No one likes state testing. It's anxiety-inducing, especially when it decides whether a kid can get promoted to the next grade. That’s one reason state lawmakers are considering dropping the requirement to hold back students who don’t pass the Ohio Third Grade Reading Guarantee, as studies have shown it hasn’t overall improved Ohio’s literacy scores on the Nation’s Report Card. Between 2.5% and 4% of third-graders have been held back each year. A new study from Ohio State University found the students who repeat third grade performed better on English language arts in fourth through eighth grades than peers with similar literacy troubles who were promoted. They also performed better on math in every grade. The study was sponsored by Ohio Excels, a group of business leaders who are concerned about improving K-12 education. We’ll see what the Statehouse decides about the future of the guarantee. -- Laura |
Overnight Scores and Weather |
Guardians at Minnesota Twins: Guardians’ Trevor Stephan can’t protect 6-3 lead, Twins rally for 7-6 walk-off win in ninth Northeast Ohio weather forecast: Cooler weather is on the way |
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Ohio students who were held back from fourth grade due to a state law requiring struggling readers to repeat third grade performed better on English language arts in fourth through eighth grades, a new study shows. (Annalise Knudson, Staten Island Advance file photo) |
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Third grade: A new study shows Ohio students who were held back from fourth grade due to a state law requiring struggling readers to repeat third grade performed better on English language arts in fourth through eighth grades than peers with similar literacy troubles who were promoted. Laura Hancock reports the Ohio Education Research Center at Ohio State University conducted the study at the direction of Ohio Excels, a group of business leaders who are concerned about improving K-12 education. Issue 1: The campaign working to pass State Issue 1 summoned a group of high-end Columbus lobbyists on Wednesday to lay out their strategy for the upcoming ballot measure that will be decided in August. Andrew Tobias reports the plan is to avoid directly describing how the measure’s passage likely would tank an expected abortion-rights ballot issue in November that prompted Republican lawmakers to fast-track the measure in the first place. Today in Ohio: Gov. Mike DeWine has named Dan McCarthy, a former top aide who led a political nonprofit used by FirstEnergy to help fund the House Bill 6 bribery scheme, to the Ohio State Racing Commission. We’re talking about his past connections to dark money on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast.
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Student loans: The U.S. Senate voted 52-46 Thursday to rescind a student loan forgiveness program that President Joe Biden announced last year, reports Sabrina Eaton. Ohio’s U.S. Senators split on the measure, with Cincinnati Republican JD Vance voting to overturn the program and Cleveland Democrat Sherrod Brown voting to to support it. Abortion rights: The Ohio Supreme Court declined a request Thursday from two anti-abortion activists to require that the Ohio Ballot Board divide the abortion rights constitutional amendment into two or more separate proposals, which would make it harder to pass at the ballot box, Laura Hancock reports. Cliff Rosenberger: A former Ohio House speaker was convicted of running a bribery racket out of the statehouse. Now his predecessor wants to be formally recognized as a victim. Jake Zuckerman and Jeremy Pelzer report that in an unusual filing in the criminal docket of GOP ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, former Speaker Cliff Rosenberger is seeking recognition under the federal Crime Victims Rights Act. This could allow him to receive money from the case or offer him a high-profile soapbox at later proceedings. State fair: Virgil Strickler, the longest-serving general manager of the Ohio State Fair in state history, announced Thursday that he intends to retire after this year, reports Jeremy Pelzer. |
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Broadband access: The City of Cleveland is putting the brakes on a citywide broadband project, following concerns about the vendor that would carry it out. City Council members questioned whether the nonprofit DigitalC has the capacity to execute a $20 million contract, when the company has struggled with much smaller projects in the past, Lucas Daprile reports. Rapid transit: Starting Monday, Cuyahoga County and Summit County bus riders will be able to travel between the two with ease, reports Kaitlin Durbin. The Akron METRO Regional Transit Authority will begin running fixed-route bus service to and from the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s Southgate Transit Center. |
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AFL-CIO: The North Shore AFL-CIO announced Thursday that the president of a local musicians union is its new executive secretary, though its recently ousted leader is appealing his firing. Leonard DiCosimo was appointed as the organization’s new leader last week, reports Sean McDonnell. Cooler hack: If you watch enough TikTok and YouTube videos, you might think that with a power drill, a can of spray foam and a little bit of caulking, you can insulate your old Coleman cooler and make it just as good as a YETI. Sean McDonnell put this life hack to the test and ran an experiment to see if this was true. Darnell Mayberry: The wealth gap in America is only growing. Education is our best weapon against this long-standing, systemic crisis, writes new financial columnist Darnell Mayberry. He’s writing as a blueprint to help guide his daughter through her financial future. COVID-19 cases: The number of new COVID-19 cases in Ohio continued its downward slide, to 1,612 this week from 1,926 last week. And the state on Thursday adjusted the total reported COVID-19 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic by seven, reports Julie Washington. |
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Four shooting victims: A woman was killed and three other people were wounded Wednesday night in Cleveland’s second major shooting incident in a week. Olivia Mitchell reports the four victims were shot by a person in a dark-colored vehicle. |
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Taco Tuesday: A Taco Tuesday buffet is coming to JACK Cleveland Casino from June 6 to the end of August. In addition to traditional taco offerings, executive chef Derek Ivanic is creating a specialty taco station with unique ingredients, reports Paris Wolfe. Rocking the RV: The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District includes some of the state’s best places to camp, hike, fish, bicycle, swim, boat and more. The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District covers more than 20% of Ohio, and its 10 lakes and eight campgrounds are some of the best in in the state, write Jeff and Patti Kinzbach, who stayed a few days at Atwood Lake Park, located just south of Canton. Dublin: After flying to Ireland on Aer Lingus, Susan Glaser spent 48 hours in Dublin. She learned the proper way to drink Guinness – with a gulp, not a sip – and delved into Ireland’s centuries-long struggle for independence from Great Britain, finally successful in 1922. KISS: KISS is bringing its lengthy “End of the Road Tour” to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on Oct. 22. Tickets for the show go on sale at 10 a.m. June 9, reports Malcom X Abram. Hip-Hop: The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will celebrate 50 years of hip-hop music and culture with a major new exhibition, “Hip Hop at 50: Holla If Ya Hear Me,” opening to the public on June 29 with an “icon-laden dedication event.” Malcolm X Abram reports the new exhibit will highlight important moments in the hip-hop timeline and feature previously unseen artifacts from many of the genre’s progenitors and early pioneers. Things to do: It’s beginning to look -- and feel -- a lot like summer. The weekend calendar is packed with festivals, concerts and more events, including Pride in the CLE. Joey Morona has 16 events. |
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Woman slain in Cleveland’s St. Clair-Superior neighborhood Read more Bedford man shot to death in Cleveland’s South Collinwood neighborhood Read more Conneaut man fatally shot in Cleveland’s St. Clair-Superior neighborhood Read more 2 inmates escape from jail in Northwest Ohio Read more Mother of beauty pageant contestant may face assault charges in Berea Read more Police break up mixed martial arts event organized by backyard fight club in Berea Read more Two men stabbed during fight in Cuyahoga Falls, police say Read more Blankfeld resigns from University Heights City Council Read more |
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