Education and training beyond high school matters, preparing students to contribute to their communities, allowing them to lead healthier and more productive lives, and strengthening the economy. In today's economy, higher education is increasingly important for those seeking jobs that pay a living wage. Unfortunately, many Ohio policies work…

When higher education goes wrong, once-hopeful students can be saddled with debt, no degree, fewer resources and less will to pursue education in the future. Costs, debt and earnings vary greatly depending on the type of institution running the program. Career training programs at for-profit institutions, also known as proprietary schools, have…

When higher education goes wrong, once-hopeful students can be saddled with debt, no degree, fewer resources and less will to pursue education in the future. Costs, debt and earnings vary greatly depending on the type of institution running the program. Career training programs at for-profit institutions, also known as proprietary schools, have…

Quality preschool improves children's educational outcomes into the elementary grades, and good programs with wraparound childcare anchor family financial stability by enabling parents to work. Yet, too few Cincinnati children have access to a good preschool or any preschool at all. A levy on this November's ballot seeks to change that by adding a…

Quality preschool improves children's educational outcomes into the elementary grades, and good programs with wraparound childcare anchor family financial stability by enabling parents to work. Yet, too few Cincinnati children have access to a good preschool or any preschool at all. A levy on this November's ballot seeks to change that by adding a…

Until last year, Ohio had in place a rule requiring a minimum level of staffing for music, visual arts, physical education, counselors, librarians, nurses, social workers and visiting teachers. School districts had to have at least five of these eight positions for every 1,000 students. In March 2015, the State Board of Education eliminated this…

Policy Matters Ohio periodically surveys schools about fiscal conditions and operational strategies. The Ohio Association of School Business Officials provided a link to such a survey in their newsletter of December 2014 through February 2015. Fifty-three respondents, representing 8.6 percent of districts and including representatives from all…

Highly rated urban schools are often held up as models for lower-rated urban districts. These high-scoring urban schools, both district and charter, get results on Ohio's standardized tests that shine compared to results many schools get in districts struggling with the effects of concentrated poverty. Administrators, journalists, and policy…

Ohio's charter-closure law is touted as one of the toughest in the nation because it requires the automatic closure of charter schools that consistently fail to meet academic standards. Ohio's charter-closure law, which became effective in 2008 and was revised in 2011, calls for automatic closure of schools rated in Academic Emergency for at least…

Prosperous regions are educated regions. Ohio's relatively low share of residents with college degrees has concerned one governor after the other and proposals for managing Ohio's university system have differed substantially. The Kasich administration's higher education proposal, the "Enterprise University Plan for Ohio," is based on…

Prosperous regions are educated regions. Ohio's relatively low share of residents with college degrees has concerned one governor after the other and proposals for managing Ohio's university system have differed substantially. The Kasich administration's higher education proposal, the "Enterprise University Plan for Ohio," is based on…

Even as unemployment in Ohio has remained high, headlines regularly feature employers lamenting the lack of qualified job applicants. Some have even suggested that a dearth of skilled workers is driving Ohio's unemployment crisis. In this report, Policy Matters Ohio uses Bureau of Labor Statistics job projections and wage data to look at whether a…

This report examines Ohio's changing economy and whether Ohio is well positioned to meet the shifting skill demand. After examining job losses and job growth projections by sector and education attainment, findings revealed that Ohio has a projected education attainment gap for workers with some post-secondary education but less than a college…