What Drives Our Research
Fordham Ohio advocates for policies that advance educational excellence for all Ohio students. High-quality research and analysis—conducted in-house and by external researchers and experts—helps us advance that goal by framing key issues with sound data.
Ohio Education By the Numbers
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute is pleased to present Ohio Education By The Numbers, which is an impartial, fact-based overview of K–12 education in the Buckeye State. We hope these data will inform conversations about improving education throughout the state.
Turning around troubled schools: How Ohio can create a stronger, clearer school improvement program
As Governor Mike DeWine asserted, the state of Ohio has “a moral obligation” on behalf of students to step in when schools are falling short of academic performance standards. Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), federal lawmakers have given states the ability to chart their own course when it comes to fixing under-performing schools. Shifting authority—and responsibility—to state policymakers is sensible. But state leaders can’t put school improvement on autopilot and hope for the best.
Our latest report analyzes ESSA’s school improvement requirements and how they have been implemented in the Buckeye State over the years. It also offers eight research-backed recommendations to help strengthen Ohio’s efforts going forward.
A Wide-Angle Look at the Charter School Movement in Ohio/Dayton, circa September 2004
Charter school opponents have been taking shots nationally at charter schools in recent days, but these sorts of attacks have been a common occurrence in Dayton, Ohio since charter schools first opened there in 1998. Herewith is a report from the field on how charter schools are faring in the Buckeye State circa September 2004.
School Finance in Dayton: A Comparison of the Revenues of the School District and Community Schools
This report, prepared for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute by Public Impact, compares charter school funding and district school funding. It finds that charter schools are under-funded compared to their district counterparts, even after accounting for differences in students and grade levels. These findings should be taken seriously by those who argue that charter schools drain funds from district schools.
Having Their Say: The Views of Dayton-area Parents on Education
Much has changed in education in Dayton during the past two years. The remarkable election of a 'reform' majority to the Dayton school board, and the selection of a new superintendent. Passage of a huge levy for school-building construction and renewal. The arrival of the politics-governance Act and Ohio's Senate Bill 1. The dramatic growth of the charter-school sector and of controversy surrounding it. Some ferment on the high-school reform front. And much more. Thus, it seemed time to once again 'take the community's temperature' with respect to a wide array of K-12 education issues. Herewith are the results.
Dayton Charter School Assessment Report 2001-2002
This report presents a summary of the administration and results of annual pre- and post-testing of pupils enrolled in charter schools in Dayton and Springfield, Ohio during the 2001-2002 school year. The assessment activities were a project of the Education Resource Center of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce (DACC). The efforts of the DACC were supported in part via philanthropic gifts from the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and other sources. The primary purposes of the assessment project were: 1) to help classroom teachers monitor individual student achievement and adapt instruction to promote learning; 2) to provide data for schools to assist them in gauging and improving their overall effectiveness; and 3) to foster public accountability and model the use of data to inform educational decision making.
Traditional Schools, Progressive Schools: Do Parents Have a Choice?
Louis Chandler, professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, determines how widespread progressive and traditional practices are in public, Catholic, and independent schools in the fairly typical state of Ohio. This report the results of his survey of 336 elementary schools that was conducted in the Buckeye State early in 1999.