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Michael J. Petrilli

National
President, Thomas B. Fordham Institute

President, Thomas B. Fordham Institute

Michael J. Petrilli is president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, executive editor of Education Next, editor in chief of the Education Gadfly Weekly, host of the Education Gadfly Show podcast, author of the SCHOOLED Substack, and a contributor at Forbes.com. An award-winning writer, he is the author of The Diverse Schools Dilemma, editor of Education for Upward Mobility, and co-editor of How to Educate an American and Follow the Science to School. An expert on charter schools, school accountability, evidence-based practices, and trends in test scores and other student outcomes, Petrilli has published opinion pieces in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and The Atlantic, and appears frequently on television and radio. Petrilli helped to create the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement and the Policy Innovators in Education Network, and serves on the board of the Association of American Educators Foundation. He lives with his family in Bethesda, Maryland.

For media inquiries, please email Victoria McDougald. For all other meetings, please contact Jeff Murray.

Authored Commentary & Research

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School grade on a chalkboard
High Expectations

Does this school deserve an A, a B, or a C?

Michael J. Petrilli 9.23.2025
NationalFlypaper
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Serious portrait of a student in a classroom
High Expectations

The Covid generation: Best readers ever in fourth grade, worst readers ever by twelfth

Michael J. Petrilli 9.18.2025
NationalFlypaper
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Report card
High Expectations

Two cheers for Thomas Taylor

Michael J. Petrilli 9.2.2025
NationalFlypaper
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High school football practice
High Expectations

Coaches and teachers both understand: Effort is king

Michael J. Petrilli 8.29.2025
NationalFlypaper
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Teacher grading a school assignment
High Expectations

Teachers don’t like “equitable” grading practices

Michael J. Petrilli 8.21.2025
NationalFlypaper
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Oklahoma town
High Expectations

Welcome to Lake Wobegon, Oklahoma

Michael J. Petrilli 8.18.2025
NationalFlypaper

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