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Teachers & School Leaders
Why aren't we talking about teacher licensure in Ohio?
A decade ago, teachers were the most talked about aspect of education policy and practice.
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Career & Technical Education
A closer look at Ohio’s independent STEM schools
In response to technological innovations and a rapidly changing economy, schools across the nation have increasingly focused on offering curricula and programs centered around the principles of STEM—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
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Accountability & Testing
The Nation’s Report Card delivers sobering news to Ohio
“Confront the brutal facts (yet never lose faith)” – Jim Collins, Good to Great Cheerleading on schools and students is widespread in K–12 education. Go to a school district website and you’re bound to see something heralding an afterschool program, celebrating an arts initiative, or profiling the most recent teacher of the year.
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Accountability & Testing, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
So far, LeBron’s I Promise School is keeping its promise
Last year, NBA superstar LeBron James opened I Promise School (IPS), a school for at-risk kids in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. In its first year (2018–19), IPS served 240 students in grades three and four.
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Accountability & Testing
How Columbus Public Schools revealed a new way to game the state report card
Author’s correction and update: The original version of this post incorrectly stated that Columbus had increased the minimum test score needed to be classified as “on track” in third-grade reading and to not be placed on a reading improvement and monitoring plan (RIMP).
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Career & Technical Education
Lorain scores a federal grant to improve computer science pathways
Lorain City Schools is no stranger to negative headlines.
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Accountability & Testing
Ohio’s softened graduation requirements boosted state report card grades
When Governor DeWine signed the state budget into law in mid-July, it marked the end of ye
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Teachers & School Leaders
Technically speaking, Ohio school districts don't contribute to Ohio teacher pension benefits
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.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing
Academic distress commissions just might be improving student achievement
Gallons of ink, some on this blog, have been spilled about what Ohio should do about academically troubled school districts.
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Accountability & Testing
A primer on the Senate’s proposal to overhaul academic distress commissions
The hottest topic of conversation in education circles these days is what the legislature plans to do with academic distress commissions (ADCs), the state’s method for intervening in persistently low-performing school district
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Accountability & Testing
Fordham Institute media statement on school report cards
Today, the Ohio Department of Education released annual report cards for Ohio’s 610 school districts and roughly 3,500 public schools. Based on data from the 2018-19 school year, report cards include a user-friendly, overall rating along with component ratings that provide additional context.
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Accountability & Testing
Testimony given before the Senate Education Committee on substitute House Bill 154—9/10/19
NOTE: Today the Ohio Senate’s Education Committee heard testimony on a substitute version of House Bill 154, addressing
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Accountability & Testing
Ohio’s voucher testing changes might worry special needs advocates
When President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) into law back in December 2015, it marke
Report
Accountability & Testing
The Mountain Ahead: A report on the college and career readiness of Ohio students
Across the nation, headlines have trumpeted soaring high-school graduation rates. Ohio is no exception. Lofty rates leave the impression that the vast majority of students are ready to take their next steps in life. But the truth is that too many students exit high school not fully prepared for college and career.
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Accountability & Testing
Three school turnaround lessons to learn from Tennessee
Since 2005, Ohio has intervened in persistently-low performing school districts by establishing new leadership via an
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Career & Technical Education
Funding employer-led job training
Worker skills and employer needs are often misaligned. Young people, for instance, may leave high school or college with a sturdy grounding in math and English, but ill-equipped to manage a customer database, take a patient’s vital signs, or handle a piece of machinery.
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Accountability & Testing
Ohio needs a better process for improving poor-performing schools
Public education is no stranger to controversy. Whether it’s standardized testing, academic standards, graduation requirements, charter schools or school funding, discussion and disputation are part of the deal.
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Accountability & Testing
Three key questions Ohio’s school report card committee should answer
School report cards, the primary mechanism through which Ohio maintains transparency and accountability for academic outcomes, have been a hotly debated topic. Critics argue that the ratings track too closely with pupil demographics, some decry the shift to the more transparent and easily understood A–F rating system, while still others are just unhappy with the results.
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Teachers & School Leaders
A culture of coaching
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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Accountability & Testing
Time to bring the value back into Ohio’s “value added” school grades
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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Accountability & Testing
Getting to college is only half the battle
NOTE: The Thomas B. Fordham Institute occasionally publishes guest commentaries. Their views do not necessarily reflect those of Fordham.
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Accountability & Testing
Tell high school students the truth about college readiness
Proficient (adj.): “Well advanced in an art, occupation, or branch of knowledge.” —Merriam Webster
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Career & Technical Education
Perkins career-technical pilot programs are good news for Ohio
Ohio has been locked in the jaws of a busy budget season for months. There’s been no shortage of debate on a variety of education policies, including graduation requirements, academic distress commissions, and school choice.
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Accountability & Testing
Nixing universal ACT or SAT testing would hurt Ohio’s smart, poor students
For many Ohio students, taking college entrance exams is a key milestone on the path from high school to college. Yet countless thousands have foregone these exams, effectively slamming the door on their opportunity to attend four-year colleges and universities.
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Accountability & Testing
Four key education policies that will be decided in the next ten days
As budget season winds down, lawmakers face the tall task of reconciling some vastly different proposals from the governor’s office, the House, and the Senate on a variety of issues in the budget bill, House Bill 166.
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Accountability & Testing
Senate proposes smart changes to academic distress commissions
Back in 2015, former Governor John Kasich encouraged the General Assembly to address the persistent failure of several school districts by strengthening academic distress commissions (ADCs), the state’s mechanism for intervening in chronically underperforming districts. Legislators obliged.
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Teachers & School Leaders
Teach For America and Teacher Quality: Increasing Achievement Over Time
Teach For America (TFA) has been recruiting and placing college graduates into underserved classrooms since 1989. Throughout this thirty-year tenure, the program’s teacher-training methods and recruitment strategies have evolved.
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Accountability & Testing
Testimony given before the Senate Education Committee on HB 166 – 6/13/19
NOTE: Today the Ohio Senate’s Education Committee heard testimony on House Bill 166, the state’s new biennial budget.
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Teachers & School Leaders
Tackling Ohio’s toughest education challenges: Eliminate mandatory teacher-salary schedules
Editor’s Note: Back in September 2018, awaiting the election of our next governor, we at the Fordham I
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Accountability & Testing
Ohio shouldn’t sacrifice its U.S. history and government exams on the anti-testing altar
In an era of “fake news,” political division, and rampant civic illiteracy, one might think smart policymakers would want to ensure that young people exit high school with a solid grasp of American history and government—the foundations of responsible citizenship.
