The first pandemic-influenced data from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) test are in. Unsurprisingly, an initial analysis says the news is bad.
This morning, the Ohio Department of Education released its annual school report cards based on results from the 2022-23 school year. This year’s iteration makes clear that the impacts of the pandemic on student learning are still being felt, especially for students from less advantaged backgrounds.
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.
As has been widely reported, students in Ohio and across the nation suffered major setbacks during the pandemic. Between 2019 and 2022, Ohio students lost on average the equivalent of roughly one-half grade-level of learning.
When classes moved abruptly online at Iowa State University in March 2020 as part of Covid-mitigation actions statewide, psychology professor Jason Chan expected big changes in student behavior. Specifically, he worried about his students being easily able to cheat on unproctored online exams.
Computer-adaptive testing (CAT) is on the rise in K–12 schools, from Seattle to Virginia
In 2018, basketball superstar LeBron James opened the I Promise School (IPS) in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. IPS is a joint effort between Akron Public Schools (APS), the I Promise Network, and the LeBron James Family Foundation. It’s overseen and operated by APS, the state’s seventh largest school district.
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
It’s been a very busy budget season in Ohio.
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.
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.
NOTE: This piece was originally published by RealClear Education.
Following Florida’s lead, about twenty states, including Ohio, have enacted laws that require schools to retain third gra
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.
By now, it’s no secret that the pandemic and schools’ pivot to remote learning was a disaster for most students.
NOTE: This piece was originally published in the Dayton Daily News.
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.
Over the last few weeks, debates about early literacy have dominated headlines in Ohio.
NOTE: Today, members of the Ohio House Finance Committee received testimony on the education provisions of Substitute House Bill 33, establishing the operating budget for the sta
In fall 2022, the Ohio Department of Education released state assessment results from the 2021-22 school year. The data continue to reveal the massive learnings losses that occurred during the pandemic, along with the uneven recovery in its wake. This report offers a close look at Ohio's achievement data from the 2018-19 to 2021-22 school years, and concludes with four recommendations that can help accelerate student learning across the Buckeye State.
In 2012, Ohio lawmakers enacted the Third Grade Reading Guarantee, a significant early literacy reform package. Under the initiative, schools must administer diagnostic reading assessments to students in grades K–3.
In 2013, Mississippi passed a comprehensive early literacy policy aimed at ensuring that students can read proficiently by the end of third grade, which research shows is a make-or-break benchmark.
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.
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.
