Contemporary education reform movements in the United States have emphasized accountability for student performance. Policy actors serving within the executive branch have arguably gained power in part to provide this accountability function. The present study, in which Ohio and Pennsylvania serve as state case contexts, examines the changing…

In the realm of education, much attention is paid to making sure that all students reach a minimum level of achievement. Raising the performance of those who struggle academically is a worthy and necessary goal. But in order to provide all students with an excellent education, attention must also be paid to the students on the other end of the…

Since 2005, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute has published annual analyses of Ohio's state report card data, focusing on district and charter schools in Ohio's Big Eight urban areas: Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, and Youngstown. For the 2017--18 school year, we provide an overview of Ohio's assessment and report…

This article describes a multiagency initiative to evaluate academic tutoring services by focusing on the processes that contribute to effective program implementation. Community-based tutoring service providers serving students in the Cincinnati Public Schools (OH) partnered to initiate a "Seal of Approval" process for promoting…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2016 describes Ohio's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Ohio will implement to address those challenges. When Ohio wrote its application for the Race to the Top: Early Learning Challenge Grant, its vision for early childhood…

States, programs, and schools have long focused on the inputs of teacher preparation--the rules for candidates and the preparation programs they attend--because inputs were thought to predict teacher effectiveness, and because they were often the best option available. But in the early 2000s, policymakers began trying to evaluate preparation…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2014 describes Ohio's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Ohio will implement to address those challenges. Ohio's Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) grant application laid out Governor John R. Kasich's…

To meet the new and more rigorous college- and career-ready standards for student learning, all of today's students must have access to effective teaching--every day and in every classroom. As teachers and their school leaders are increasingly held accountable for implementing consistently effective teaching, calls for holding the programs that…

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is working to respond to increased interest in the use of growth models for school accountability. Growth models are based on tracking change in individual student achievement scores over multiple years. While growth models have been used for decades in academic research and program evaluation, a…

Internships play a pivotal role in the future of school psychology, and internship training is influenced by disciplinary trends including (a) an increased focus on accountability and demonstrating the positive impact of trainees' practices on student outcomes and (b) growing emphasis on scientifically based and empirically based practice. These…

Improving teacher quality in early education is a major part of ensuring young children's school readiness and closing the achievement gap. This is the book decision-makers and administrators need to begin developing coordinated, effective teacher quality systems--ones that not only get teachers ready for the classroom, but also promote continuous…

This State-specific summary report serves as an assessment of Ohio's Year 1 Race to the Top implementation, highlighting successes and accomplishments, identifying challenges, and providing lessons learned from implementation to date. Prior to the first year of its Race to the Top grant, Ohio revised some Ohio Department of Education (ODE) job…

This paper describes Ohio's progress in implementing a comprehensive and coherent approach to education reform from the time of application through June 30, 2011. The sections presented in this report highlight key accomplishments made by Ohio to implement a comprehensive and coherent approach to education reform over the reporting period in the…

This speech traces the inception and the operation of an accountability program in the Columbus, Ohio, public schools. The need to comply with the mandated evaluation requirement of ESEA Title I programs and to respond to a demand from the educational community that they be advised of the progress of these programs alerted the Columbus public…

In response to trends toward greater accountability expectations for educational programs, a study evaluated the success of the implementation of Ohio's Individual Career Plan (ICP). The ICP is a document initiated by students no later than grade 8 that helps to outline initial career goals and educational plans to reach those goals. A core…