report gives us an interesting on-the-ground look using data from Washington State.
With the past year now in the books, it’s time to look back. During 2023, we at Fordham wrote extensively about the biggest and most important policy issues of the past year, most of which were debated as part of the state budget process.
One of the best kept secrets in education policy is that Ohio policymakers have set achievement goals for Buckeye State students.
Between 2007 and 2022, California saw its K–12 public school enrollment decrease by more than 390,000 students, or more than 6 percent statewide, according to data from the state’s Department of Education.
In late November, two large urban Ohio school districts publicly engaged in academic goal-setting exercises. They ended very differently.
“Social promotion,” the practice of pushing struggling students from one grade to the next regardless of their academic readiness, can have damaging long-term effects.
For nearly two decades, Ohio’s EdChoice program has unlocked private school options for tens of thousands of students by offering state-funded scholarships.
Academic Distress Commissions (ADCs) have a long and controversial history in Ohio.
For more than two decades, Ohio’s school report cards have shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of the state’s public schools. This year’s report card is no different.
The first pandemic-influenced data from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) test are in. Unsurprisingly, an initial analysis says the news is bad.
This morning, the Ohio Department of Education released its annual school report cards based on results from the 2022-23 school year. This year’s iteration makes clear that the impacts of the pandemic on student learning are still being felt, especially for students from less advantaged backgrounds.
Some Ohio public schools may be headed for a world of hurt.
NOTE: The Thomas B. Fordham Institute occasionally publishes guest commentaries on its blogs. The views expressed by guest authors do not necessarily reflect those of Fordham.
The start of a new school year means that big yellow school buses are back on the road. For many, they’re a welcome sign that a familiar routine has resumed. For others, they spark nostalgia. But for district and school administrators across Ohio, the sight of a yellow bus likely spurs stress and concern thanks to widespread bus driver shortages.
As has been widely reported, students in Ohio and across the nation suffered major setbacks during the pandemic. Between 2019 and 2022, Ohio students lost on average the equivalent of roughly one-half grade-level of learning.
When classes moved abruptly online at Iowa State University in March 2020 as part of Covid-mitigation actions statewide, psychology professor Jason Chan expected big changes in student behavior. Specifically, he worried about his students being easily able to cheat on unproctored online exams.
Computer-adaptive testing (CAT) is on the rise in K–12 schools, from Seattle to Virginia
In 2018, basketball superstar LeBron James opened the I Promise School (IPS) in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. IPS is a joint effort between Akron Public Schools (APS), the I Promise Network, and the LeBron James Family Foundation. It’s overseen and operated by APS, the state’s seventh largest school district.
Enacted in 2012 under the leadership of Governor John Kasich, Ohio’s Third Grade Reading Guarantee included a retention requirement aimed at ending “social promotion,” the
On June 30, the Ohio House and Senate passed the state’s biennial budget bill for FYs 2024–25, and Governor DeWine signed the bill into law on July 3.
The end of our parental education journey is drawing near: Less than a year from now, both of our children will be looking at college graduation.
It’s been a very busy budget season in Ohio.