The latest edition of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation’s sponsorship annual report highlights our work during the 2021-22 school year, overseeing twelve schools that served 5,500 students in four Ohio cities.
Children who start strong in reading are more likely to succeed academically as they progress through middle school, high school, and beyond. Conversely, those who struggle to read in the early grades often falter as they encounter more challenging material; many become frustrated with school and drop out.
Teachers are the most important in-school factor affecting student achievement, and in the wake of pandemic-caused learning losses, Ohio schools need effective teachers more than ever.
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.
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.
Ohio has a long history of empowering parents with educational options for their children. Today, more than 250,000 of the state’s 1.6 million students attend public charter schools, enroll in private schools with the support of state-funded scholarships, or participate in interdistrict open enrollment.
Giving children an excellent K-12 education has long been a top priority for Ohioans. That’s no different today, but educational issues loom even larger after the pandemic-related disruptions of the past two years. To guide productive conversations about improving education, clear and accessible data are key.
The 2020-21 Fordham Sponsorship Annual Report provides insight into our sponsorship work during the last school year, one of the most challenging imaginable for schools, students, and families.
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.
Approximately 85,000 Ohio students use interdistrict open enrollment to attend a neighboring school district.
Nearly a quarter century after the DeRolph v. Ohio decision, many still assume that the state’s school funding system is unconstitutional.
The 2019–20 Fordham Sponsorship Annual Report provides insight into our sponsorship work during the year and the performance of our sponsored schools.
Though not widely known, Ohio teachers have three retirement options: a traditional pension plan, a 401(k)-style defined contribution plan, and a hybrid plan that combines features of both.
Since the first Ohio charter schools opened in 1998, they’ve regularly been subject to intense scrutiny.
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.
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.
With little fanfare, Columbus Preparatory Academy regularly appears near the top of the charts when it comes to state test scores. In 2018-19, for example, its performance index score ranked twelfth out of 3,225 Ohio public schools.
Since 2005, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute has published annual analyses of Ohio’s state report cards.
In our 2019 annual report, we provide insight into our sponsorship work during the year and the performance of our sponsored schools. We are also pleased to highlight the good work of our colleagues on Fordham’s policy and research teams.
Parents, when surveyed, routinely tell us that safety is one of their top priorities when choosing a school. Although what exactly constitutes a “safe” school likely varies, for many it means a place where children feel welcomed and accepted.
Across the nation, headlines have trumpeted soaring high-school graduation rates. Ohio is no exception. Lofty rates leave the impression that the vast majority of students are ready to take their next steps in life. But the truth is that too many students exit high school not fully prepared for college and career.
According to a recent What Works Clearinghouse review, the most effective dropout-prevention strategy is to directly connect schoolwork to students’ career aspirations.
Creating smart, coherent education policy is painstaking work; there are technical, budgetary, and political challenges at almost every turn. But it is some of the most important work that state leaders can undertake.
Today, approximately 340 public charter schools educate 105,000 Ohio students. Authored by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University, this report contains a rigorous analysis of the state’s charter schools using data from 2013-14 through 2016-17.
"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts." -- Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. That sentiment has never been more profound and applicable than it is today.
All students deserve equal access to an excellent K–12 education. The quality of their educational opportunities shouldn’t hinge on zip codes, family backgrounds, or the type of school they attend. Sadly, due in part to polarizing politics, Ohio has long underresourced its public charter schools, shortchanging tens of thousands of needy students in the process.
One of Ohio’s oldest public charter schools, Toledo School for the Arts (TSA) was forged from concerns about the state of arts education, especially performing arts and dance.
The 2017-18 school year saw our sponsorship portfolio grow from 4,100 students in 2016-17 to 4,800 students across five Ohio cities: Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Portsmouth. We're also honored to have been recognized by the National Association for Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) as part of NACSA's Quality Practice Project.
Since 2005, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute has published annual analyses of Ohio’s state report card data, focusing on district and charter schools in Ohio’s Big Eight urban areas: Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, and Youngstown.
In Ohio today, approximately 250,000 students—rich and poor alike—are formally identified as gifted. These “high flyers” have tremendous potential to become the entrepreneurs, scientists, and engineers, as well as the civic and cultural leaders of the future.
