Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
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An Ohio education: The good and bad
(Alex Brattain, 19, guards a pile of stuff on move-in day at the University of Dayton on Aug. 17)
A study by a national higher education group has good and bad things to say about Ohio schools. (I first spotted this at the Campus Watch blog.)
Here are the Ohio highlights:
Math scores are up: The percentage of eighth graders scoring “proficient on the “nation’s report card” — a national test — is up considerably, especially at high school.
Achievement gaps remain: The disparity between black/hispanic and white performance here is stark. The study highlights one problem — course selection. The percentage of kids taking upper level math is much higher for white kids than other groups. There’s a similar story on rich vs. poor kids — the wealthy kids are far more likely to go to college in our state than in others.
College is getting more costly: Wow. The percentage of family income needed to pay for an in-state, four-year college here jumped to 42 percent from 28 percent. That’s the worst gain in the nation!
(Image credit: Ron Alvey, DDN)
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: Colleges and Universities
Comments
By Keith
September 13, 2006 3:45 PM | Link to this
Oldprof is right on the ball there. Ooops a sports pun. I’ve said that for decades as I’ve taught kids more interested in their professional sports careers than in their learning 2+2. What do the Governor candidates think about such ideas? One will say anything to get elected since he’s been in Columbus now for years and is part of the problem; the other won’t talk education plan, so the others can’t shoot it down. Smart move, I think. But the emphasis on sports at all levels won’t change because the parents don’t have to want to change it.By Oldprof
September 13, 2006 9:03 AM | Link to this
How to make college tuition affordable in Ohio. (1) All federal and state grants based only on family finances, not on level of college tuition. (2) Eliminate all legislators’ “pet” education projects and make all ed. funds general. (3) Eliminate all regulations that increase non-instructional and non-operations personnel (e.g., “must have such-and-such administrator). (4) Restrict amounts that public colleges and universities can spend on promotions and advertising. (5) All coaches are considered “faculty” and paid according to that salary schedule. (6) Adopt universal course numbering system [which already exists via Miami U’s CAS {course applicability system}. There you go—are our legislators listening? No, still deaf…By Mary
September 12, 2006 7:04 PM | Link to this
But OSU is number 1 in football and pays the OSU football coach over $2 million. Maybe that is Ohio’s priorities?