Commentary
Commentary
Accountability & Testing
Ohio lawmakers gut the third grade reading guarantee. What now?
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
Commentary
Commentary
Commentary
Accountability & Testing
Lorain schools don’t deserve special treatment in the budget bill
It’s been a very busy budget season in Ohio.
Commentary
Charter Schools
One size does not fit all: Alternative education campuses in the charter sector
One purpose of charter schools is to serve as laboratories of innovation for public education—a deliberate effort to do things differently than the long-entrenched traditional district model.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing
Don’t weaken accountability for Ohio’s charter sponsors and online schools
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.
Commentary
Commentary
Charter Schools
Lawmakers can still go further in Ohio’s historic effort to narrow charter funding gaps
Despite serving tens of thousands of students each year—most of whom are low-income—Ohio has a regrettable track record of underfunding its public charter schools.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Lots of new schools. How much innovation?
Since the 1980s, education reform efforts have sought to shake up the stodgy, traditional landscape of public schooling in the United States. One way to do that is to start schools from scratch that can introduce innovative new education models and push traditional systems to improve.
Commentary
Commentary
Accountability & Testing, Charter Schools, Governance
CREDO got it wrong: Ohio’s charter sector is strong and getting better
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.
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Commentary
Charter Schools
Impacts of charter authorizer and operator type on student achievement
One of the more variable aspects of charter school operation around the country is the system by which schools are authorized and managed.
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Accountability & Testing
It’s time for Ohio to adopt the science of reading
NOTE: This piece was originally published by RealClear Education.
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Accountability & Testing
More evidence—this time from Ohio—that third grade retention works
Following Florida’s lead, about twenty states, including Ohio, have enacted laws that require schools to retain third gra
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Commentary
Accountability & Testing
Fordham Institute media statement on new study demonstrating academic benefits of third grade retention
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.
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Accountability & Testing
Ohio’s urban students lost a full grade level of learning. Here’s what their schools need to do right now.
By now, it’s no secret that the pandemic and schools’ pivot to remote learning was a disaster for most students.
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Commentary
Accountability & Testing
Despite the best of intentions, education policy still comes up short
NOTE: This piece was originally published in the Dayton Daily News.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Charter sponsors need to be accountable for the performance of their schools
With the budget bill speeding to the finish line, the Statehouse rumor mill is cranking into high gear. Among the rumblings is an effort by a few charter advocates to weaken the state’s sponsor evaluation system.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Ohio Charter News Weekly – 5.19.23
One more story from National Charter Schools Week
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Commentary
Report
Charter Schools
Reinventing Ohio’s Charter School Sector, 2015–2023: Ohio’s successful charter turnaround—and what’s needed next
For more than two decades, the charter school movement has aimed to provide parents with more public-school options, empower educators to launch innovative schools, and boost student achievement. This report looks at the progress Ohio is making toward achieving these ambitious goals. It includes an overview of the landmark reforms that state lawmakers enacted in 2015 to strengthen accountability for charter school performance, as well as the improvements the sector has made since then. The report also discusses the large funding disparities that public charter schools in Ohio still face, and how legislators can work to bridge those gaps.
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Commentary
Accountability & Testing
Backing down from the Third Grade Reading Guarantee is on brand for Ohio policymakers
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.
Commentary
Commentary
Accountability & Testing
The social and emotional damage of socially promoting struggling readers
Over the last few weeks, debates about early literacy have dominated headlines in Ohio.
