How Zip Code Matters: Spacial Analysis of Ohio Learning Standards Opporunity Gaps in Cuyahoga County – Executive Summary
On September 15, 2016, the Ohio Education Department (OED) released the first report cards based on Ohio Learning Standards (OLS) revisions developed in collaboration with the American Institutes for Research (AIR). Fallouts were seismic in their impact on districts, schools and classrooms. In comparison to the previous year, proportion of Ohio school districts receiving grades “A” to “C” declined considerably. Officials quickly responded, noting that, rather than being indicative of a decline in academic performance, the lower report card grades reflected higher standards against which school district performance was assessed. In other words, the OLS effectively created “a new baseline of student learning.” This executive summary is an overview of the National Urban Research Group’s investigation of: “To what extent, if any, are persistent Ohio Learning Standards gaps attributable to differences within zip codes for the largest county in Ohio (i.e., Cuyahoga County)?”