In the waning days of October, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released guidance that outlines the flexibilities states have under federal law to modify their accountability systems for the current school year (2020–21).
Over the last several weeks, Ohio lawmakers have been debating Senate Bill 358.
Note: Today, the Ohio Senate’s Education Committee continued hearing testimony on SB 358 which would, among other things, make critical changes to the state’s testing and accountability system in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ohio legislators recently introduced Senate Bill 358, which proposes to cancel all state testing scheduled for spring 2021, suspend report cards for the 2020–21 and 2021–22 school years, and extend so-called “safe harbor” provisions that shield sch
Arnold Glass and Mengxue Kang, psychology researchers at Rutgers-New Brunswick’s School of Arts and Sciences, are conducting an ongoing study using technology to monitor college students’ academic performance and to assess the effects of new instructional technologies on that performance.
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.
Enacted in 2012, Ohio’s (well-named) Third Grade Reading Guarantee aims to ensure that children can read proficiently by the end of third grad
In late March, state lawmakers gave local schools emergency authority to determine whether students in the class of 2020 satisfied graduation requirements.
After a one-year pause in Ohio's school accountability system, the road back to normalcy is uncertain. Fordham's new policy brief titled Resetting school accountability, from the bottom up offers a clear and concise plan to restart state assessments and school report cards.
A couple years ago, a district superintendent gave an astonishing quote to his local newspaper stating his belief that the only relevant measure for school quality and the evaluation of school districts is the high school grad
One of the tougher accountability nuts to crack is how to gauge educational quality in early elementary grades. Federal education law does not require state exams until third grade, and states choose not to administer end-of-year assessments in grades K–2.
In the face of a public health crisis, Ohioans have risen to the occasion. While images of heroic deeds by health care workers and grocery store employees come immediately to mind, there’s no shortage of positive stories from the education community as well.
These are unprecedented times. COVID-19 has greatly altered or paused much of what we do on a daily basis, including education. Governor DeWine has suspended in-person classes in K–12 schools statewide from March 17 until at least May 1. While most schools are attempting to offer some type of distance learning, it’s decidedly not business as usual.
Now in its fourth edition and fully updated for 2020, Ohio Education by the Numbers Education is a look at vital statistics about Ohio’s schools and the students they serve. We intend it to be a readily accessible resource that keeps education stats—with cites to original sources—at your fingertips.
On March 25, Ohio lawmakers unanimously passed emergency legislation that covers an array of policies affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Update (3/30/20): On March 27, Governor Mike DeWine signed legislation waiving state assessment requirements for the 2019-20 school year.
It’s no secret that tough accountability measures are out-of-fashion in education circles these days.
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.
For the past several years, there has been a steady push by traditional education groups in Ohio to weaken state accountability and school report cards in particular.
Against the backdrop of Ohio’s Attainment Goal 2025, the state’s annual report on college remediation rates—the number of first year college students requiring remedial courses before beginning credit bearing work—has taken on a greater
In my annual review of Ohio report cards, I concentrate on the performance of public schools located in the state’s major cities, known as the “Big Eight.” The reason is twofold.
Since 2005, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute has published annual analyses of Ohio’s state report cards.
Titles and descriptions matter in school rating systems. One remembers with chagrin Ohio’s former “Continuous Improvement” rating that schools could receive even though their performance fell relative to the prior year. Mercifully, the state retired that rating (along with other descriptive labels) and has since moved to a more intuitive A–F system.
NOTE: Today the Ohio Report Card Study Committee heard testimony from a number of stakeholder groups on various aspects of the state’s school and district report cards. Fordham vice president Chad Aldis was invited to provide testimony. This is the written version his remarks.
“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.
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.
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).
When Governor DeWine signed the state budget into law in mid-July, it marked the end of ye
Gallons of ink, some on this blog, have been spilled about what Ohio should do about academically troubled school districts.
