The costs of action and inaction
The Education GadflyEveryone and their mothers are talking about the so-called “fiscal cliff”—the automatic budget cuts and tax increases that will affect all federal discretionary spending programs, cut you off in traffic, steal an old lady’s handbag, and wreak general havoc if lawmakers don’t co
Student Nomads: Mobility in Ohio's Schools
Our data show that students frequently change schools. Should public policies try to slow student mobility? Encourage it? Or make policies better attuned to it?
Young, gifted, and neglected
Chester E. Finn, Jr.We need to raise the ceiling for Ohio's highest-performing students
Exam Schools: Inside America's Most Selective Public High Schools
The newest addition to Fordham's library, co-authored by Checker and Jessica Hockett
Education takes off: Rocketships and high flyers abound
The Education GadflyAggressive marketing campaigns have led to an
Accountability and perspective needed for drop-out recovery charters
Aaron ChurchillDrop-out recovery charter schools annually serve about 20 percent of Ohio’s charter students but have never been held accountable for the performance of their students.
Taking care of Florida’s high flyers
Adam EmersonFast-tracking the future in the Sunshine State
The Louisiana Recovery School District: Lessons for the Buckeye State
Nelson SmithIs it time for Ohio to consider new forms of governance and management for its most troubled schools and districts, and, if so, what might alternatives look like?
Unsolved problems—and signs of hope—as 2012 dawns
Chester E. Finn, Jr.The central problem besetting K-12 education in the United States today is still—as for almost thirty years now—that far too few of our kids are learning nearly enough for their own or the nation’s good. And the gains we’ve made, though well worth making, have been meager (and largely confined to math), are trumped by gains in other countries, and evaporate by the end of high school.
Checked Out: Ohioans' Views on Education 2009
In partnership with the independent education journal Catalyst Ohio (see here), we resolved to find out, and enlisted the expert help of the nonpartisan FDR Group (see here), a respected survey research firm led by veteran public opinion analysts Steve Farkas and Ann Duffett. The result is Checked Out: Ohioans' Views on Education 2009. This is the third such survey that we at Fordham have undertaken since 2005 on education issues in the Buckeye State. This makes it possible to track some key trends in public opinion over time.
After the Budget, What Next? Ohio's Education Policy Priorities
To what extent have Ohio's leaders met the challenges and opportunities before them in K-12 education? What needs to happen next?
Yearning to Break Free
Steve Farkas, Ann DuffettStatewide survey of Ohio school district superintendents (and other education leaders) on the most critical issues facing K-12 education in the Buckeye State, including budgets, school effectiveness, and troublesome laws.
Education Imperatives for Ohio: K-12 Policy Priorities for the New Biennium
Ohio Education GadflyIn this policy brief, Fordham gives its advice to Governor-elect Kasich and the incoming leaders of the Ohio House and Senate as it relates to the future of K-12 education policy in the Buckeye State.
Accelerating Student Learning in Ohio
Emmy L. Partin, Terry RyanAs Gov. Ted Strickland concludes his 12-city "Conversation on Education" tour to gather ideas for reforming public education in Ohio, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute has put forth a report of five recommendations designed to keep improvements in the Buckeye State's public schools on track toward three critical goals: 1) maximizing the talents of every child; 2) producing graduates as good as any in the world; and 3) closing the persistent academic gaps that continue between rich and poor, and black and white and brown.
Golden Peaks and Perilous Cliffs
Michael PodgurskyDespite its long history and prodigious size, all is not well with Ohio's teacher pension system. In this Fordham Institute report, nationally renowned economists Robert Costrell and Mike Podgursky illuminate some of the serious challenges facing STRS.
Ohioans' Views on Education 2007
Steve FarkasThis survey covers such topics as school quality and funding, academic standards, school reforms, proposals to improve how the public schools are run, teacher quality, charter schools and school vouchers. It follows up a survey conducted in 2005 and many of the questions are repeated, allowing us to gauge whether attitudes have shifted over time.
Halfway Out the Door
Steve Farkas, Ann DuffettWhat do ordinary Ohioans think about the myriad education reforms enacted in the Buckeye state over the last half-decade? How do parents, taxpayers, and citizens view public schooling in 2005? Do they like these reforms? Seek more or less of them? Have confidence that they'll succeed? Fordham decided to enlist veteran analysts Steve Farkas and Ann Duffett to examine the attitudes of Ohio residents toward their public schools. The results? Ohioans are frustrated with their K-12 education system on a number of fronts, and feel the state is in dire need of stronger, better leadership when it comes to education. Policymakers would do well to pay attention.
Having Their Say: The Views of Dayton-area Parents on Education
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Terry RyanMuch has changed in education in Dayton during the past two years. The remarkable election of a 'reform' majority to the Dayton school board, and the selection of a new superintendent. Passage of a huge levy for school-building construction and renewal. The arrival of the politics-governance Act and Ohio's Senate Bill 1. The dramatic growth of the charter-school sector and of controversy surrounding it. Some ferment on the high-school reform front. And much more. Thus, it seemed time to once again 'take the community's temperature' with respect to a wide array of K-12 education issues. Herewith are the results.