Gadfly Bites 10/1/18 – Avoidance
Jeff MurrayThe Path Forward series in Dayton started in a new direction (but still forward of course!) on Sunday when
Tackling Ohio’s toughest education challenges: Create a data system that links K–12 and workforce outcomes
Ohio Education GadflyEditor’s Note: As Ohioans prepare to elect a new governor this November, and as state leaders look
Students and technology access
Jeff MurrayK–12 education in America is making greater and greater use of digital resources. Schools are using them for ease (group collaboration via Google Docs), expense (electronic textbooks and curricular materials are cheap and easily distributed), and convenience (group chats and electronic grade reporting make necessary communication quick and uniform).
Gadfly Bites 9/21/18 – Jag
Jeff MurrayQuick show of hands: How many of you are as tired of talking about graduation requirements as I am? Luckily for Ohio’s students, Chad’s hand is placed firmly on the table.
Tips for Ohio on how to reinvent high school
Jessica PoinerAs part of the XQ Institute’s continued efforts to reinvent American high schools to better align with the modern world, it recently released High School and the Future of Work, a guide for state policymakers that outlines how they can encourage meaningful change in their states.
Gadfly Bites 9/19/18 – Ctrl-Alt-Delete
Jeff MurrayThe state board of education met this week, and two big topics were on the front burner. First up: graduation requirements. Board members are said here to be considering a “menu of options” for changes to those requirements.
Gadfly Bites 9/17/18 – Various reactions
Jeff MurrayMedia analysis of school report cards continued apace over the weekend and into today. First up, the usual thorough look at non-district schools’ data courtesy of Jeremy Kelley.
Gadfly Bites 9/14/18 – “Scores don’t lie”
Jeff MurrayWe start today with the last preview piece ahead of the release of state report card data, published late on Tuesday. Fordham is namechecked and Aaron is quoted in this story, specifically regarding the depth and accuracy of Ohio’s report cards.
Gadfly Bites 9/12/18 – How can news clips get any better than this?
Jeff MurrayThe Senate President weighed in again this week on the topic of graduation requirements. He wants a long-term, permanent proposal to consider, it seems, and remains uninterested in extending temporary options. (Gongwer Ohio, 9/10/18)
Tackling Ohio’s toughest education challenges: Use direct certification for economically disadvantaged funding
Ohio Education GadflyEditor’s Note: As Ohioans prepare to elect a new governor this November, and as state leaders look to build upon past education successes, we at the Fordham Institute are developing a set of policy proposals that we believe can lead to increased achievement and greater opportunities for Ohio students.
Gadfly Bites 9/10/18 – Anticipating report cards
Jeff MurrayA quiet weekend in clips, but what we do have is all on the same topic: report cards. The Plain Dealer is looking toward the release of state report cards later this week.
Are Ohio’s poorest districts underfunded?
Aaron ChurchillIn a recent report, school-funding expert Howard Fleeter analyzes Ohio districts’ revenues stretching back to 1999.
Gadfly Bites 9/7/18 – The gridiron greats edition
Jeff MurrayThe b-side of a higher-profile Dispatch editorial from earlier this week opines on the topic of transportation for charter school students in central Ohio.
Gadfly Bites 9/5/18 – Let’s make a (tuition) deal
Jeff MurrayWe’re back! And there’s a lot to cover. So let’s get to it: There are apparently some “relentless attacks” going on out there somewhere. They are, apparently, an effort to “pin” some current statewide office candidates with “blame” for something related to the demise of ECOT.
Gadfly Bites 8/27/18 – Putting forth the effort…or not
Jeff MurrayRound two of the Dayton Daily News series The Path Forward dropped over the weekend, another huge set of articles trying to get to the heart of why Dayton City Schools’ academic success rate is so poor and how to turn that around.
Gadfly Bites 8/27/18 – Putting fort the effort…or not
Jeff MurrayRound two of the Dayton Daily News series The Path Forward dropped over the weekend, another huge set of articles trying to get to the heart of why Dayton City Schools’ academic success rate is so poor and how to turn that around.
Gadfly Bites 8/24/18 – All the makings of a mob
Jeff MurrayMembers of the elected board of Lorain City Schools got some hard numbers this week on budget and student enrollment. Both seem pretty good, so why do they all sound so miserable in this piece?
Gadfly Bites 8/22/18 – I remember when they called it a cheat sheet
Jeff MurrayAs a sort of follow up to Monday’s story about lowered remediation rates among Ohio’s colleges over the last few years, here is a somewhat more dour look at dual credit programs.
Keeping up with Ohio education news
Ohio Education GadflyAs the new school year gets underway across the state, there is a constant stream of news, views, and commentary on education issues. If you want to keep up, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute has you covered!
Gadfly Bites 8/20/18 – Good news, bad news
Jeff MurrayWe start today with the good news. Briefly mentioned in Friday’s Gongwer news roundup was the seemingly super-important tidbit that college remediation rates across Ohio dropped significantly between 2010 and 2016. Tell us more, y’all. Please! (Gongwer Ohio, 8/17/18)
Gadfly Bites 8/17/18 – Low levels
Jeff MurrayIn case you didn’t know it, discussion of Ohio’s graduation requirements is still front-burner stuff for some folks.
Gadfly Bites 8/15/18 – Friends of the friends of the court
Jeff MurrayOur own Chad Aldis was a guest on All Sides yesterday, talking about the moldering corpse of ECOT and trying to get folks to understand what the real lessons of this story are. I’m not sure anyone on the panel was listening. (WOSU-FM, Columbus, 8/14/18)
Gadfly Bites 8/13/18 – Preventing excess absences due to ski trips in Gstaad
Jeff MurrayThe list of individuals whose personal wallets the state can tap to claw back funds from the moldering and far-more-extensive-than-you-might-have-though remains of ECOT seems nearly endless when you read this piece.
Gadfly Bites 8/10/18 – What has changed
Jeff MurrayWith so much great news this week, Ohio’s education reporters could be forgiven if they are not sure where to focus their time and effort first. Here is a very brief look at the departure of White Hat Management from the charter school management space in Ohio.
Gadfly Bites 8/8/18 – Contributing Factors, or The Whale
Jeff MurrayReporter Josh Sweigart is still digging deeply into the difficulties facing Dayton City Schools. Case in point: his look at six factors that contribute to the observed achievement gap between black and white students in the district.
Gadfly Bites 8/6/18 – No barrier
Jeff MurrayGeez. When you take LeBron out of the equation don’t read the sports page, there’s a lot less education news to talk about these days. What is out there is “eclectic”.
Maximizing the language acquisition benefits of preschool
Jeff MurrayWhile the so-called “word gap” between children from low and high socioeconomic circumstances continues, as it has for decades, to get much attention, researchers are continuing to dig deeper into the quantity and quality of language with which young children interact. There is more to successful language acquisition than just pouring more words into their ears.