For two decades, Ohio's district and school report cards have been the linchpin to a transparent and accountable public school system and have highlighted student outcomes in the state's 3,000 plus public schools and 600 plus districts. Report cards offer key academic information about how students perform on the year's state assessments and how…

States can--and must--create report cards that meet the needs of parents, communities, and taxpayers. Getting people the data they need is essential because when families and communities have the right information to make decisions, students excel. Every state is required by federal law, and sometimes state law, to produce report cards detailing…

Grading is one of the most hotly debated topics in education, and grading practices themselves are largely based on tradition, instinct, or personal history or philosophy. But to be effective, grading policies and practices must be based on trustworthy research evidence. Enter this book: a review of 100-plus years of grading research that presents…

Creating smart, coherent education policy is painstaking work; there are technical, budgetary, and political challenges at almost every turn. But it is some of the most important work that state leaders can undertake. As Ohioans prepared to elect a new governor in late 2018, we at the Fordham Institute began rolling out a set of policy proposals…

For the last 30 years, the Public Policy Forum has collected and analyzed education data to produce an annual report on the demographics, academic performance, and finances of public school districts in southeast Wisconsin. In the three decades of producing this report, few years have exhibited as much change and transformation as this one. The…

This paper presents findings of an analysis of kindergarten report cards from Ohio public schools and discusses implications of the findings for policy makers, program planners, and curriculum supervisors. A total of 76 school districts were selected in a random sample of 331 which was stratified to represent 6 types of school districts. Data were…

This study focuses on school report cards as an accountability tool, and on how their use interacts with one of the most persistent problems facing the public education system, i.e., the continuing underachievement of minority students. The paper looks specifically at the issues concerning the desirability of reporting student performance by race…

This document analyzes data obtained from "Education in the Middle Grades," a national survey of practices and trends using a representative sample of principals in public schools that contain grade 7, to examine the use and effects of practices that many educators believe are especially responsive to the needs of early adolescents. Practices…

In spring 1988, the Johns Hopkins Center for Research on Elementary and Middle Schools (CREMS) conducted a national survey of principals in 2,400 public middle grade schools that include grade 7. Using the 1988 survey date, this document presents an overview of educational approaches and practices in schools that serve early adolescents. Topics…