By Brian Massie, A Watchman on the Wall

We have heard over and over again that we must pass school property tax levies because we must “do it for the children”. The next question we ask is if the citizen is aware of the proficiency scores of Ohio schools? Of course, we get the puzzled look and perhaps an acknowledgement that the citizen has no clue about the state of affairs in Ohio’s public schools.

Source: https://ohiobythenumbers.com/#student-achievement-national-exams

Let’s see if the following statements and charts can shed some light on Ohio schools.

Public School Enrollment Trends:

Since 2005-06, overall public school enrollment has declined by 10 percent. White student enrollment has fallen by 24 percent, while African American student enrollment has declined by 6 percent.

Public School Enrollment Trends by Selected Characteristics:

Since 2005-06, English learner enrollment has more than doubled, while the number of students with disabilities has slightly increased. The number of students identified as gifted has declined by 21 percent.

Children in poverty:

In Ohio, about one in five children under eighteen are from families with incomes at or below the federal poverty level ($30,900 for a family of four in 2023). The percentage of children in poverty in Ohio is slightly higher than the national rate.

National Exams:

NAEP 2024 – Approximately 30 to 45 percent of Ohio students reach the national standard for proficiency, just above the national average.

Statewide Achievement in Selected Grades and Subjects:

In third grade ELA (English Language Arts), 43 percent of students scored in the top achievement levels (accomplished or advanced), 22 percent scored proficient, and 36 percent fell short of proficiency.

In third grade math, 42 percent of students scored in the top achievement levels, 20 percent scored proficient, and 38 percent fell short of proficiency.

In seventh grade ELA, 41 percent of students scored in the top achievement levels (accomplished or advanced), 21 percent scored proficient, and 38 percent fell short of proficiency.

In seventh grade math, 27 percent of students scored in the top achievement levels, 22 percent scored proficient, and 50 percent fell short of proficiency.

In high school English II, 31 percent of students scored in the top achievement levels (accomplished or advanced), 29 percent scored proficient, and 38 percent fell short of proficiency.

In algebra I, 33 percent of students scored in the top achievement levels, 22 percent scored proficient, and 43 percent fell short of proficiency.

Proficiency Rates on All State Exams:

The percentage of Ohio students reaching proficiency or above on the various state exams ranges from roughly 40 to 70 percent.

How much has been spent to produce these results? From the Cupp Reports, we were able to multiple the average enrollment by the total revenue from the State, Federal and Local sources for each school district, and then totaled all the districts.
The total enrollment is the sum of all average enrollment for each school district.

By any objective measure, one would have to conclude that Ohio and U.S. public schools are failing our children and the taxpayers that are funding this disaster.

The cost per student continues to increase without improvement in proficiency scores.

The whole system needs a major overhaul. We are on an unstainable path, pricing seniors out of their homes with the ever-increasing property taxes, preventing the younger generations from ever owning a home, and not providing our children with the necessary tools to succeed in life.

We are destroying the American Dream for future generations.

We definitely need new leaders at the state level that can reverse Ohio’s trend of losing population, increasing poverty, and abysmal school test scores.

Let’s do it for the children.

The public sector has outgrown the private sector’s ability to pay for services. Drastically cutting the size of government is imperative.

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