Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction
Think carefully before ditching WorkKeys
In early June, State Superintendent DeMaria shared with the state school board his recommendations for stream
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 7/10/17 - Dressing up report cards so they're a little less "punitive"
In case you missed it, there was some talk a week or so ago that two new charter schools planned for the 2017-18 school year might not open in Cleveland due to some procedural, paperwork-y type issues.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 7/5/17 - Two surprises from Youngstown
In case you missed it last week, the General Assembly passed the new two-year state budget and Governor Kasich signed it into law…making a record number of line item vetoes along the way. Jeremy Kelley took a look at 11 of those education-related vetoes and got some big names to help him make sense of the original intent of the language and the effect of the vetoes.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 7/3/17 - The truth is often found in surprising places
The Dispatch published an interesting piece this weekend discussing the lack of district superintendents who are female and people of color in Ohio.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 6/30/17 - The return of "intestinal fortitude"
After the departure of its high-profile leader in the recent past, FutureReady Columbus is still trying to get itself ready for the present day. The organization was born as a big ticket, partner-fueled initiative to help Columbus students get the best possible education.
Commentary
Governance
Making good on the apprenticeship promise will require major investment in states
Apprenticeships are all the rage. President Trump recently announced a doubling of federal funding for apprenticeship programs to $200 million in his next budget. This follows an investment by President Obama of $50 million in the outgoing months of his administration. In fact, this follows a major rewrite of the federal legislation governing job training in 2014.
Commentary
Commentary
Governance
A national look at pre-K in 2016
Since 2002, the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) has published yearbooks on the state of preschool education.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 6/28/17 - Lowering the bar for graduation comes closer to reality
Our own Jamie Davies O’Leary was front and center on the editorial page of The D this morning, opining against lowering graduation standards in the strongest possible terms.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Quality education should know no borders
Despite their pronouncements to the contrary, many of Ohio’s affluent suburban school districts are about as “public” as a gated community. That’s the right conclusion to draw from a series of recent events.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 6/26/17 - The "flush with money" edition
Not much going on in education news over the weekend, but what there is of it revolves around money. Of course.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 6/23/17 - "On a scale of 9 to 10, how awesome would Moe be as CEO?"
Patrick O’Donnell took a look at the latest CREDO study of charter management organizations, showing that several CMOs with schools in Northeast Ohio are performing very well indeed. John Zitzner of Breakthrough Schools calls their results “mind-boggling”.
Commentary
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 6/21/17 - The hyperactive hyphenation edition
Our own Jessica Poiner, in a blog posted Monday, “blasted” Ohio’s efforts to lower graduation requirements and reduce the state’s high school diploma to an Oprah-like certificate of participation. (“Everybody gets a diplomaaaaaaaa!”).
Commentary
ESSA
Ohio’s history of sidestepping accountability
When it comes to high standards and accountability, Ohio talks a pretty good talk. Many of the most popular education reforms of the day have already been proposed or passed in the Buckeye State, and a few have even been hailed as best in the country.
Commentary
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 6/19/17 - Chad Aldis talks open enrollment
Our own Chad Aldis was a guest on the State of Ohio news program on Friday.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing
Social studies exams shouldn’t be first on the chopping block
Some Ohio lawmakers and educators recently proposed to roll back the state’s social studies exams, which presently include tests in fourth and sixth grade and end-of-course assessments (EOCs) for high-school students in both U.S. history and government. The proposals come from two avenues.
Commentary
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 6/16/17 - The "credit where credit is due" edition
We start today with a feel good story of high schoolers beating the odds to graduate and go on to college. All have earned scholarships for that accomplishment. The main story is of a young Columbus woman who has, indeed, survived war and other hardships.
Commentary
Governance
Guest Commentary: Ohio can improve the equity of its funding system
NOTES: 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.This piece was first published in a slightly different form on EdBuild’s blog.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 6/14/17 - The "no surprise there" edition
In a surprise to no one, the state board of ed this week voted to order the state’s largest online school to repay something like $60 million in regard to the ongoing kerfuffle between the state and the school over its recent attendance audit.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Education savings accounts: The future of school choice in Ohio
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.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 6/12/17 - The State of Preschool in the CLE is somewhat gloomy
I don’t usually clip blog posts, but this seemed fairly significant. The learned Dr.
Commentary
Governance
The State of Preschool
Since 2002, the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) has published yearbooks on the state of preschool education.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 6/9/17 - All of Dayton wants to know: "What's really going on?"
We start today in Fordham’s birthplace of Dayton, which as you will recall, may be facing a summer of strife over teacher contract negotiations or lack thereof. Jeremy Kelley this week dug deep into the state of play in the stalled negotiations and tried to discover what is at issue.
Commentary
Teachers & School Leaders
Ohio teacher preparation programs shine in new ranking
For years, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has released reports that rate and compare hundreds of teacher preparation programs across the country.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 6/7/17 - "Copiously" wasn't a good enough answer, I guess
In case you missed it, Fordham yesterday released a first-of-its-kind analysis of interdistrict open enrollment in Ohio – a look at the districts and the students utilizing it this popular and widespread school choice program and the academic outcomes attained.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing
Four questions to answer before “fixing” Ohio’s graduation requirements
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.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 6/5/17 - Youngstown shows us all how to run a summer school program
It’s the end of the traditional school year across Ohio and that means only one thing: a dearth of actual education news in publications far and wide. As you can see.