Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 2/2/24—Third time’s the charm
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Commentary
School Finance
ESSER’s sunset: Not a cut, but a return to normalcy
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.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/31/24—Not enough pizza in the world
News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
Commentary
Governance
Cash incentives to curb chronic absenteeism are worth a try
Last year, 27 percent of Ohio students were chronically absent, meaning they missed more than 10 percent of the school year for any reason.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/29/24—Increasing darkness
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Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/26/24—“If need be”
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Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/24/24—No education
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Commentary
Accountability & Testing
Ohio parents will get better, faster information about their child’s academic achievement this year—if districts follow the law
Although it’s a brand-new year, many Ohio students are still caught in the education riptide of the pandemic era.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/22/24—Refurbished and ready to grow
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Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/19/24—Paradoxical or just ironic?
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Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/17/24—Go to school like it’s your job!
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Commentary
School Finance
Teacher pay increases and their impacts on salary level, hiring, and turnover
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.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/12/24—No, it’s just good news
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Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/10/24—Sewage overload is already happening
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Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/8/24—She says, he says, she says
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Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/5/24—The future
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Commentary
Governance
Policymakers must remember that micromanaging schools is typically a suboptimal strategy
Powerful incentives compel policymakers to micromanage public organizations by imposing stifling directives, rules, and procedures, sometimes rendering those organizations rigid and ineffective. The incentive to micromanage tends to become stronger as political attention and conflict increase, and as our trust in government declines.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/3/24—Eyebrow raisers
Welcome back to our first edition of 2024. Sorry you didn’t have anything better to do on January 2 than this.
Commentary
Governance
Predicting the top Ohio education issues for 2024
It’s the start of another year, and that means it’s time for us at the Ohio Gadfly to predict what awaits in the next twelve months. In light of last year’s historic budget bill, there’s plenty on the agenda.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing
Ohio’s sluggish pandemic recovery in 2023 as seen through six charts
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.
Commentary
Governance
Fordham Ohio’s favorite posts and publications of 2023
Fordham’s published work is guided by a number of longstanding precepts, including detailed policy analysis, speaking out on behalf of families and students, filling research gaps, challenging misconceptions, and highlighting education issues being discussed by state leaders.
Commentary
Governance
Fordham Ohio’s most-read blog posts of 2023
At end of every year, we are reminded of how important you—regular readers of our analyses, commentary, reviews, and research—are to us. We appreciate that you find value in the work we do, and we are interested in understanding which topics draw your attention the most.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 12/22/23—Clusters
Last edition of 2023. Thanks for reading and subscribing, despite your better judgment. Back on Wednesday, January 3, 2024.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 12/20/23—Crushing education
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Commentary
Accountability & Testing
Is Ohio meeting its math and reading goals?
One of the best kept secrets in education policy is that Ohio policymakers have set achievement goals for Buckeye State students.
Commentary
School Finance
Looking at the racial and ethnic dimension of school closures in California
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.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 12/18/23—Not so “mock”
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Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 12/15/23—Baby steps
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Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 12/13/23—Actually doing the math
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Commentary
Governance
Why Ohio districts’ decision to go dark is the wrong response to “eclipse fever”
Imagine for a moment that William Shakespeare came back to life for one day and promised to devote all of that time to young students—answering their questions about writing and theater and sharing details about the unique aspects of life in England centuries ago.
