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Gadfly Bites 11/16/16 - Addressing the graduation-rate "apocalypse"
Patrick O’Donnell wrote up a summary of the statewide ESSA listening tour. His take: educators and parents who contributed to the discussions say there has been too much change in education recently. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 11/15/16)
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Gadfly Bites 11/14/16 - Is a graduation-rate "apocalypse" about to happen in Ohio?
Fordham Ohio’s study of the EdChoice Scholarship program was referenced in this national story about vouchers in VP-elect Pence’s home state of Indiana and how that experience wil
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Gadfly Bites 11/9/16 - You pass a levy! They pass a levy! Everybody passes a levyyyyyyy!!
Loyal Gadfly Bites subscribers will be aware that your humble compiler knows little about politics and cares even less. So, without any ado, here are three election-related stories from around Ohio. Columbus City Schools’ levy passed.
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School Surveillance: The Consequences for Equity and Privacy
“If schools continue to embrace the potential benefits that accompany surveillance technology,” assert the authors of a new report issued by the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), “state policymakers must b
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Gadfly Bites 11/7/16 - Hopes for a "quick" teachers strike in Louisville dim
Can you stand one more piece about the success – or lack thereof – of the Cleveland Plan prior to the election? Me too! And here it is, on the topic of how progress toward graduation is tracked for every high school student in CMSD.
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The Feds’ teacher preparation regulations and the return of wishful thinking
Back in 2011, the Obama administration released its plan for improving teacher education. It included a proposal to revise Title II regulations under the Higher Education Act to focus on outcomes-based measures for teacher preparation programs rather than simply reporting on program inputs.
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Gadfly Bites 11/4/16 - So long Ohio graduation requirements, we hardly knew ye
Jeremy Kelly at the DDN reports that Ohio’s state board of ed may change Ohio’s new graduation rules even before they’ve taken effect.
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Gadfly Bites 11/2/16 - How the Cleveland Plan did - and did not - meet its benchmarks
Fordham’s annual report card analysis is cited in this piece as the bestower of the “honor” that Leetonia Schools received this year as a “high-quality” school district. Thanks guys, but we’re not the source of the data.
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Disadvantaged gifted students in Rhode Island are finally getting the chance to show it
If there is one thing that has haunted me over the years as an educator (now former) and as a mother, it is the disparity in expectations for students that glaringly breaks down around race and class. And Rhode Island is no exception.
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NAEP Science 2015: Deep problems lurk behind the mostly positive news
Last week, the U.S. Department of Education released the results of its most recent national science test for fourth, eighth, and twelfth graders—the 2015 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP).
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Quelling writing problems with Quill
Editor’s note: This article is part of the series The Right Tool for the Job: Improving Reading and Writing in the Classroom, which provides in-depth reviews of promising digital tools for English language arts classrooms.
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A grammar guru's best friend
Editor’s note: This article is part of the series The Right Tool for the Job: Improving Reading and Writing in the Classroom, which provides in-depth reviews of promising digital tools for English language arts classrooms.
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Gadfly Bites 10/28/16 - Will the last one to leave Parma please turn out the lights?
One member of the Youngstown school board held a press conference on Wednesday to discuss her reasons for walking out of a board meeting earlier in the week. Seems like those reasons might be personal based on what is reported here, but she seems to be using them as a more general talking point.
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Gadfly Bites 10/26/16 - Viva Brilex!
Education news is thin on the ground today, but we’ll try to get some edification out of what little there is. First up, a trio of school board stories.
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Test-driving Lexia Core5
Editor’s note: This article is part of the series The Right Tool for the Job: Improving Reading and Writing in the Classroom, which provides in-depth reviews of promising digital tools for English language arts classrooms.
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Can a computer program differentiate reading instruction?
Editor’s note: This article is part of the series The Right Tool for the Job: Improving Reading and Writing in the Classroom, which provides in-depth reviews of promising digital tools for English language arts classrooms.
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Gadfly Bites 10/24/16 - Fallout from the Ohio's charter sponsor evaluations affecting traditional districts
Our own Jessica Poiner is cited in this high-level discussion of recently-released federal guidance on new Academic Enrichment Block Grants designed to fund a more varied curriculum, a more positive school environment and a more integrated use of technology in schools n
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Voters cannot possibly comprehend school districts’ tax requests
It’s October, and that means election season. One important decision facing many Buckeye voters is whether to approve their school districts’ tax requests.
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Gadfly Bites 10/21/16 - Whither Common Core in Ohio? Thither
Common Core State Standards Ohio’s Learning Standards in English language arts and math will be further “Ohioized” after public input. (Gongwer Ohio, 10/20/16)
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Gadfly Bites 10/19/16 - Fallout from Ohio's first-ever charter sponsor evaluations continues
A recent Fordham blog post about relying on growth measures rather than proficiency rates to evaluate schools drew the attention of a writer at the University Herald News, who reviewed the post and threw in a few tidbits from our recent Ohio report card analysis too. Thanks!
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Gadfly Bites 10/17/16 - What's next for Ohio's charter sponsor and their schools?
The Dayton Daily News was talking about Ohio’s first-ever charter sponsor ratings late on Friday. Sponsors of Dayton-area charter schools did a bit better than the state average.
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Gadfly Bites 10/14/16 - Ohio's first ever actual charter sponsor ratings are out
Ohio’s first ever charter school sponsor ratings have been released after much tumult. No sponsors achieved the highest rating, and most were clustered at or near the bottom. More details on what this all means comes from the usual journalistic suspects. Our own Chad Aldis is quoted in all of the following pieces.
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Charter Schools
Fordham Institute media statement on Ohio charter sponsor evaluations
Ohio Charter Accountability Takes Big Leap Forward with First Sponsor Evaluation Ratings