The current story of education in Ohio is one of contradiction. Although the last decade has seen impressive gains in K-12 academic performance, an education at a public university is still far from affordable. If the state wants to reap the economic fruit of these gains, it has to tackle the problems of higher education as well.
Ohio received an F in college affordability on the latest report card issued by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. It is no secret that Ohio has seriously dropped the ball when it comes to proper funding for higher education. Each year, financially strapped college students and their families are saddled with further burgeoning tuition prices. Often these come with only vague justification, but the reason most often cited is the lack of adequate state funding.
The purpose of a high school education is multi-fold, but perhaps most important is effective preparation for college. The same report that decried the state of college affordability reported impressive strides in the last 14 years in K-12 academic performance. Accountability at the secondary level has risen dramatically, leading to more students taking challenging math classes, passing Advance Placement exams and ranking high nationally on college entrance exams. All of this is great for the state, but the significance of these improvements is vastly lessened when one considers that the very same report concludes that an education at a four-year public university consumes 42 percent of the average family's income.
Beyond what it contributes to the individual's standard of living, an education equips Ohioans with the skills necessary to contribute to the state's notoriously sluggish economy. Accordingly, it is in the state's interest to put forth a strategy that addresses concerns at all levels of education. It is wasteful to spend resources improving standards at high schools, only to shut the door in the face of high-achieving graduates who cannot afford ever more exorbitant tuition prices.
With hope, November's elections will produce a government more willing to address these inconsistencies. As it stands, too many graduates go out of state for college and many remain there. State officials must realize that improving education across the board will refuel Ohio's economy and produce the results that voters have been waiting for.
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