The Education Gadfly

The recent furor over the many flaws and unrealities in Gov. Ted Strickland's (and the Ohio House of Representatives') plan to alter Ohio's school-finance system has diverted attention from other grave mistakes in the education portion of the state's biennial budget bill (see here).

Foremost among these are the misguided changes it would make in Ohio's academic standards, assessments, and accountability system.

Nobody says the present arrangement is perfect. The Thomas B. Fordham Institute and others have repeatedly conferred mediocre grades on it. But H.B. 1 would take it from fair to poor.

Dutifully following one of the hottest fads in American education, the measure gives dramatically more attention to so-called "21st Century" skills than to the 3 Rs and actual knowledge. It ignores some key reasons we send kids to school in the first place. It sets lofty goals for which there are no practical gauges of progress or performance. And by changing the assessment system, the bill would make it far more difficult to compare the future performance of Ohio's schools and students with their past performance.

Strickland opened the 21st Century skills door (known in the education field as "P-21" (see here) when he urged in January that Ohio schools do far more to develop "critical thinking and problem solving, communication and collaboration, media literacy, leadership and productivity, cultural awareness, adaptability, and accountability." This theme made it through the House and now awaits Senate attention. It was--predictably--endorsed at a hearing the other day by P-21 majordomo Ken Kay, who admonished the committee that "content-based" learning is "old-fashioned".

This is a path to educational perdition. Nobody says kids should only memorize facts and everybody agrees that they also need to be able to "think critically"--just as they have always needed to do, just as readers of this newspaper do, just as voters do. But as every good educational psychologist attests, one cannot think critically unless one has something to think about. You need the core skills and knowledge at least as much as you need "cultural awareness."

Moreover, schools are far more adept at imparting the former than the latter. And no known assessment scheme can measure one's acquisition of such skills as "leadership" and "collaboration." Once these replace computation, grammar, vocabulary, and the causes of the Civil War as goals of schooling, we can bid farewell to results-based accountability. Unfortunately, that's one reason so many educators have climbed onto the P-21 bandwagon. They know this is a way to evade being held to account for the educational outcomes that they do or don't produce.

Yet of the six criteria that H.B.1 would lay upon the State Board of Education for the new academic standards it is charged with developing over the next year, just one deals with "core content and skills." The rest are P-21-style dreams that cannot be reliably assessed.

Nor is that the end of the problem. H.B.1's criteria for Ohio's future school standards are entirely oriented to college and workplace preparation. Surely an important thing to do. But what about public education's obligation also to prepare young people for citizenship, for knowing their country's history, geography, and literature, for acquiring decent values and behavior patterns, for becoming good neighbors and competent parents? We don't send kids to school solely to ready them for college and work. Yet if the governor and House have their way, that's all the State Board of Education will be tasked with doing.

As for the mandate to develop new assessments to replace Ohio's current testing regimen, it, too, is well intended. But besides all the cost and bother, the delay and complexity involved, this move will almost certainly mean that future performance reports cannot be compared with past evaluations. Ohioans will have no way to know whether their schools and children are doing better or worse. District and school ratings (e.g. "effective," "academic emergency") that educators, parents, and taxpayers are only just now getting accustomed to will no longer have meaning. And the state's pioneering efforts to gauge the "value added" by schools to their pupils, based on the present testing system, will have to be scrapped.

The Senate should surely pause before assenting to such changes. As Senator Jon Husted remarked the other day, "We haven't even adjusted to the last reform yet and now we're being asked to implement another reform."

A version of this op-ed appeared originally in the Columbus Dispatch (see here).

by Chester E. Finn, Jr.

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Capital Matters

Burying zombie charter schools

We've heard much about "zombie banks," institutions that are fundamentally insolvent but stay open because they are propped up by government intervention. But finance isn't the only field trod by the walking dead. In Dayton, and indeed across Ohio, we are also witnessing zombie schools. Many are operated by public school systems. To the great embarrassment of those who have supported charter schools, more than a few also exist within the charter sector. These are schools that remain open even though they no longer have any real hope of successfully educating children or even paying their bills.

Zombie charters are characterized by low enrollments, persistently weak academic achievement, and sorely troubled finances. In Ohio, 53 charter schools are rated in Academic Emergency or have fewer than 150 students, certainly meeting the zombie definition. Most have shown these failings since birth, which, for many, occurred during Ohio's mad rush by irresponsible sponsors in 2003-04 to open as many charter schools as possible as fast as possible. Sponsors, of which our sister organization, the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, is one (we sponsor two schools in Dayton and four elsewhere in the state), are responsible for "licensing" charter schools to operate, holding them accountable for results, and intervening when they struggle. Regrettably, too many Ohio sponsors have not done their jobs well, and as a result we are stuck with too many zombie charter schools.

The Dayton Daily News has reported on three of them. The New City School, Arise Academy and Nu Bethel Center of Excellence all display zombie-like symptoms (see here). All were launched in 2003-04. All have enrollments under 150 students (two are actually below 100), and all have struggled academically and financially. One of these schools was rated F by the state and the other two have too few students to even receive academic ratings.

Like zombie banks, zombie schools hurt people and threaten community well-being. They hurt children attending them because they are ill-equipped and ill-prepared to educate these youngsters. They hurt employees by shorting their pay or not meeting their fundamental commitments for things like health insurance. They hurt charter supporters who find themselves associated with dysfunctional schools and irresponsible sponsors. And they hurt communities by violating the core obligation of a society's adults to do right by its children.

Closing a charter school is hard and painful work. Last year, Fordham worked closely with the leadership of two Dayton charter schools to help close their doors after more than eight years of serving families and children here. In both cases, responsible adults struggled with the difficult decision to close their doors because they cared deeply about these schools and the children in them. But the schools were ultimately shuttered--and one merged with the Dayton Public Schools--because, in the end, everyone agreed that this was preferable to letting them continue in a way that might embarrass their supporters or hurt the children and families that depended on them (see here).

Of course we'd rather open schools and see them thrive than watch them falter--despite valiant efforts to turn them around--and then close. But sometimes the responsible move is to shut them down while assisting families to find acceptable alternatives. In Dayton and across Ohio, those sponsoring and operating zombie charters need to do what's right and bury the walking dead. If they refuse or fail to do this, state authorities must crack down.

Charter supporters--lawmakers, advocates, and operators--should not just demand protection, fair treatment and equitable funding of decent charter schools (as they did recently at a rally in Columbus), but also push hard for the closure--in a fair and transparent way--of zombie schools that hurt children and wound the charter movement itself.

Those currently working on the state's biennial budget should pursue a "tough love" approach to charter schools. This approach is just as right for schools as it is for child rearing. Love means giving them the freedom and resources they need to be successful. Tough means holding them accountable and coming down hard on those that fail or are irresponsible. That, by the way, is also the way to treat district schools. Let's purge the zombie schools among us.

A version of this op-ed appeared originally in the Dayton Daily News (see here).

by Terry Ryan

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News & Analysis

Budget mess befuddles charter-school planners

Charter-school operators are finishing up the details of their five-year operating budgets, a tough task given that lawmakers are still wrangling over exactly what kind of school-funding charters are to receive over the next two years (see here).

State law requires charter schools to submit five-year budget forecasts but school operators, confused and fearful for the future of their schools, can only guess at how to complete these. Many say their schools won't make it anywhere near five more years if the state charter-school financing approved by the Ohio House becomes law. Adding to the uncertainty are Ohio's declining economy and falling state revenues (see here).

House-approved spending levels would send the 350 students expected to enroll this autumn in Cleveland's Entrepreneurship Preparatory School (see here) back to what John Zitzner, the school's founder and president, calls the "dropout factories"--his name for most of the city's public district schools. The vast majority of his students are from families living in poverty. Almost every student receives a subsidized lunch.

A $400,000 loss in state funds would devastate the school's education program. "Of the 145 (public district and charter) schools in Cleveland, 15 are effective or excellent and we're one of them," he said. Instead of pushing ahead to establish another 10 schools in the next 20 years, Zitzner figures his school would be out of business in a year if proposed spending cuts are left intact.

Charter-school leaders are so focused on money issues that they have sometimes lost sight of other draconian provisions being considered by lawmakers, such as changes to teacher licensure requirements and changes that would require charter facilities to comply with Ohio School Facilities Commission design specifications. This, despite the fact they receive not one dime from the state for facilities.

The proposed building design rules would be a serious blow, said Catherine West of the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools (see here). Charter schools already must meet the highly qualified teacher provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, but a change being considered by state lawmakers would require instructors to teach only in the grade levels and subject areas covered by their licenses. This would hurt short-staffed charter schools and make it impossible for great teachers from programs like Teach for America (see here) or the New Teacher Project (see here) to work in Ohio's charters.

"If my license is only in chemistry, I couldn't teach math no matter how qualified I am," West said. "I'm not hearing schools talking about this because of funding worries."

Money has been front and center since Gov. Strickland's education plans were introduced in February (see here). When the House approved its version of the budget, it included $147 million less for charter schools (see here). Most of the proposed reductions are for e-schools, but brick-and-mortar operators are preparing for substantial cuts also.

"We're confidant the Senate will be able to push back but to be prudent we're figuring 10 percent reductions on state funds," said Thomas Babb, treasurer of Constellation Schools (see here), a group of 16 schools in Cuyahoga, Lorain, and Richland counties. Constellation has an academic performance record that most urban schools--district or charter--would envy. Still, under the House education-spending plan, the organization's school in Parma would lose $1.5 million, a third of its operating budget.

Constellation has a $30 million annual budget and employs 420 teachers, administrators, office staff, maintenance staff, and other workers.

The state's moribund economy is also a worry. "Even if we get a budget bill passed the way we want to see it, we don't know what the future will hold as far as the economy goes," Babb said.

Particularly unfair, he said, is public district schools getting average seven percent funding increases while many public charters are being cut. "If we were treated the same as traditional public schools we wouldn't complain," he said.

Marty Porter, director of the Toledo School for the Arts (see here), said the school, which has a state rating of Excellent, is looking at having to more than double its private fund-raising at a time when philanthropy is down.

"I don't want to build a budget on what we think we might be able to raise," he said.

Right now, Porter is looking at cutting all transportation, furniture and equipment purchases, a second principal, teaching aids and raises for teachers. If the drop in state funding for his school is more than $500,000, he would have to reopen all teacher contracts for renegotiation.

"Our teachers already make $6,000 less than the starting salaries for Toledo teachers," (about $32,000) he said.

Andrew Boy, who heads Columbus Collegiate Academy (see here), one of two Columbus charters sponsored by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, is planning for a budget with five percent less state money. Because, Boy said, he will not compromise on curriculum, the shortfall will have to be made up with increased fundraising. "If it's more than that," Boy said, "we'll have to move quickly to adjust during the summer."

The uncertainty is also muddying expansion plans. The school has approval for a $1.35 million loan to buy and refurbish a former public school near downtown. The lender, however, is holding up making the loan pending the final version of the state budget.

"This building is perfect but we can't move on it because we have no idea what is going to happen," said Boy.

Schools have been cutting for months as the economic news becomes bleaker. "I just received an email from our treasurer this morning informing me that I need to make a plan B budget that reflects an additional $125,000 less for expenditures," said Hannah Powell, the principal of KIPP Journey Academy (see here), the second Columbus charter school sponsored by Fordham. "I already cut the budget by $120,000 a few months ago...(and) $240,000 less in expenditures is devastating. I am in the process of solidifying my staff, making preparations for the building, and ordering curriculum as we expand, and this lack of clarity has us at a frustrated standstill."

What is clear is that demand for charter schools continues to increase. At Columbus Collegiate Academy, enrollment is expected to grow from 49 students to 105 and there still will be a waiting list. At KIPP Journey Academy, autumn enrollment now stands at 105, up from 63. The school has a goal of 135.

Zitzner's Entrepreneurship Preparatory School is adding a second school, which would more than double enrollment to 440 students. Constellation Schools is projecting an enrollment of 3,300 students this fall, up from 3,151 this year. The Toledo School for the Arts has 529 students enrolled for the autumn term, up from 508 this year. The school has nearly 100 students on its waiting list.

"We are getting lots more questions asking if we are okay. Are we still going to be here? The mood for parents is more panicked," Toledo School for the Arts' Porter said. "They're worried we're going to be cut off at the knees."

by Mike Lafferty

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From the Front Lines

A little state help would go a long way toward helping needy science students

While we're used to stories about government spending millions, billions, and now trillions, this story is about how just a little more state money could make a big difference in rural Ohio schools like South Point High School.

You see, it's been seven years since South Point biology teacher Jayshree Shah had any students able to present science projects at the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (see here), the world's top science and engineering fair. It's not because science students at the Lawrence County school, 130 miles south of Columbus, are not qualified to rub elbows with the world's high-school scientific elite.

There is simply no money for students, no matter how worthy, to attend such events. Shah said state funds once helped send top science students from South Point and other Ohio high schools to the Intel fair but that money dried up several years ago. Under the fair's rules, students are not allowed to pay their own way so travel expenses must come from donors, and there's little money for that in South Point.

"We don't have the economic base here. There's no industry. In southern Ohio the largest employer is Wal-Mart," said Shah.

The Ohio Academy of Science (see here) has noticed the problem. Ohio sent 20 high school students to the Intel fair in Reno, Nev., but students in 42 of Ohio's 88 counties had no chance, according to the academy. The academy oversees science fairs throughout the state, including the recent annual state science fair in Columbus.

Even fewer students may attend next year's Intel fair unless new funds are found.

The academy wants lawmakers to authorize $100,000 to reopen participation to a broader range of Ohio schools and double the number of students attending the event in 2010.

"We can readily identify dozens of STEM students in these counties who meet basic qualifications to attend the Intel ISEF," said Lynn Elfner, the academy's chief executive officer. "None of the tens of millions of STEM education dollars being spent in Ohio has provided opportunities for these 'best and brightest' students."

Meanwhile, Shah struggles to help provide the most opportunity for her students. She is forging ties with scientists at nearby Marshall University, across the Ohio River in Huntington, W.Va. But, while that connection can help widen horizons for her students, it won't help them get to Intel next year.

by Mike Lafferty

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Recommended Reading

How state education agencies in the Northeast and Islands Region support data-driven decision making in districts and schools
The National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance
May 2009

While there have been many studies describing how to collect and manage data, the education sector has largely ignored the difficult issue of gathering and storing data in such a way that it is available in a centralized manner. This analysis finds that the Northeast and Islands region (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the Virgin Islands) manages its data in four ways: 1) centralizing information into one data system or warehouse, 2) developing tools for further data analysis and reporting, 3) training educators on the data system or warehouse, and 4) continuing to educate professionals concerning the collected information. However, these states have encountered limits to collecting data, namely, lack of staff, expertise, and funding. The lack of staff and expertise is side-stepped by using vendors who assemble and maintain the data as well as instruct educators on how to use the data. While costly, all the states and the Virgin Islands hired outside vendors, a number of which were partially funded by federal grants. The analysis allows education leaders in Ohio to take a more in-depth look at its teacher-student data and see how other states handle the task. For the report, see here.

by Matt Walsh

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Food for thought: Building a high-quality school choice market
Erin Dillon
May 2009

Opening supply and demand is the first step in creating great schools, but having the educational market open is just not enough, argues Erin Dillon from Ed Sector. Using examples of how retail grocery stores and banks expand into low-income neighborhoods, this paper explores the more nuanced understandings of supply and demand and how to build a high-quality, school-choice market. To build the supply of good schools, for example, school reformers need to analyze community needs and assets and map the educational marketplace to know what kind of school a community needs. Also, school reformers need to establish strong community connections through advertising and by gaining public support during the planning stages for the school. Equally important, Dillon argues, that, on the demand side, parents need accurate information to identify and select good options. A lack of knowledge can lead to poor school choices. In Ohio, organizations, such as the Ohio Black Alliance for Educational Options and School Choice Ohio, provide critical services for families needing to learn about school-choice options. Because the paper details the possibilities and recommendations for improvements in school supply and demand, it makes for an interesting read and can be found here.

by Suzannah Herrmann

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About Us

The Ohio Education Gadfly is published bi-weekly (ordinarily on Wednesdays, with occasional breaks, and in special editions) by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Have something to say? Email the editor at [email protected]. Would you like to be spared from the Gadfly? Email [email protected] with "unsubscribe gadfly" in the text of your message. You are welcome to forward the Gadfly to others, and from our website you can even email individual articles. If you have been forwarded a copy of Gadfly and would like to subscribe, you may email [email protected] with "subscribe gadfly" in the text of the message. To read archived issues, go to our website and click on the Ohio Education Gadfly link. Aching for still more education news and analysis? Check out the original Education Gadfly.

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.