Three School Ideas Ohio Should Import From Florida

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School Choice Ohio has released a roadmap for improving Buckeye State schools that looks a lot like Florida's plan.

In the trade balance between Ohio and Florida, the Sunshine State usually imports far more than it exports. (Those imports are usually in Clearwater wearing Ohio State jerseys on Saturdays)

But School Choice Ohio believes the Buckeye State should import some education ideas from Florida.

The group released a Friedman Foundation report today that argues Florida’s low-income students are outperforming their Ohio cohorts on a national assessment, particularly in elementary school.

We should note the report was authored by a researcher at the Tallahassee-based Foundation for Excellence in Education, whose founder is former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Bush implemented many of the reforms the report credits for Florida’s improvement. The conclusions echo many of the accomplishments Bush has previously claimed.

Florida’s low-income students saw the largest gains in reading and math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress test between 1998 and 2009, the report argues. Florida’s gains put it roughly even with Ohio for fourth grade reading scores.

Low-income, black and Hispanic fourth graders all scored almost a year’s worth of progress ahead of similar students in Ohio in 2009.

The report cites three specific reasons for the gains:

• Report cards — Florida’s A through F system simplifies things for parents and creates a public incentive for poor-performing schools to improve. In addition, a good school grade depends on gains among the low-performing quarter of school students. Those scores can not be averaged out by the highest performers.

• Parental choice — Florida offers more options to parents, and that competition forces schools to focus on the lowest-performing schools.
• Ending Social Promotion — Withholding students ensures they learn the basic skills needed as the progress through school.

The report also dismisses criticisms of Florida’s gains.

What’s your reaction to the conclusions? Are Florida schools improving? Why?

And be sure to check out the education coverage of our colleagues at StateImpact Ohio.