Gadfly Bites 9/17/18 – Various reactions
Media 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.
Media 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.
We 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.
What’s slowing down the growth of charter schools?
Today, the Ohio Department of Education released school report cards based on data from the 2017-18 school year. For two decades, Ohio’s report cards have offered an important annual check on the performance of school districts and public schools that serve 1.6 million K-12 students.
The 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)
“I think so many times we underestimate what students can do. Our hearts tell us to be a little more protective—I’m not sure they can reach that level or handle that kind of work. But time and time again as I go across the state talking to teachers, I find that their socks are blown off because kids always are able to exceed even the highest expectations we set.”
Editor’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.
Among the most frequently heard concerns around charter schools is that they drain money from traditional districts, potentially harming students who stay behind.
A 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.
In the final days of August, the Ohio Department (ODE) of Education and the State Board of Education released their five-year strategic plan for education. It includes a state-level vision, a goal focused on high school graduates, four learning domains, ten priority strategies, and three core principles.
Columbus Dispatch Editorial: Charter schools deserve fair rules for bus rides
In a recent report, school-funding expert Howard Fleeter analyzes Ohio districts’ revenues stretching back to 1999.
The 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.
We’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.
National and Ohio charter school management structures
In case you didn’t know it, the brilliance of Fordham’s Chad Aldis knows no bounds. Earlier this week, he was in Indianapolis to give expert testimony regarding online schools to the Indiana Board of Education. Aldis unleashed!
Round 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.
Round 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.
Members 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?
2018 EdNext Poll shows increased support for charter schools
As 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.
By Jessica Poiner
As 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!
We 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)
In case you didn’t know it, discussion of Ohio’s graduation requirements is still front-burner stuff for some folks.
Our 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)
It’s no secret that teaching kids how to read is extremely important. Research shows that children who don’t read proficiently by the end of third grade are four times more likely to leave school without a diploma than proficient readers.
The 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.