THE OHIO EDUCATION GADFLY

A Bi-Weekly Bulletin of News and Analysis from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Volume 3, Number 1. January 7, 2009

Gadfly On the Web

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Contents

Gadfly Q&A

• Oh Eric! FYI, private colleges are often cheaper than publics

News & Analysis

• ODE ends year down $157.5 million
• Ohio has chance to innovate with education technology
• 2008: What a year it was

Reviews & Analysis

• Quality Counts report finds, yawn, Ohio with a B-minus

About Us

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Gadfly Q&A

Oh Eric! FYI, private colleges are often cheaper than publics

Todd Jones is president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio (see here), which represents 49 private Ohio institutions of higher learning. Before coming to Ohio, Jones was associate deputy secretary for budget and strategic accountability in the U.S. Department of Education under President Bush, where he managed the department's budget. He has also served as the executive director of the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education. Jones is unique in that he not only knows higher education but also has deep knowledge of the nitty-gritty of national K-12 education policy and is an expert on education law and finance. His insights are particularly important now that Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut is revamping the state's higher-education system, in no small measure to make it more accountable. Jones spoke recently with Gadfly Editor Mike Lafferty for this Q&A concerning the state's higher-education plans and what it might mean for K-12 education.

Q. You had a distinguished career in Washington, D.C. How did you come to land in Ohio?
A. My wife has Ohio connections. My wife and I decided it was time to leave Washington, D.C. It is more difficult there to raise a family. Also, it was time to leave before I became tied to a skill set that was only good there.

Q. What do you think of Chancellor Eric Fingerhut's higher-education plan?
A. The approach he took misses the role of independent colleges in Ohio. We are one-third of the students. Our demographics mirror the public [schools] and also the state's racial diversity. In fact, our graduation rates are slightly higher. We have 31 percent of African-American students in Ohio and 40 percent of the baccalaureates awarded to African-Americans are awarded by our colleges and universities. The chancellor's plan is a public [university] plan with a discussion of how privates can play a role. That said, it has set the right goals. We need more young people graduating from college and we need more talented people investing themselves in Ohio.

Q. Did Fingerhut ask for your input?
A. Fingerhut did consult. We had a strong hand in the private universities section, but that is a small part of the overall plan. If the goal is to have 230,000 more students in colleges and universities [more than 600,000 students were enrolled in Ohio's public and private colleges and universities in 2008], privates are going to play an important role. Ohio Dominican University, Franklin, Mount Vernon Nazarene, and others are seeking to expand enrollments and they are targeting low-income and first-generation-American students. If we're going to expand [to meet the chancellor's goal], college must attract more nontraditional students and maybe students who have some college experience but didn't get a degree--maybe more two-year students might decide to get four-year degrees.

Ohio is roughly at the national median for people in their 20s and 30s [for degree holders]. If you are 40 or over, you are less likely to have a college degree than in other states. We are still an agriculture and heavy industry state. For example, historically, many people avoided college to get a job in manufacturing. Now, if you want to be a Ford technician, you need some education. It's different at more traditional four-year institutions. But the bottom line is that these post-high school programs represent substantial higher education and that's where the expansion can happen. The state also must look at what this plan will cost and private universities can help there. A public university is more expensive than a private college. For every student, it will save taxpayers money if they go to an independent college.

Q. Why 230,000 more Ohio college students?
A. Jobs have changed. Consider nurses. Nursing skills have increased. Things that in the past required a doctor, a nurse now does. There's no reason to pay a doctor if you can have a nurse do it. It's not so much that all of these people need college degrees [but they need college-level skills]. Police and prison workers are two examples where college level skills were once not necessary....There are plenty of cases that have failed in court because a police officer couldn't write and describe accurately what happened at a crime scene or in a criminal investigation. True adult professional writing is one of the things you learn in college.... Now, let me move it to the soft side. Fifteen years ago web designing wasn't a job. One of the things college provides is it allows you to adapt and be successful in a job. This ability to adjust is an advantage to Ohio. It's increasing resiliency in the workforce. We are more likely to create the jobs of the future right here.

Q. Are students better qualified, are minorities better qualified than previous generations?
A. Yes. It is true across the board, and that's with an increase in the last two decades in the number of ninth graders [eventually] enrolling in college....Some have potential but need assistance--more than sticking a book in front of them and asking them to contemplate what it means. They need to be nurtured in the right environment to bring them to complete a college degree and to develop the ability to think abstractly and rationally to solve problems. This is easier for some students than others....We're embarked on a grand social experiment that has its roots in modern times in the G.I. Bill--the idea that more people can go to college and gain value from it.

Q. What's your opinion of K-12 education in Ohio?
A. Culturally, Ohio is in transition away from being an agricultural and industrial state. In the past, school was about learning to read and write. K-12 education was not necessarily the highest priority, it was a competing priority--compared to the Mid-Atlantic states, the Northeast, areas around Chicago, and, broadly speaking, California. In Ohio, leaders realized that education was important but were not willing to take all the steps needed for it to be successful for all.

Ironically, compare Ohio now with states like North Carolina and Georgia where education is being reformed fundamentally. In Ohio, however, we have created serious impediments that make it more difficult to move forward. This is especially true in our inability to cope with the decline of urban systems. Education is much more complex than it was 40 years ago. How does an urban district like Cleveland close schools that are performing so poorly that they don't deserve to remain open? How does a large urban district cope with a shrinking student base as families move away? How does it close schools and redistribute the education dollars? The reaction is always, "No, don't close the school. The community will die." And then how do you pay for it all? In rural areas, districts will not pay for more than the minimum. In some districts, taxpayers will pay for a new football field but won't pay for books.

Q. Compare Ohio with some other areas.
A. School districts in Ohio compare themselves to each other when they should compare themselves to the best in the nation, like Falls Church, Va., Brookline, Mass., or Glendale in Los Angeles. Too many districts in Ohio define themselves by how many students go to college rather than how many are in AP classes and succeed with 4s and 5s or by the number of students who receive academic scholarships....Not that we don't have some very fine schools in this state, but, in too many instances, to even contemplate doing something different is a nonstarter.

Falls Church was once a backwater but there was a community commitment to organize the district around academics. It was built for academic excellence. There was a commitment of the people in the community to do education differently. You had some of this once in Ohio, in Shaker Heights, for example. But why didn't it happen more? There are many areas in Ohio that had the same advantages. There is an assumption here that we have it all, so why think about what others have or do.

Q. Is K-12 education at least headed in the right direction?
A. It's too early to tell if the reforms introduced over the last decade will be successful. There are some obvious bright spots. Charters have done great things across the country and have had some notable successes and some notable failures. Some public districts are really improving. Columbus is a bright spot. The superintendent is remarkable and she has one of the most difficult jobs on earth and deserves a lot of credit for leading change. The district has done an amazing job absorbing so many non-English speakers into the system. On money, the final DeRolf compromise didn't satisfy anyone but the benefits have been cumulative in reallocating more money to the poorest districts and leaving the better-off districts on their own. It was not the best answer but it was a pretty strong political compromise....It's not that we can't come up with better ideas but in an environment with organized labor and in a state with declining financial resources it won't be easy. We have union contracts that are straightjackets to flexibility, a pension system that is beneficial to teachers but costly to taxpayers. In Ohio, it's one size fits all and I don't understand it. All of my colleges are different. You can be an entrepreneurial professor at Franklin University [in Columbus] and run companies. At Denison University [in Granville] you have more the idea of the classics professor. Both systems work. But in K-12 education in Ohio, it's "Here's how it's going to be."

Q. How are we doing on making schools accountable?
A. Our state standards are a full tier below the best, highest standards in our country. But what I hear is that our standards are too difficult. One of the most important parts of the federal No Child Left Behind law was not that it pointed to rural districts and urban districts that were not succeeding. We knew that. NCLB talks about the success or failure of minority and disabled children and uses these to help gauge a district's overall success. If a few African-American or disabled students are not succeeding while the vast majority of white students and non-disabled are, is that school successful? I bet the parents of the African-American students and the disabled students care. I don't see debasing standards or lowering accountability as a good thing, but we're moving in that direction.

Q. What are Ohio's stumbling blocks and strengths?
A. Schools are not going to solve drug addiction problems or problems at home with parents. Money is a stumbling block. Some urban schools do a remarkable job of educating large numbers of students who do not speak English. These children would have been warehoused two decades ago and now they go on to get high-school diplomas. They get jobs stocking shelves or sweeping floors. These are basic jobs but they still offer the way to make a living and be a part of society.

We are moving in the direction we should be moving--we have a systematic focus on improvement. I credit [former State Superintendent of Public Instruction] Susan Zelman for that. Over the last decade, the state has moved in a positive direction. But I don't know if it's going to stick.

by Mike Lafferty

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News & Analysis

ODE ends year down $157.5 million

The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) ended the year down $157.5 million after a third round of spending cuts announced in December lopped another $30.4 million from its budget (see here). Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland has cut $1.9 billion in state spending through June 30 as he tries to align spending with revenues. A skirmish over the first round of cuts, in January 2008, was the rumored impetus for Strickland's State-of-the-State power play against former state school Superintendent Susan Zelman (see here). The governor didn't get control over ODE as he'd hoped, but says he is pleased with the appointment of the new state Superintendent, Deborah S. Delisle (see here). This round of cuts marks one of Delisle's first big challenges in her new job, but her recommendations offer little insight into where she'd like to take K-12 education.

As with the previous budget reductions, certain line items were held harmless, including foundation funding, pupil transportation, gifted education, special education, and career-tech education. A handful of initiatives, like early childhood education, received small or no cuts, and three line items saw cuts of greater than 12 percent (literacy professional development, educator preparation, and STEM). For the most part, the cuts are shared across the board, with Delisle recommending reductions of four to eight percent to all state-funded line items (see here), similar to what Zelman put forth last January and in September.

Across-the-board cuts are generally not based on value or performance, yet they are viewed as "fair" because they spread the pain equally among offices and programs. When it comes to trimming an education budget toward the end of a biennium and in the middle of the school year this approach might make sense. But it's not much of plan for addressing an expected $7-billion-plus hole in the state's next two-year budget (see here) while also trying to improve overall school performance or at least maintain it. The state should start its cuts by focusing on what works and eliminate what doesn't or what is redundant. This, of course, is not easy and will offend all manner of special interests.

Strickland won't have the luxury of reducing spending by some percentage across the board in order to balance Ohio's fiscal year 2010-2011 budget. Even with a federal bailout (see here), he will face tough decisions about shuttering offices, ending programs, and letting employees go at all state agencies, ODE included.

by Emmy L. Partin

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Ohio has chance to innovate with education technology

We've been vocal these past months with our concerns about where Ohio's leaders might take K-12 education (see here). But we're the first to admit our optimism about Ohio's opportunity to make real strides in integrating education and technology:

• At Monday's opening session of the state's 128th General Assembly, amidst his remarks about promoting innovation in Ohio, restoring the state's "spirit of entrepreneurship," and touting the cost-savings of regional cooperation, new House Speaker Armond Budish told Gongwer News Service that "the thoughtful application of technology" could provide every Ohio student the opportunity to obtain a "high quality education."
• In her previous job as head of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights school district, State Superintendent Deborah Delisle was named "2008 Tech-Savvy Superintendent" by e-school news. She put in place a one-to-one laptop program at a middle school, which is rolling up to all middle and high schools in the district over the next five years, and she established electronic assessments for teachers to help them better tailor instruction to meet students' needs.
• Ohio, like many other states, faces a huge budget deficit, and Governor Strickland has vowed not to raise taxes to fill the hole. Education funding will be flat or slightly reduced at best, so the time is ripe to explore effective, cost-efficient means of delivering instruction. Plus, Speaker Budish hails from Beachwood, one of Ohio's highest spending school districts, which spent roughly $20,000 per student last year, twice that of the average Ohio district. He and his constituents know a thing or two about high property tax bills and likely won't have the appetite for more taxes even if Strickland reneges on his vow.

The application of technology in Ohio's schools has occurred in fits and starts to-date, via e-schools (a mixed bag so far), in-school computer labs (not really innovative), and post-secondary education distance learning (good stuff). Here's hoping that's all about to change and the state starts to see technology as a key component in a strategic approach to improve education and the delivery of instruction.

by Emmy L. Partin

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2008: What a year it was

Ohio educated 1.7 million public school students in 2008, a year marked by the continued decline in urban enrollment (falling 19 percent from 2003 to 2008). The state's ailing economy also continued to show its fangs with 37 percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, up from 31 percent five years ago. Students with limited English ability have doubled since 2003. One in 50 Ohio students is now limited English proficient. Last year, charter school enrollment climbed to 82,600 students, up from 33,700 in 2003.

January

• Ohio started the year with a B-minus rating from Education Week's Quality Counts 2008 Report. The national report found the state's children start school less prepared for success than their peers nationally. The state does a decent job of investing in its children and has high marks for spending equity. The greatest challenge continues to be the education gap between rich and poor, and whites and minorities.
• Gov. Ted Strickland announced $733 million in state government spending cuts, including for the Ohio Department of Education. Two more round of cuts would eventually be announced.

February

• In his State of the State address, Gov. Strickland called for diminishing the role of the State Board of Education, the ouster of then-Superintendent Susan Zelman, and the appointment of a state education czar who would report directly to the governor.

March

• The federal Internal Revenue Service began an investigation of Ohio's largest for-profit charter operator, White Hat Management. The Ohio Federation of Teachers had questioned whether the 31 schools overseen by White Hat are truly governed by independent boards as required by state law.

April

• Adding money to melodrama, the Ohio Elections Commission fined the political action committees "All Children Matter" and "All Children Matter-Virginia" $2.6 million each for allegedly funneling money to Ohio Republican candidates in an illegal manner in 2006 (see here). The groups appealed the finding, but money to Ohio political races in 2008 fell off sharply.
• On the heels of his much-praised 10-year strategic plan for the state's higher education system, Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut pushed state universities to provide data allowing the public to compare academic performance across universities and colleges in Ohio and with other schools across the country (see here and here).

May

• Mitch Chester, senior associate superintendent for policy and accountability at the Ohio Department of Education left Ohio to become the education commissioner in Massachusetts. Chester had helped to build the Buckeye State's standards and accountability system over the past decade.

June

• The biennial capital appropriations and budget corrections bill (see here) made several changes to education law, including allowing nonpublic schools (parochial and other private schools) to make purchases through low-cost contracts negotiated by the Department of Administrative Services. The bill also allowed Educational Service Centers (ESC) to convert all or part of an existing building operated by the ESC into a charter school, provided that the ESC's governing board serves as the school's sponsor.
• The Ohio General Assembly approved legislation allowing for the firing of teachers and other educators when they commit certain criminal offenses. The bill was a follow up to legislation approved in 2007 in response to a Columbus Dispatch newspaper series.

July

• The State Board of Education approved a "vision document" spelling out objectives and strategies to help Ohio meet its 10-year goal that "all students will graduate well prepared for success" (see here).
• Gov. Strickland launched his "Governor's Conversation on Education" series and would ultimately meet with 12 groups across the state.

August

• ODE Associate Superintendent Paolo DeMaria joined the Ohio Board of Regents as Chancellor Fingerhut's right-hand man. DeMaria was the department's top school funding expert.
• Ohio's first KIPP school, KIPP: Journey Academy, opened in Columbus (see here).
• ODE released local report cards incorporating "value-added" data to gauge how much progress a school's students made in reading and math over the course of one year compared to state expectations. A Fordham Institute analysis of report card data showed schools in the state's largest cities continued to struggle to help students meet basic academic standards (see here).

September

• Ohio cut $540 million in state government spending.
• The Public Broadcasting System aired Where We Stand, featuring four Ohio schools that exemplify America's urgent need to reform education. Still, there is hope, according to the program. The Columbus METRO School (see here) was highlighted as a positive example.
• The Montgomery County Common Pleas Court dismissed a suit against one of four charter schools sued by then-Attorney General Marc Dann for allegedly violating the state's charitable trust laws (see here). Dann, who resigned in May as the result of scandal in his office, had filed the suits because, he charged, the low-performing schools violated their "charitable" mission as 501(c)3 organizations.

October

• Deborah S. Delisle, superintendent of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights schools, was selected by the State Board of Education as Ohio's 35th superintendent of public instruction (see here).

November

• Democrats take control of the Ohio House, for the first time in 14 years, with a 53-46 majority. The Democrats rode the coattails of President-elect Obama and benefitted from national angst with President Bush, two wars, and an economy in tailspin.
• School levies in Dayton, Columbus, Toledo, and Youngstown are passed, while statewide results are mixed.

December

• Gov. Strickland announces a third round of spending cuts for the year, this time $640 million. Total cuts for the year: $1.9 billion, including $157.5 million in Ohio Department of Education reductions.
• The second round of the "Governor's Conversation on Education" is launched and it focused on "fixing" school funding. The meetings were conducted as the governor faces a projected $7.2 billion shortfall in the next two-year state budget.

And coming up in 2009...
We're all anxious to learn the governor's education plans. If nothing else, Ohio's economic challenges will provide the environment for political risk-taking and bold leadership. Will the governor and legislative leaders seize the opportunity or will business-as-usual prevail? We'll keep you informed.

by Suzannah Herrmann

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Reviews & Analysis

Quality Counts report finds, yawn, Ohio with a B-minus

Ohio education is beginning to look like Ohio State in post-season football--OK, but not nearly good enough, according to the 2009 Education Week Quality Counts survey, released online today (see here). The state school system got its usual B-minus, the same as last year.

The state's overall score was 81, compared with the U.S. average of 76.2. Ohio ranked 25th in a comparison of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia.

By categories, Ohio rated B-minus in overall chance of student success (compared with C-plus nationally). In other categories Ohio scored C-minus in K-12 achievement, A in assessment and accountability, C-plus in teaching profession, B-minus in school finance, and B-minus in transitions and alignment.

Maryland was the top-scoring state at 84.7 for a B, followed by Massachusetts (84.6) and New York (84.1). The lowest-scoring states were Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, and, at dead last, New Mexico with a score of 67.2, good enough for a D-plus.

At least nobody failed, but maybe Ed Week just doesn't want to cause any psychological damage.

by Mike Lafferty

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Nationally and in Ohio, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, along with its sister organization the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, strives to close America's vexing achievement gaps by raising standards, strengthening accountability, and expanding high-quality education options for parents and families. As a charter-school sponsor in Ohio, the Foundation joins with schools to affirm a relentless commitment to high expectations for all children, accountability for academic results, and transparency and organizational integrity, while freeing the schools to operate with minimal red tape. The Foundation and Institute are neither connected with nor sponsored by Fordham University.