Despite steady gains, much work remains on Ohio’s academic recovery
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.
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.
As this year’s budget process races to the finish line, state lawmakers are the midst of making decisions about what stays and what goes. The current, Senate-passed version of the budget bill has dozens of provisions that would move K–12 education in the right direction.
In its biennial budget plan for FYs 2024–25, the Senate—as did the House—proposed a hefty increase in K–12 education spending.
To use football parlance, education reform often feels like three yards and a cloud of dust. Yet sometimes the gains are bigger—a long forward pass—and that’s what the Ohio Senate’s final budget bill, which passed the chamber yesterday, would amount to. These are the key proposals in their game plan.
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.
Today, the Ohio Senate unveiled its version of the biennial state budget (Substitute House Bill 33). Among the K-12 education highlights from the upper chamber’s bill include: Increasing accountability for the state education agency to rigorously implement education laws through much-needed governance reforms;
NOTE: This piece was originally published by RealClear Education.
Following Florida’s lead, about twenty states, including Ohio, have enacted laws that require schools to retain third gra
Today, Ohio Excels and the Ohio Education Research Center (OERC) released a study on the academic impact of retaining students under Ohio’s Third Grade Reading Guarantee and providing them with extra support.
By now, it’s no secret that the pandemic and schools’ pivot to remote learning was a disaster for most students.
NOTE: This piece was originally published in the Dayton Daily News.
Earlier this week, the Ohio House of Representatives passed its version of the state budget bill for FYs 2024 and 2025. The House legislation follows up on Governor DeWine’s budget introduced in February. Included in this massive legislation are hundreds of provisions affecting K–12 education. How did the lower chamber do?
The state budget bill that was passed by the House this week contains a provision that, if enacted, would be a boon to some of Ohio’s most vulnerable children and a vital support to the schools that serve them.
Ohio’s recent focus on early literacy is largely thanks to Governor DeWine’s budget recommendations, which contain a bold plan to boost reading achievement in Ohio.
Over the last few weeks, debates about early literacy have dominated headlines in Ohio.
NOTE: Today, members of the Ohio House Finance Committee received testimony on the education provisions of Substitute House Bill 33, establishing the operating budget for the sta
A basic principle of school funding is that dollars ought to follow students to the schools they actually attend. Funds shouldn’t be directed to the schools that children attended last year or the year before. That’s because the schools serving students today bear the responsibility—and costs—of educating them today.
In 2012, Ohio lawmakers enacted the Third Grade Reading Guarantee, a significant early literacy reform package. Under the initiative, schools must administer diagnostic reading assessments to students in grades K–3.
In a series of articles, I’ve been looking at various issues
NOTE: Today, the Ohio House's Finance Subcommittee on Primary and Secondary Education Committee heard testimony on House Bill 33, legislation establishing the state’s budget for fis
During his first term, Governor DeWine established a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at helping schools address the non-academic needs of students.