Checking in on Ohio’s curriculum reform efforts
Unless there’s a political or ideological controversy, curricular decisions in schools and districts rarely make headlines. That’s too bad because these choices are immensely important.
Unless there’s a political or ideological controversy, curricular decisions in schools and districts rarely make headlines. That’s too bad because these choices are immensely important.
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.
In late August, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) unveiled its FYs 2024–25 budget priorities to a state board of education committee.
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.
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.
Efforts to diversify the pipeline of students, graduates, and workers in in-demand STEM fields often start in middle and high schools
In late June, the national educational advocacy organization ExcelinEd published a comprehensive early literacy guide for state policymakers.
Politicians are notorious for handing out subsidies for certain projects and sectors
There’s a growing body of <
In the spring of 2020, a group of researchers from the University of California San Diego was engaged in a longitudinal study of changes in young children’s learning experiences during kindergarten and first grade at an anonymous, medium-sized, socioeconomically diverse school district in southern California.
Since the start of the pandemic, Ohio schools have received more than $6 billion via three federal relief acts.
In late March, the Ohio Department of Education announced a grant program aimed at developing and expanding tutoring for K–12 students in the wake of pandemic-caused learning losses.
Can children learn to read via fully online instruction?
While not as rapidly embraced as its math and ELA cousins, which have great merit, a new set of science standards has slowly gained traction in a majority of states.
Due to massive financial woes, Ohio suspended cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for retired teachers in July 2017.
A 2018 Pew Research Center study demonstrated the perhaps surprising fact that the United States remains a robustly religious country, indeed the most devout of all the wealthy Western democracies.
Passed in 2012, Ohio’s third grade reading guarantee aims to ensure that all children have the foundational literacy skills needed for success in middle school and beyond.
Folks who have “tutoring” as the hoped-for winning square on their post-Covid bingo card will want to pay close attention to a recent report detailing a field experiment in virtual tutoring. A group of researchers led by Sally Sadoff of the University of California San Diego created the pilot program and tested its efficacy via a controlled experiment.
In March of 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic was just beginning its deadly sweep across the United States, Ohio became the first state to close
Reading is essential to functioning in today’s society. Job applications, financial documents, and instruction manuals all require basic literacy. Above that, our lives are greatly enriched when we can effortlessly read the printed word.
Over the past two decades, student enrollment has gradually declined across Ohio, reflecting demographic changes and out-migration that have reduced the overall childhood population
For decades, analysts have observed large achievement gaps between low-income children and their peers, disparities that have only widened due to Covid.
Last week, five school districts filed a lawsuit in the Franklin County courts that attempts to strike down EdChoice, Ohio’s private scholarship program that serves roughly 50,000 school children, many of whom are among the need
Among the many things that I’ve come to better understand as a new parent is that children’s books are a literary genre of their own. Who knew there’d be board books, peek-a-flaps, and battery-powered books that make sounds? Some books have clever storylines and rhymes. Some have exquisite artwork. They literally come in all shapes and sizes.
President Biden and the Democratic-controlled Congress are poised to continue the federal government’s spending spree, this time through a $2 trillion extravaganza named Build Back Better (BBB). Just before Thanksgiving, the House of Representatives narrowly passed its version of the measure, and the Senate is now mulling possible changes to the package.
The term “dual enrollment” is often used to refer to young people earning college credits while simultaneously completing their high school coursework.
Regardless of whether you believe that too much is being asked of our schools and our educators these days, it is always worth asking whether th
The most commonly expressed motivator for school districts to adopt a four-day school week is monetary: lowering expenditures on hourly staff, transportation, and utilities costs. It is not incidental that the most recent uptick in districts opting for them was in the aftermath of the Great Recession.
Too often, high-achieving students get lost in the shuffle in debates about improving education for all. Yet to keep the U.S. and Ohio competitive on a global scale, we need to nurture a next generation of inventors, scientists, and business leaders.
Every student ought to have safe, reliable transportation to a school that meets their needs. Recognizing this, Ohio law has long required districts to offer transportation to all resident students in grades K–8 who live more than two miles from their school—whether that’s a district, charter, private, or STEM school.