When Ohio鈥檚 scores on the National Assessment of Education Progress, or NAEP, , they showed almost no academic growth for Ohio fourth and eighth graders, much like the rest of the country.
In fact, Florida was one of the only states to show progress, especially with low-income and black students.
said 15 years ago, Ohio and Florida were in opposite positions.
It was Ohio low-income and black students who were excelling on NAEP exams, but the states have essentially flipped.
鈥淲hy when Ohio did many of the same education reforms as Florida, has Florida seen a lot of progress and Ohio hasn鈥檛?鈥� Aldis questioned.
The answer, he said, is consistency and robust implementation.
Florida increased graduation requirements, implemented an A-F grading system for schools, and increased school choice options, much like Ohio, but state leaders didn鈥檛 back down when its policies were criticized.
That鈥檚 not what Aldis has seen happen in Ohio.
鈥淲henever it starts getting a little uncomfortable, instead of saying, 鈥榥o, no, these expectations are important and they鈥檙e going to drive long term student achievement,鈥� we back away,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd seemingly forget why we instituted those reforms to begin with.鈥�
Aldis said in order to see achievement increase in Ohio, in order to boost scores on the NAEP and other exams, Ohio leaders need to stop shifting education policies so quickly and allow for some consistency in the system.
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