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The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio ranks 24th in nation for preparing
students to succeed
By Catherine Candisky
Jan 16, 2019
The Nation’s Report Card ranked Ohio 24th, issuing it a B- for how well
it prepares students for success.
The national average was C+, according to the analysis released
Wednesday.
Ohio’s ranking was somewhat better than in previous years; it was 26th
in 2018; 29th in 2017; and 27th in 2016.
“We’re making progress, and I’m pleased with that,” said state
Superintendent Paolo DeMaria. “We’re always looking to see how we are
doing and how we measure against other states.”
DeMaria noted that Ohio ranked higher than all but one of its five
neighbors, Pennsylvania.
The score is derived from 13 social and education indicators spanning a
child’s life from birth through the school years and into adulthood.
Measures include family income and parents’ education, student test
results and graduation rate, and post-secondary education attainment,
employment and income.
Ohio got its highest marks for the high-school graduation rate — a
benchmark that state lawmakers recently softened to ensure that more
students receive their diploma — and children with at least one parent
employed.
Ohio got its lowest marks for preschool enrollment, fourth-grade
reading-test results, and adults earning a post-secondary degree.
The annual assessment by Education Week is widely viewed as one of the
best measures of how a state is performing compared with its peers
across the country.
Overall, the ranking is about what Ohioans should expect, considering
that its scores in other measures, such as the National Assessment of
Educational Progress, also are around the national average, said Chad
Aldis, vice president of Ohio policy and advocacy for the Thomas B.
Fordham Institute, an education-policy advocate.
“No one should be freaking out and thinking any differently about their
local schools or the schools around the state based on what they read
here,” he said. “Ohio’s report card is a far better indicator.”
However, Aldis said, Ohio’s low score in educational attainment is a
significant problem.
“We’ve heard for a long time that businesses don’t have enough
qualified applicants for the job openings in Ohio,” he said. “That is a
really important measure that we can look at and gauge where we are as
a state.”
This year’s report card comes in three installments, starting with the
chances-for-success section. Education Week will release sections for
school finance in June, and K-12 student achievement in September.
The chances-for-success analysis is intended to highlight the role of
education in a person’s success.
Massachusetts ranked first with an A-, followed by New Jersey, New
Hampshire, Connecticut and Minnesota, all with a B+.
New Mexico ranked last with a D+, behind Nevada, Louisiana and West
Virginia, all with a C-.
A closer look into Ohio’s results showed:
• 95.3 percent of children have parents who speak fluent English
• 83.5 percent of public high school students graduate with a diploma
• 74.5 percent of adults work full time and year-round
• 59.1 percent of children live in families with incomes that are at
least double the federal poverty level
• 39.6 percent of adults have at least a two-year post-secondary degree
• 38.7 percent of fourth-graders in public schools scored “proficient”
on a national reading test
Dispatch Public Affairs Editor Darrel Rowland and Reporter Jim Siegel
contributed to this story.
Read this and other articles at The Columbus Dispatch
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