SCORE: 3

Ohio requires annual teacher evaluations based primarily on student growth, with the other 50% of the evaluation framework based on multiple measures including a four-tier rating of effectiveness, classroom observations, and value-add measures of student growth. These evaluations must be adopted by July 1, 2013 in each school district in Ohio. To further strengthen teacher quality in Ohio, student surveys should also be included within teacher evaluations.

SCORE: 1

Ohio requires principals to be evaluated according to measures adopted by local boards of education that include student growth and leadership effectiveness. Principal evaluations must be “comparable” to the evaluation system for teachers, presumably including four rating tiers as well. Principals are not evaluated based on their effective management of teachers, however the Department has developed a model framework for evaluating principals that includes some elements of effective teacher management, but adoption of this model is voluntary. In order to provide the most effective evaluations, Ohio must require that principal evaluations include measuring the management of teachers.

SCORE: 4

In Ohio, principal and teacher evaluations are not subject to collective bargaining agreements; boards of education are required to adopt an evaluation policy that meets the state criteria and any collective bargaining agreements are required to include that policy.

SCORE: 2

Ohio requires teachers who are ranked ineffective for two of the past three evaluations to take assessments proving their content knowledge in the subjects they teach. If the teacher passes the content knowledge examination, they must also take professional development seminars targeted at personal deficiencies as defined by their evaluations. If the teacher does not complete these or is rated ineffective a third time, the teacher may be terminated. Forced placement is allowed, although seniority is not allowed to be considered in teacher reinstatement. In order to provide more effective teachers for its students, Ohio should prohibit forced placement, and require ineffective teachers to be exited from the system after no more than two consecutive years of being rated ineffective.

SCORE: 1

Ohio prohibits using seniority as the sole or major criteria for staffing decisions, explicitly stating that it can only be used between teachers with comparable evaluations. The state requires that its evaluation ratings be used to inform all retention and promotion decisions. With respect to reductions in force, however, Ohio allows districts to consider tenure in the rank order for layoffs. Because tenure is based in part on meeting years of service criteria, it becomes a proxy for seniority. To ensure effective teachers are retained, Ohio should require staffing decisions to be based on effectiveness and prohibit seniority from being a factor in layoffs.

SCORE: 1

Ohio prohibits using seniority as the sole or major criteria for staffing decisions, explicitly stating that it can only be used between teachers with comparable evaluations. The state requires that its evaluation ratings be used to inform all retention and promotion decisions. With respect to reductions in force, however, Ohio allows districts to consider tenure in the rank order for layoffs. Because tenure is based in part on meeting years of service criteria, it becomes a proxy for seniority. To ensure effective teachers are retained, Ohio should require staffing decisions to be based on effectiveness and prohibit seniority from being a factor in layoffs.

SCORE: 0

Ohio only permits school districts located in the city of Cleveland or those that are Race to the Top subgrantees to implement performance pay compensation systems. Ohio should require either the Department of Education or traditional school districts to develop compensation systems that include measures of effectiveness. Performance should be the primary criteria used to determine pay increases.

SCORE: 0

Ohio provides for a minimum salary for those teachers who hold a master's degree. Ohio should eliminate or prohibit districts from compensation systems from including salary increases for master's degrees or additional education credits for traditional public schools.

SCORE: 2

Ohio offers alternative certification and teacher preparation by permitting non-universities to provide teacher preparation programs. Candidates have the opportunity to work toward standard licensure while employed full-time. There is no degree requirement for admission into the program. However, there is only a 2.5 minimum GPA requirement for admission. In order to improve its alternative certification programs, Ohio should increase the selectivity of its admissions criteria - such as increasing the minimum GPA to 3.0.

SCORE: 0

Ohio does not have a clear process for authorizing, evaluating, and decommissioning alternative certification programs that is based on teacher effectiveness. The state does require performance designations for programs, but such designations are based solely on the state examination pass rate of candidates graduating from the programs. In order to ensure the most robust alternative certification programs, Ohio needs to establish clear processes for authorizing, evaluating, and decommissioning alternative certification programs based on teacher effectiveness data and evaluations.

SCORE: 4

Ohio state law requires that all school districts, school buildings, charter schools, STEM schools, and college-preparatory boarding schools receive a letter grade based on student achievement, student growth, reduction in the achievement gap, and college-and-career readiness.

SCORE: 0

Ohio only requires that parents of students in Title I schools are notified of their right to request information about their teacher. There is nothing in place that requires districts to notify parents when their students are placed with ineffective teachers. In order to empower parents more effectively, Ohio has two options: 1) guarantee that no student will be assigned to ineffective teachers for 2 consecutive years, or 2) require parental notification when their student is placed with an ineffective teacher, after the teacher has been rated "ineffective" for 2 or more years.

SCORE: 0

Parent trigger in Ohio is limited to a pilot program in Columbus City School District. In order to empower parents more effectively, Ohio should allow parent trigger throughout the state.

SCORE: 2

Ohio has established an opportunity scholarship program that prioritizes, but is not limited to, low-income students in low-performing schools. The program also includes some accountability requirements. Ohio should amend its scholarship program to target limited funds to low-income students in low-performing schools.

SCORE: 0

Ohio allows for multiple charter school authorizers, and contract renewal is contingent in some degree on performance. However, Ohio caps each authorizer at 100 schools. Instead, Ohio should eliminate this cap, and provide for a fast-track authorization process for high-performing charter schools. Making those changes will allow Ohio to provide its students with more educational options.

SCORE: 4

The state requires a performance-based contract with 5-year term lengths. The authorizer is required to conduct annual school reviews, and to submit those reviews to the Department of Education (which is the authorizer oversight body in Ohio.) The oversight body annually evaluates the performance of the authorizers. Authorizers are prohibited from sponsoring additional schools if they have schools ranked in the lowest 20% of all schools - this is an authorizer sanction.

SCORE: 0

Ohio law does not provide equal funding to students in charter schools due to a variety of differences in the provisions for charter schools versus traditional public schools. In order to improve charter school funding, Ohio should provide equal per-pupil funding for all students enrolled in traditional or charter public schools. Skimming should also be prohibited. Ohio should ensure that scholarship recipients receive a tuition amount competitive with private school tuition. The amount is currently capped at $4,250 for kindergarten through eighth grade and $5,000 for high school.

SCORE: 3

State law requires school districts with real property that has been used for classroom operations to offer charter (community) schools within the district right of first refusal. The law should be strengthened so that in the event more than one charter school applies for a space, the highest performing school receives priority.

SCORE: 1

Ohio law is silent on charter school access to local bond revenues and does not provide a per-pupil facilities allowance. Ohio law contains provisions for dedicated alternative financing via the Community Schools Facilities Guaranteed Loan Program for the construction of new school buildings and a revolving loan fund that allows charter schools to apply to use funds for any services described in their charter, however the Legislature needs to appropriate funds for these programs. Ohio could strengthen its laws by allowing for a per-pupil facilities allowance and expressly allowing charter schools to access local bond revenues.

SCORE: 3

Ohio allows for governance flexibility on both the local and state levels. On the local level, the state allows for limited mayoral control of specified districts. Ohio could strengthen its mayoral control law by allowing the mayor to directly appoint a Chancellor to oversee the district rather than appointing a nine-member board of education. On the state level, Ohio allows for numerous types of state intervention in school districts that have been identified for improvement for three consecutive school years – this is a strong state takeover model.

SCORE: 1

Ohio law requires the Department of Education to set and school districts to implement and publish an annual report that indicates the ratios of a district's operating expenditures for the instructional purposes as compared to its operating expenditures for administrative purposes. State law does not permit the DOE to determine additional reporting requirements. Ohio law does, however, permit the state auditor to make determinations on the fiscal health of school districts and, in conjunction with the State Superintendent, appoint an individual to act as the fiscal arbitrator of a district when districts fail to submit an acceptable financial recovery plan. To strengthen these provisions, Ohio should add additional transparency and accountability requirements. Schools should be required to link expenditure and student achievement data in a way that allows policymakers and the public to understand the impact of their spending decisions. Additionally, the state should develop an easy-to-understand assessment system for fiscal performance and permit the state to make governance changes when resources are mismanaged.

SCORE: 4

Ohio law has established a " Educational Regional Service System" to support state and regional education initiatives. The purpose of the system is to reduce unnecessary duplication of programs and services and create economic efficiencies. Traditional school districts and public charters are not required to purchase services, but may at times be required to use the services offered. Additionally, Ohio boards of educaton of any city, local or exempted village school district can form cooperative education school districts. School districts may also join with one or more subdivisions to establish a park or recreational facitility. A joint board of education may also establish a cooperative agreement with a joint recreation commisision for the lease, rental, or use of school buses to transport students taking part in summer recreation programs. To allow for further efficiencies, Ohio should expressly permit its public schools to create Joint Powers Authorities and to make purchases from current county or state contracts.

SCORE: 0

Ohio requires a ratio of one full-time classroom teacher for each 25 students. Instead, Ohio should eliminate all class size restrictions above 3rd grade.

SCORE: 2

The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio (STRS) provides three employer-sponsored retirement options: (1) a traditional defined benefit plan; (2) a portable defined contribution plan and (3) a hybrid defined benefit-defined contribution plan. Employees of traditional public schools and public charter schools are required to participate on one of these programs. However, the state does not mandate that all or new teachers choose the defined contribution plan. To provide teachers with the most flexibility and to ensure sustainability of the system, the state should require employees of traditional public schools to join in its portable retirement plan. The participation of charter school employees should not be mandated.