Let the Debate Begin: Education Policy Priorities for 2010 and Beyond

September 9, 2009

Ohioans of every background and political inclination agree that our state needs a system of public education that attains three critical goals: 1) maximizes the talent of every child; 2) is as strong as any in the world in overall achievement; and 3) closes the persistent performance gaps between rich and poor, black and white and brown.

Governor Strickland's education reform plan, enshrined in HB 1, moved Ohio forward in some areas (e.g., teacher tenure, teacher certification, and high school end-of-course exams), but backwards in others (e.g., evidence-based model of school funding). In our view, Ohio still has a long way to go if it is to create a system of education that focuses squarely on high-performance for all children and schools.

There is little doubt that the gubernatorial debates in 2010 will focus in large part on education; both on Governor Strickland's school funding fix and Republican challenger John Kasich's reform ideas and counter proposals. The governor has been working the state playing up his recent reforms (see here). Kasich, meanwhile, told a gathering of supporters in Lebanon recently that, "We need a revolution in the way we educate our kids" (see here).

As the candidates talk up education and hone their positions for 2010 we thought we'd share the Fordham Institute's five education policy priorities and offer a comparison of where Ohio is now and where we think the state needs to go in each policy area

» Continued

Let the Debate Begin: Education Policy Priorities for 2010 and Beyond