Career and technical education and the soft bigotry of low expectations
Tamar JacobyBeware the “soft bigotry of low expectations.” President George W. Bush’s trenchant warning resonated across the political spectrum when he voiced it to the NAACP in 2000, and it has more or less driven federal education policy ever since. For many, educators and noneducators alike, it remains a touchstone of how to think about racial equity.
The Education Gadfly Show: The education issues facing state legislatures in 2021
Webinar: How should schools spend federal Covid-19 aid?
With federal coronavirus relief, schools are wrestling with a host of thorny questions. Especially under the new Joe Biden administration, how much federal aid is coming? What rules will govern its use? Most importantly, how can schools spend the funds effectively when reopening schools, improving remote learning, and helping students get back on track?
Charter schools are a Band-Aid when a heart transplant is needed
Marc TuckerThis post is adapted from an email conversation between Marc Tucker and Fordham’s Michael J. Petrilli, in which Marc was responding to Mike’s recent article, “The case for urban charter schools.” It also appeared in Fordham’s Flypaper newsletter.
Dan McKee, poised to be Rhode Island’s next governor, is a model of how to improve schools for all children
Erika SanziRhode Islanders just saw their governor, Gina Raimondo, tapped to become President-elect Biden’s Secretary of Commerce.
It’s not news that Miguel Cardona is a charter school authorizer—and that’s worth celebrating
Alex MedlerPresident-Elect Biden has confirmed that he will nominate Dr. Miguel A. Cardona to serve as the next U.S. Secretary of Education. He appears to be a prudent choice for Biden, earning support from teachers unions and education reform groups, including charter operators. Cardona is the current Connecticut Commissioner of Education.
2020 Recap: New research from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Pedro EnamoradoAs with most years, 2020 has been a busy one for the Fordham research team. We published many groundbreaking studies, adding contributions to the evidence base on literacy, civic education, education funding, school choice, and gifted programs, among others.
The Education Gadfly Show: Emily Oster and Noelle Ellerson Ng answer the big question: Will schools reopen this spring?
Mind the gap: Persistent and growing inequities in charter school funding
Victoria McDougaldLike traditional public schools, charter schools are publicly funded according to student enrollment. But compared to their district counterparts, charters have long received far less per-pupil funding.
Do charter schools help new teachers get better faster?
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D., Michael J. PetrilliStudy after study has found that urban charter schools, and non-profit charter networks in particular, tend to be more successful at boosting student achievement than traditional public schools in similar settings. But why?
Teacher Effectiveness and Improvement in Charter and Traditional Public Schools
Matthew P. Steinberg, Haisheng YangStudy after study has found that new teachers tend to be less effective than educators with more experience. But despite having more junior staff, charter networks (referred to as CMOs) often outperform their district peers. So what’s their secret? To find out, this study explores how teacher effectiveness varies and evolves across traditional and charter public schools, as well as within the sector’s CMOs and standalone schools.
Use caution, district leaders: Even in a pandemic, there’s no immunity from financial missteps
Marguerite RozaCharges of financial blunders have taken out district leaders before. Think the pandemic inoculates leaders from that possible fate? Think again.
Democrats’ ed designs dealt setback in statehouses
Dale ChuControl of state legislatures is particularly important in a census year, but it’s also an often-overlooked element in driving substantive education policy changes. National politics takes up all the oxygen, but it’s state legislators who make most of the big decisions about how a state’s public-education system operates, is funded, is held accountable (if at all), and much more.
The Education Gadfly Show: What the election means for education reform
Our aging population will end this golden era of school spending
Andrew J. RotherhamSpend a few minutes on education Twitter or listening to the loudest special-interest voices, and you’d think the future of public education hinges on whether Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, and the president can agree to another stimulus deal. That’s just a short-term Washington game—that will likely soon have a new roster of players.
For better or worse, religiously-affiliated charter schools are on their way
Michael J. PetrilliA U.S. Supreme Court decision is introducing a new type of charter school that’s likely to cheer conservatives but alarm many progressives: the religiously-affiliated charter. Those of us in the charter movement need to figure out how to keep them from splitting the charter coalition.
The Education Gadfly Show: Coping with the costs of declining enrollments
On this week’s podcast, Karen Hawley Miles, CEO and president of Education Resource Strategies, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith
How charter supporters can win over Joe Biden
Michael J. PetrilliOn paper, it seems like Joe Biden would champion the cause of expanding high-quality charter schools, given his identity as a longtime centrist Democrat. Yet he doesn't. Thankfully for charter supporters, there pragmatic ways to bring him around, should he win the election next month
Strategies to help schools navigate the Covid-19 cash crunch
Frederick M. Hess, Brandon L. WrightIn education, one of the more bizarre debates of the past quarter century has been over whether more money improves students’ outcomes. It’s tough to think of anywhere else in American life where we’d even have that discussion.
The case for urban charter schools
David Griffith, Michael J. PetrilliContrary to much public rhetoric, the evidence for expanding charter schools in urban areas is stronger than ever. To be sure, the research is less positive for charters operating outside of the nation’s urban centers. And multiple studies suggest that internet-based schools and charters that serve mostly middle-class students, perform worse than their district counterparts, at least on traditional test-score-based measures. But charters needn’t work everywhere to be of service to society.
Charter schooling on the ropes?
Dale ChuThe negative partisanship animating this year’s presidential contest notwithstanding, charter school advocates will have their hands full no matter who prevails.
Ohio’s charter school turnaround
Aaron ChurchillFor a number of years, Ohio’s charter school sector has been more of a punchline than an exemplar in national debates about charters. The criticisms, though sometimes exaggerated, were not entirely unwarranted.
The unwelcome success of charter schools
Ian RoweOf the nearly 2,000 public school students beginning high school in the South Bronx (District 8 of NYC public schools) in 2015, only 2 percent graduated ready for college four years later.
Money matters, which is another reason for spending it well
Mike McShaneLast month, Teachers College Press is releasing Getting the Most Bang for the Education Buck, a new volume edited by Rick Hess and Brandon Wright.
The interconnectedness of school-finance reforms and test-based accountability
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Proponents of test-based accountability generally believe that robust systems—those that set high bars for achieving success, generate copious and transparent data, and impose substantive awards or consequences based on progress (or lack thereof)—are enough to boost student achievement. Another school of thought posits that more funding to schools does likewise.
The Education Gadfly Show: How the pandemic could lead to smarter school spending
On this week’s podcast, Brandon Wright joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss his and Rick Hess’s new edited volume,
The Education Gadfly Show: How did those online summer camps go?
On this week’s podcast, Timothy Daly, co-founder and CEO of EdNavigator, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss
How states can meet the rising demand for school choice
Dale ChuSix months into the pandemic, the nation’s forced experiment in remote learning has resumed. But our education system’s design is ill-suited to the unique quandaries posed by Covid-19. District officials continue to ask parents for grace and patience, and many have continued to oblige, but if current conditions persist into next year and beyond, demand for choice will almost certainly increase as a large number of parents keep their children at home.