For the third year in a row, Ohio has dropped in Education Week’s annual ranks. The news comes despite the state slightly bumping up its grade from 79.5 percent to 79.6 percent. The state was ranked No. 12, down from No. 11 in 2012 and No. 10 in 2011. Ohio did best in standards, assessments and accountability, where it got a 96.1 percent, or an A. It did worst in K-12 achievement, which measures student progress and equality, with a 71.2 percent, or a C-. The only major category in which Ohio performed below the U.S. average was transitions and alignment, which gauges state standards for preparing Ohio students for moving from kindergarten to elementary school to middle school to high school to college. In the category, Ohio got a 78.6 percent, or C+, while the national average is 81.1 percent. Maryland was ranked No. 1 for the fifth year in a row with an 87.5 percent, or a B. “We’re pleased to be rated No. 12 in the nation … but our overall score of a B- reassures us what we already know: We can do a better job of educating Ohio’s children and preparing them for future success,” said John Charlton, spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Education. Charlton says the state is taking steps to make improvements, particularly in the transitions and alignment category. Ohio has already adopted the Common Core standards and is replacing the state’s standardized tests with new assessments, which CityBeat covered here. Ohio colleges and universities have also adopted uniform remediation-free standards, which Charlton says will make it easier to prepare students for college. Remedial courses are classes that don’t count toward college credit; they’re typically required for students who are under-prepared in certain subjects, particularly English, math and science. But some have pushed back toward the Republican-supported education initiatives. The Third Grade Reading Guarantee, which forces schools to hold back third-grade students who are not proficient in reading, has faced a lot of criticism from Democrats and education experts. Research shows holding kids back hurts more than helps. After reviewing decades of research, the National Association of School Psychologists found grade retention has “deleterious long-term effects,” both academically and socially. Gov. John Kasich vowed to rework Ohio’s school funding formula in the 2014-2015 budget. In a previous interview, Rob Nichols, spokesperson to Kasich, said it was a big undertaking: “Many governors have tried before. Many states have been sued over their formulas. It’s something we have to take our time with and get it done right.”

When an Ohio charter school consistently fails to meet academic standards, the state automatically shuts it down. It’s an aspect of Ohio law that’s touted as one of the toughest standards for charter schools in the nation, but a report from Policy Matters Ohio found some charter schools may be evading the rule altogether. In Cincinnati, the W.E.B. DuBois Academy was put on the Ohio Department of Education’s (ODE) closure list in 2009. According to the Policy Matters report, the same school and some of the staff remain, but under a different name: Cincinnati Speech and Reading Intervention Center (CSR). Before 2009, Dubois Academy was CSR's sister school. Dubois Academy focused on grades four to eight, and CSR took up kindergarten through third grade. But when Dubois Academy was asked to shut down, CSR suddenly decided to expand to teach kindergarten through eighth grade, and it conveniently moved to the Dubois Academy building in the process. The report also found some staff remained at the former DuBois Academy facility. Out of eight teachers from Dubois Academy, three still work at CSR.  Still, the school did change its sponsor from Educational Resource Consultants of Ohio to Richland Academy — a sign of some institutional changes.Before it was placed on ODE’s closure list, Dubois Academy gained three straight “Academic Emergency” ratings. Between 2007 and 2010, it received more than $3.6 million in state funds. In the preliminary 2011-2012 report card, CSR gained a rating of “Continuous Improvement” after receiving an “Academic Emergency” rating in the 2010-2011 report card. The story of Dubois Academy and CSR is apparently being replicated around the state. Six other facilities reopened under new names shortly after state-mandated closure. Some schools, including the Eagle Heights Academy in Youngstown that reopened as Southside Academy, even kept the same sponsors.  An eighth school in Cleveland — Hope Academy Broadway — shut down one year before the state mandate kicked in, citing an inability to find a sponsor. A year later, it reopened under a new name — Broadway Academy. In the process, the school retained 11 Hope Academy Broadway staff members. In a statement, Piet van Lier, the report’s co-author, called the loophole a “systemic flaw” that undermines Ohio’s education system: “Until Ohio strengthens its charter-closure law, the state will continue to fall short of the goal of improving public education for all Ohio’s children.” The report suggests legislators revamp charter school closure laws and strengthen ODE’s oversight of charter schools. It also wants legislators to direct ODE to refuse the kind of expansions and mergers that keep closed facilities open and hold charter school companies more accountable.