Making education world-class: “ThinkGlobalOhio”

For over two decades the State of Ohio has been reforming its education system. This article focuses on the 2006 reform initiatives: a newly elected governor pledged to review and revise its 2002 kindergarten to twelfth grad (K-12) academic content standards and benchmark them to international “best-in-class” measures, given Ohio’s need to develop human talent for new industries to replace disappearing jobs in manufacturing. Rather than look at only one other country or state in the US, Ohio compared its standards to those of eight countries and one province; based on this analysis, it rewrote its standards. Ohio has formally adopted the U.S. Common Core Standards and joined the national Partnership for 21st Century Skills, using those learning frameworks to pass legislative amendments for new academic standards and model curriculum. US federal funding from both “No Child Left Behind” and “Race to the Top” ($400 million) confirms and validates the state’s efforts to build a world-class education system that will make Ohio’s students more competitive in a global economy that demands innovation and a highly skilled workforce.