Ohio: Who Is Writing Education Policy? Not Educators.
Joel Malin and Kathleen Knight-Abowitz of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, write here about the forces determining education policy in Ohio.
Ohio education policy is a train wreck. It is not benefiting students or teachers or society. So who is it benefiting?
In our view, it pays to start asking larger questions about EdChoice to understand how education policy is made in Ohio. Why, for instance, did this dramatic increase in voucher eligibility occur? Why would lawmakers experiment with such an expensive initiative, when studies of such voucher programs – including a rigorous study of EdChoice – have most often revealed large, negative impacts on student learning? And, in what universe does it make sense that schools would be judged, and voucher eligibility triggered, by students’ scores in 2013 and 2014 (but not 2015-2017)?
The great uproar around EdChoice should have us asking about how policy is made: specifically, whose voices are being elevated, and whose are being diminished, when Ohio education policy is being created?
Taking a step back, we can see that the policies adopted CONTINUE READING: Ohio: Who Is Writing Education Policy? Not Educators. | Diane Ravitch's blog