Report says Ohio needs higher teacher standards

1/22/2009

CLEVELAND A new report says Ohio needs higher teacher standards and recommends making it easier to fire bad educators.

The recommendation was issued Thursday by the Ohio Grantmakers Forum, a group of private and corporate foundations that give more than $300 million to Ohio schools each year.

The group also recommended junking Ohio's standardized high school graduation tests. The group suggested replacing the tests with other ways to gauge critical-thinking skills and readiness for college and work.

The report comes one week before Gov. Ted Strickland is expected to announce his plans for school reform.