At the request of Ohio's top government and education leaders, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, National Association of Charter School Authorizers, and National Alliance for Public Charter Schools have issued a report seeking to strengthen the state's charter school program. Among its 17 recommendations are calls for closing low-performing charter…

In Butler County, Ohio, Butler Technology and Career Development Schools (Butler Tech) firmly believes that systematic delivery of career development theory and practice integrated with academic content standards will enable students to do all of the above. Because of this, Butler Tech's Career Initiatives division delivers a countywide career…

This report presents baseline findings from a 3-year study of state exit exams. The study involved data from all states with current or planned exit exams; case studies of five states; and research review. Researchers examined: why so many states are adopting high school exit exams, impacts of exit exams on students, what the exams are like, and…

This book is designed to help school districts plan comprehensive art curricula that are addressed to the concerns of society as well as to the needs of individual students. Specifically, it will help elementary classroom teachers, art teachers, supervisors, and administrators prepare their own local art curriculum guides and courses of study. The…

This Ohio model competency-based arts program connects the four arts (dance, drama/theater, music, visual art) with educational, historical, personal, and social contexts in order to bring relevance and understanding to all students. The document is intended to provide guidance to local Ohio school districts in creating their own arts programs.…

For too many Ohio Students, high school does not work. The Task Force's vision for solving this problem is clear. The journey to make this vision a reality-- to ensure that every student graduates with the knowledge and skills he or she needs to succeed in college and the workplace and to be a good and productive citizen --will not be easy. But it…

Ohio's Model Competency-Based Science Program is designed to provide direction for school districts in developing local competency-based science education programs. The model is designed to be used to guide the development of district curriculum. The ultimate purpose of Ohio's Model Competency-Based Science Program is to move Ohio towards the…

The future of Greece's well-being will depend on improving educational performance to boost productivity and improve social outcomes. In the current economic context, with the need to get best value for spending, Greece must and can address inefficiencies in its education system. The challenges are significant. For example, Greece lags behind many…

Providing guidance to language arts teachers and those responsible for curriculum development, this handbook provides a model competency-based language arts program that provides direction for Ohio school districts in developing local competency-based educational programs. The model includes the following for grades 1 through 12: (1) a model…

Tests like the Ohio Graduation Test are part of what has become known as the "standards-based" reform movement in education. Simply put, they allow states to measure whether or not students are learning according to whatever set of standards, benchmarks and indicators are adopted by that state. They also help meet, in part, the reporting…

High school graduation exams are in place in nearly half the states, and more than half the nation's high school students have to pass them to earn a diploma. After a detailed analysis of the mathematics and English language arts exams in Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio and Texas, Achieve reached three conclusions: (1) Tests are…

At a time of growing concern around the U.S. about the academic accountability of charter schools, Ohio has mandated a new regime of testing solely for those schools that may force the shutdown of repeated low performers. Under a new state law, Ohio charter schools that meet certain criteria will have to give an extra set of standardized tests at…

Reviews the support for using both literature and response activities to teach history. Includes an annotated bibliography, with accompanying response activities, of trade books chosen to support the learning outcomes for Ohio's American Heritage Strand of the citizenship proficiency test. (CMK)

These social studies content standards for the state of Ohio provide a set of clear and rigorous expectations for all students in grades K-12. The seven standards clearly define a balanced program of knowledge and skills necessary for active citizenship. The seven standards are: (1) "Content Standards History"; (2) "People in…

These are critical times for Ohio's system of educating its young people. Initiatives to reform the public schools have been gaining momentum for some time. Elected officials, organized interest groups, think tanks, and civic leaders are tugging and pulling at the system, trying to move it this way or that. But where do the people of Ohio--the…