Education

State education leaders have agreed to replace the Ohio Graduation Test with a nationally standardized college readiness test, such as the ACT, and 10 subject-area exams.

The college readiness test could be offered free to all Ohio sophomores as soon as next year under the timeline announced Tuesday by the state Education Department, Board of Regents and state school board.

That test and the 10 subject-area exams that replace the OGT would be required by the 2014-15 school year.

A panel studying ways to boost Ohio's college graduation rate says tuition should be raised on students to out-of-state rates and the state should withhold money from those students' institutions if they're taking too long to graduate.

In a report released Tuesday, the Complete College Ohio Task Force says institutions should tie tuition guarantees to completing on a set schedule, and distribute financial aid like a paycheck to encourage students to work less and take more classes.

School levies have been notoriously tough to pass in the last several years as voters struggled with an economy that has been slow to recover. Typically, schools that ask for a renewal of an existing levy get it, while schools that want extra money are turned down. This election mostly followed the rule, though many districts were banking on the larger voter turnout of a presidential election.