Ohio’s new school funding formula—challenges with the base cost model
In anticipation of debates about school funding in the coming months, I recently began a series on Ohio’s new school funding formula.
In anticipation of debates about school funding in the coming months, I recently began a series on Ohio’s new school funding formula.
In summer 2021, Ohio lawmakers passed a brand-new school funding formula for Ohio’s 600-plus school districts and 300-plus public charter schools.
Over the last few years, the federal government has sent billions of dollars in emergency funding to states via several relief packages aimed at addressing the impacts of Covid-19.
As the excitement of a new year dwindles and Ohioans settle back into their familiar routines, policymakers and advocates are gearing up for yet another budget season. Governor DeWine is scheduled to release his proposed biennial state operating budget in just a few short weeks, and by June, a host of new legislative provisions will likely become law.
Executive summary
Over the past year, one of the most heavily debated topics in Ohio education has been the retention provision of the Third Grade Reading Guarantee, a decade-old package of early literacy reforms.
Try saying it with us: “Choice and competition are good.” Don’t take our word alone. On the left, President Joe Biden said:
This report explores the impacts of Ohio’s EdChoice program on school district enrollments, finances, and educational outcomes. The study includes detailed analyses of the state’s “performance-based” EdChoice program that, as of 2021–22 provides vouchers to approximately 35,000 students as well as its “income-based” EdChoice program which serves approximately 20,000 low-income students.
First launched in fall 2007, Ohio’s EdChoice voucher program served more than 55,000 students in 2021-22. The program offers state-funded scholarships to eligible students and allows them to attend a private school.
In the education world, the last couple months have been awash in news and commentary about sagging student achievement in the wake of the pandemic.
NOTE: Today, the state board of education heard public comment on a pending resolution which would call for the elimination of the
If you’ve been paying attention to education headlines this fall, you’ve likely noticed a spate of think pieces and analyses
The grouping of students into smaller, more homogeneous cohorts is a widespread instructional strategy utilized in elementary classrooms across the country. It is intended to boost the academic outcomes of all students through instruction targeted at an appropriate level, be that remedial or advanced or somewhere in between.
Every two years, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) checks the pulse of students’ math and reading achievement across the United States. After a one-year hiatus, the U.S. Department of Education released its latest data from tests given to a representative sample of students in early 2022.
Today, the United States Department of Education released data from the 2022 round of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as the “Nation’s Report Card.” These assessments are given to a representative sample of students from every state and provides one of the most comprehensive looks at student achievement across the nation.
Last month, we looked at the recently released state assessment data from the 2021–22 school year. The results are sobering: Student achievement remains depressed in the wake of the pandemic, and gaps between disadvantaged pupils and their peers have widened.
In the summer of 2021, Ohio lawmakers caved to political pressure and created an off-ramp for the three districts under an Academic Distress Com
For the better part of the past decade, Ohio has required schools to hold back third graders who do not meet state reading standards.
A few weeks ago, Ohio released state report cards for the 2021–22 school year.
Sylvia Allegretto and her colleagues at the union-backed Economic Policy Institute (EPI) have been arguing for over eighteen years that teachers are underpaid. Her latest in a long line of reports on the topic was published in August and follows the same methodology as all previous versions.
The past two school years have been anything but normal due to pandemic disruptions, with student achievement showing the strain.
Editor’s 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 Department of Education released its annual report cards for the 2021-22 school year. For two decades, report cards have shined a light on pupil achievement and provided parents and communities with an important check on student progress.
Recognizing the importance of an educated citizenry, Ohio taxpayers have made generous investments in K–12 education. In FY 2021, statewide spending on public primary and secondary education reached a record high of $21 billion or $13,300 per pupil.
Thanks to inflation and supply chain issues, back-to-school shopping was an especially tight squeeze for many families this year. But parents aren’t the only ones shouldering the financial burden. Teachers are, too.
Persistent school choice critic Steve Dyer recently posted a “takedown” of Fordham’s latest school choice policy recommendations.
As Governor Mike DeWine asserted, the state of Ohio has “a moral obligation” on behalf of students to step in when schools are falling short of academic performance standards. Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), federal lawmakers have given states the ability to chart their own course when it comes to fixing under-performing schools.
While some evidence indicates a return
The Buckeye Institute, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, and School Choice Ohio cordially invite you to a continental breakfast and coffee dialogue with national and Ohio experts as they discuss recent successful efforts around the country to expand parental choice, lessons learned, best practices, and potential next steps for the Buckeye State.
Last Tuesday, Ohioans finally voted in primaries for state representative and (if applicable) state senator after the traditional spring primary was delayed due to redistricting issues.