Ohio posts a C-plus on national grade card

COLUMBUS -- Ohio's grade on a national report card slipped to a C-plus this year, down from a B-minus, but the state inched up to 10th best school system in the nation. Last year, Ohio was 11th.

For the fourth year, Maryland was the top-ranked state, earning the highest grade of a B+, while the nation as a whole got a C, same as last year.

The analysis from Education Week, a national newspaper whose annual report cards for the nation and 50 states is highly regarded, covers many areas, including student academic achievement, teacher quality, and education financing.

Toledo Public Schools Superintendent Jerome Pecko attributed Ohio's report card slide to the financial struggle in recent years.

"We are really getting pinched [by state cutbacks and local voters' hesitancy to pass levies]," he said. "There are very difficult times for people."

The poor economy's trickle-down effect and less money to go around forces school districts to make tough and undesirable decisions about staffing and educational programs, Mr. Pecko said.

Ohio received its highest mark, an A, and ranked 4th in the nation for its tough academic standards, student testing and an accountability system that rates schools, rewarding those which do well while assisting and sometimes sanctioning low-performing schools.

But the state fell short in other areas. For instance, the report card noted that less than half of 3 and 4-year-old children are enrolled in preschool and that achievement gaps persist, with poor students continuing to fall behind.

The report noted that economic issues have put a drag on Ohio's education system. Ohio ranked 35th in the nation with only 36 percent of adults having two or four-year post-secondary degrees and 36th with only two-thirds of adults have full-time, year-round jobs, both factors for student success.

Ohio Superintendent Stan Heffner said there is not much he can do to get college degrees for parents, but the report cards give educators an opportunity to take stock of their efforts.

The state, he said, is already focused on several areas of concern.

Topping the list is getting more kids into quality preschools and ensuring they are ready for kindergarten, working with urban districts to close achievement gaps, and making sure high-school graduates are prepared for college.

Mr. Heffner noted Ohio just received a federal Race to the Top grant to improve early learning and school readiness, funding that will get 37,500 more youngsters into preschool.

As part of Ohio's initial Race to the Top award, the state will begin hosting regional meetings with high-school teachers and college professors to discuss how the state's new academic standards match students' post-secondary needs.

"We have to be sure we are teaching kids the skills that they need," Mr. Heffner said.

Mr. Pecko agreed, noting Ohio's early success with Race to the Top show the state's aggressiveness in implementing education and teaching reform and innovation, and that things will start to improve.

New academic standards and assessments will be used starting in the 2014-2015 school year.

Education Week's report also focused this year on the nation's international standing in education and lessons educators can draw from high-performing countries.

Ohio, reviewers found, is doing more than most by using standards from other countries to help model its own guidelines for English, mathematics, and science.

The report noted there has been much debate about whether the American education system has slipped and concern that it must stay strong for students to compete in a global economy.

Researchers say that 29 states claim to use international comparisons to improve education while 21 states and the District of Columbia said they do not use such data to guide education policy. Only 12, Ohio included, look to other nations to develop academic standards.

Most states that do look abroad for guidance, say they look most frequently to Singapore, followed by Japan and Finland.

Blade staff contributed to this report.