Statewide Education News
- School achievement tests to get tougher in 2014 (Newark Advocate)
- Ohio Continues to Fall Short on Providing High-Quality Preschool (State Impact Ohio)
- Test question raises concerns among Jews (Cleveland Jewish News)
The tests Ohio's third- through eighth-graders are preparing to take later this month will look vastly different in a few years. No. 2 pencils and bubbled sheets will be replaced with computers; simple multiple choice questions will be replaced with questions requiring more thought. The tests also will be more difficult. Much more difficult. Read More…
Ohio isn’t doing a great job of getting children, particularly low-income children, into good, state-funded preschool programs. Sound familiar? That’s because it’s been true for several years running. Steven Barnett is the director of the National Institute for Early Education Research. His group’s new annual report on the state of preschool doesn’t do Ohio any favors. Read More…
An Ohio Graduation Test question asking for the Arabs’ perspective on the founding of the state of Israel has raised concerns among members of the Jewish community. Objections range from bias to over-simplification of history. Tenth-graders in public and private schools across Ohio took the OGT March 12 to 16 in five subject areas. Makeup testing took place the following week. Read More…
Local Issues
- ‘Realistic’ financial projection requested by Liberty schools panel (Vindicator)
The fiscal commission prodded and picked at the latest revision of the Liberty school district’s five-year forecast Wednesday, telling the district’s treasurer it wants a more-detailed projection to ensure it is receiving adequate information for future cuts. Roger Nehls, chairman of the fiscal commission charged with guiding the district out of fiscal emergency, said districts sometimes will use the forecast as a budgetary planning tool. Read More…
Editorial & Opinion
- Complex evaluation (Akron Beacon Journal)
- Raise the bar
Public schools are a favorite target of politicians fixed on accountability, on showing the worth of money spent. Last year, Ohio lawmakers approved in the budget bill provisions that require the State Board of Education to develop a new framework for evaluating teachers. The new assessment will apply, beginning in 2013, to school districts, plus charter schools participating in the federal Race to the Top initiative. Read More…
State Auditor Dave Yost is right that Ohio needs higher standards and stricter accountability for charter-school treasurers. As some recent high-profile cases involving ruined schools and misspent tax funds make clear, it’s easy for hundreds of thousands of dollars to be lost before corrective action takes place. Read More…