Are high school students better served by completing their math studies with calculus or statistics? This question has provoked lively debate in the education world, in the mathematics world, and in the college admissions world. But remarkably little is known for certain about what difference—if any—it actually makes.
The U.S. Department of Education has been cut down to half its previous size. Over the past month, as more than a thousand former employees carted their belongings out of the building at 400 Maryland Avenue, they were greeted by protesters denouncing the clumsy cuts and callous execution.
Lately, I’ve been asking audiences (mostly comprised of public school district leaders) to rate ESSER. Thumbs up for success, down for disaster. The most common answer, by far, is a tepid something in between.
Pandemic-era disruptions to education resulted in an unprecedented influx of federal funds to K–12 schools, some of which was used to address lost student learning.
Babies, toddlers, children, and teens are negatively impacted by parental device use; parents need to keep their own screen time to a minimum and put their phones down around their children.
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Matt Giani, professor and
Release Date: 4.23.25 Calculus or Statistics: Does it matter for high school students’ long-term success?
Three emerging issues—each unfolding in a different branch of government—offer a telling snapshot of where federal education policy could be headed. They involve religious charter schools, tax-credit scholarships, and ESSA waivers. On their own, each represents a flashpoint. Taken together, they provide a rare glimpse into the full machinery of federal influence—and a timely reminder that education policymaking in Washington still matters.
In this time of uncertainty and divisiveness, I’ll begin by thanking Robert Pondiscio for lifting up the AFT’s magazine, American Educator.
I appreciate and admire Randi Weingarten’s willingness to engage in a discussion about American Educator and the American Federation of Teacher’s role in education.
The Education Department under the Trump administration has adopted a more aggressive civil rights enforcement strategy, marked by rapid investigations, funding threats, and a focus on LGBTQ+ and antisemitism issues.
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Anne Hyslop, Director of Policy Development at All4Ed, j
Ezra Klein’s new book has sparked an important discussion about how the left can provide more housing and transportation. However, one area that particularly needs self-reflection is education. The left has often obstructed the creation of new and innovative schools.
The AFT’s journal, The American Educator, was for many years a reliable source of first-rate research and practice tips for those who think teaching should run on evidence, not folklore and philosophy. It could still be an important engine of K–12 instructional reform today. All it would take is for Randi Weingarten and the AFT to give it some attention and visibility. Or failing that, just leave it the heck alone.
The Trump administration’s K–12 education policy prescriptions typically focus on ways to provide financial support for private schools, including federal vouchers and tax-credit scholarships.
Editor’s note: This is the first of two posts on what students do outside of school hours. For decades, field biologists tried to understand animals by observing them during the day. They’d sit in a jeep, holding a notebook, maybe wearing a funny hat. They observed what lions, elephants, or jaguars did under the sun.
According to a report issued by the OECD in 2018, school closures are an inevitable consequence of declining populations of school-age children across much of the world, and the United States is not im
Students with Indiana’s new Enrollment Honors Plus diploma, which requires advanced coursework and work experience, will gain automatic admission to state colleges, while those on career or military tracks will receive guaranteed job or enlistment opportunities.
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Scott Marion, Executive Director of the Center for Assessment, joins Mike and
Countless articles have been written about students’ recent bleak performance on the Nation’s Report Card, most of which rightly bemoaned declines in reading and math, compared to 2019 and 2022 scores, especially among lower-scoring students.
It is decision time for the high school class of 2025, with commitments due to colleges by May 1. Among the many factors that students might consider when deciding whether a college is the right fit for them is the political climate on campus. Simply put, are both liberals and conservatives relatively well represented in the student body?
Red states are lining up to test just how much leeway they can get from Uncle Sam’s education mandates, with some pushing for block grants that would allow them to consolidate federal aid into a single grant with few spending restrictions.
It’s a bleak time in education policy.
Prolonged school closures and shifting rhetoric have undermined Democrats' once-clear commitment to education as a transformative force. To regain their edge, Democrats must refocus on student learning and outcomes, rather than just education spending.
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Jim Blew, co-founder of the Defense
On this week’s very serious Education Gladfly Show podcast, the adults take a backseat as Fordham’s next generation of thinkers—er, kids—grab the mic.
