If you don't know about Fordham Ohio's Gadfly Bites news clip service, you literally don't know what you're missing!
Does the state budget bill as it stands right now water down charter school accountability? Doug Livingston – while NOT on the education beat, mind you – is doggedly on the case to find an answer. (Akron Beacon Journal, 4/28/17)
I imagine we’ve all seen that episode of Law & Order: you know, the one where fingerprint evidence solves the case at the last minute as the ominous strings build up in the background. But what if the fingerprints themselves are missing?
In case you missed it this week, Ohio’s own pale, skinny version of the Loch Ness Monster resurfaced on the shores of the Scioto River, to take a context-free and factually-deficient lunge against charter schools, jaws a-slavering.
Another clips compilation, another set of editors quoting Chad – and opining in agreement with him – about the need to hold the line on graduation standards.
Chad is quoted in two pieces discussing possible budget amendments which would change the state’s charter sponsor evaluations.
Chad Aldis’ dire warning of a “paper victory” for adults who wish to lower Ohio’s graduation requirements continues to reverberate in cigar smoke-filled editorial board rooms in the Buckeye State and beyond.
In a recent blog, we cast a critical eye on proposed changes in the budget bill to the College Credit
Can a student be so anxious that she can “psych herself out” when it comes to test performance? Can the perceived stakes be so high that no amount of test preparation could overcome the fear of failure?
Of course you’re familiar with Fordham’s blogging and social media outlets. But did you know that Fordham staffers are regular guests on TV and radio programs across the state on important education issues?Just recently:
Quite a bit of opining this weekend in regard to proposals which would lower the bar on Ohio’s new graduation requirements even before they are fully phased in.
It has been a busy couple of days for our Chad Aldis. First up, he was quoted in this piece, trying to inject some reality into a discussion of the fiscal analysis of the proposed expansion of the EdChoice voucher program.
The state board of education voted 16-3 yesterday to ask the General Assembly to legislate a “one-year-only bailout” which would allow this year’s juniors (the putative graduating Class of 2018) other ways to earn their high school diploma besides the new test-based requirements which are scheduled to go into effect for that aforementioned class.
NOTE: The state board of education today debated the recent report of a graduation requirements workgroup. Among those providing testimony on the state’s high school graduation requirements was Chad L. Aldis, Vice President for Ohio Policy and Advocacy here at Fordham. The following are his written remarks.
Ohio faces a significant budget crunch. This is forcing state lawmakers to scrutinize expenditures—even more closely than usual—to create a balanced budget by the end of June.
A new meta-analysis of studies examining the relationship between homework and student achievement looks at 30 years of data involving over 312,000 students worldwide. It was published in the journal Educational Research Review in March.
By Matthew C. Makel, Rena Subotnik, Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, and Jonathan Plucker
Our own Aaron Churchill is quoted in this piece looking at the proposal being floated in Ohio to water down graduation requirements. Spoiler alert: Aaron is against said watering down. (Columbus Dispatch, 4/9/17)
All six members of the new five-member Lorain Academic Distress Commission were named simultaneously yesterday.
In March, Ohio’s Educator Standards Board (ESB) released six recommendations for revising the
NOTE: The Senate Education Committee of the Ohio General Assembly is hearing proponent testimony this week on Senate Bill 85, a proposal that would significantly alter Ohio’s voucher programs. Below is the written testimony that Chad Aldis gave before the committee today.
The Dayton Daily News announced this week – with something akin to relief, or maybe glee? – that there are no changes to Ohio’s testing regimen for the first time in three years. Not for lack of trying, I’m sure.
NOTE: An addendum to this blog post, incorporating important new information, was published on Ohio Gadfly Daily on 4/17/17.
Research on individualized, in-school tutoring such as Match Corps has demonstrated impressive results.
Our own Chad Aldis today offers a suggestion or two for folks interested in reducing standardized testing in Ohio schools. (Columbus Dispatch, 4/3/17)
What’s the biggest education news story going in Ohio this week?
NOTE: The House Finance Committee of the Ohio General Assembly is hearing testimony this week on the education portion of Ohio's next biennial budget.
Leaders at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center have rejected an offer from Cincinnati City Schools to move to the old mansion next door, which the district recently purchased, saying it’s too small for their needs and would require too much renovation.
“Government by the people” is one of the most powerful ideas in American government. It represents the belief that, in a democracy, the people hold sovereignty over government and not the reverse.
