What we're reading this week: October 6, 2022
The Education GadflyA Georgia teachers union has endorsed the Republican incumbent for state superintendent because his Democratic challenger supports school choice.
A big, rambunctious conservative education agenda is a feature, not a bug
Max Eden, Hayley SanonLast week, our friend Checker Finn published a dual review of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s “Commitment to America” and our recently published AEI volume
Should schools group students by ability?
Scott J. Peters, Jonathan PluckerOne of the most contentious debates in American education focuses on whether to group students into classrooms using some measure of prior achievement.
Judge “for-profit” charter schools on their results, not the tax status of their main vendor
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D., Michael J. PetrilliAfter a tumultuous reception, the Biden administration’s regulations for the federal
America’s education crisis as a national security threat
Nicholas Eberstadt, Evan AbramskySince the end of World War II, the world’s population has not only gotten vastly bigger; it has also become vastly more educated. In nearly every country, the total number of years that citizens have attended school has grown faster than the population itself, and the number of college degrees conferred has grown even faster.
California backtracks on withholding testing data
Dale ChuWeeks away from the midterms, education apparatchiks in the nation’s most populous state are ramping up the election mischief by playing politics with what are expected to be dismal results from assessments taken by students last spring.
Conservatives’ disjointed education-reform agenda
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Do today’s conservatives have an education-reform agenda worth paying attention to? Anything coherent? Anything beyond school choice and lots of it? Anything other than “fie on CRT and let’s not say gay, at least not in grade school.” Two efforts to answer those questions have popped up on my screen and desk in the past ten days. Neither quite does the job.
Accelerating math achievement through customized practice
Jeff MurrayFor years, millions of U.S. students have taken the NWEA MAP Growth assessment. Data from these computer-adaptive assessments—which cover math, reading, language usage, and science—can help teachers determine which students need remediation or other supports and in which topic areas.
What we're reading this week: September 29, 2022
The Education GadflyRefugees from Ukraine are enrolling in Polish schools, where “schools and citizens are stretching resources to help them adjust.” —Wall Street Journal A new study suggests that students taught by Black and White graduates of historically Black colleges and u
Credentials matter, but pathways matter more
Quentin SuffrenCredentials matter, but maybe not as much as many hope. That seems to be one of the takeaways from Fordham’s latest report by Matt Giani evaluating high school industry recognized credential (IRC) attainment and learner outcomes in Texas.
Charter school achievement in D.C. was decimated by the pandemic. Here’s what we can learn from that.
Marc Porter MageeNine percent. That’s how many Black boys met expectations in math in D.C.’s traditional public schools in 2022, down from 17 percent before the pandemic. It’s also how many met those expectation in the city’s charter schools, down from 22 percent. The word “disaster” is used a lot lately, but it is absolutely the right fit here. There are, however, lessons we can learn from this catastrophe.
A pandemic back-to-school reminder: Friendships count
Bruno V. MannoThe school and college lockdowns that came with the pandemic brought formal education’s friend-making and relationship-sustaining roles front and center in a way few could have imagined. School-based friendships and other personal relationships—a form of social capital—help prepare young people to pursue opportunity and human flourishing.
High-quality schooling is a necessary component of economic growth, according to 60 years of international test data
Harry Anthony PatrinosInternational student assessments are commonplace today, though none existed before 1965, and few countries participated at the outset.
Which factors best predict classroom placements of students with disabilities?
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.A recent study from the Journal of Learning Disabilities sheds light on the vitally important question of which students with disabilities (SWDs) are placed primarily outside of general education classrooms. Specifically, analysts seek to document the level of racial or ethnic disparities in placement and whether those disparities are explained by bias or other factors.
What we're reading this week: September 22, 2022
The Education GadflyAlmost one-third of American workers with a teaching degree were employed outside of the education field in 2020. —Washington Post Donda Academy, a K–12 private school founded by Kanye West and named in honor of his late mother, opens in California.
Industry-recognized credentials can be very transformational, depending on the local context
Dale FowlerA new Fordham Institute report authored by University of Texas professor Matt Giani finds that industry-recognized credentials (IRCs) are “mostly not transformative” for the high school students who earn them. But the truth is that it’s all about the context.
Supporting student wellness through challenging academic learning
Eva MoskowitzThe pandemic accelerated a mental health crisis for children and teens that was already apparent prior to spring 2020. It is a serious issue, and schools have expanded mental health services to meet the needs of a greater number of struggling students. At the same time, as we commence a school year in which educators must continue the intensive work of repairing the pandemic’s academic damage, focusing on student emotional wellness does not require relinquishing academic learning.
Wanted: A Science of Reading Comprehension movement
Robert PondiscioJust in the nick of time for the last days of summer beach reading, there were a pair of big stories about reading instruction in TIME magazine and The New Yorker last month.
A teacher’s-eye view of the culture of a “No Excuses” school
Daniel BuckWhether or not the bipartisan education consensus is dead, one of its most visible and effective reforms lives on: so-called “No Excuses” model schools, institutions famous for their exacting behavioral and academic standards.
Multiple positive outcomes for CTE students
Jeff MurrayAs money and attention focus on career and technical education (CTE) at ever greater levels, researchers can help gauge program effectiveness by digging into the data.
Four-day school weeks: Is the trade-off worth it?
Jeanette LunaFour-day school weeks saw a sharp increase in popularity between 1999 and 2019, then the pandemic added impetus to the already growing trend—with districts seeing shortened school weeks as a way to retain teachers and cut expenses.
What we're reading this week: September 15, 2022
The Education Gadfly"The State of the American Student," —CRPE The twists and turns of the Choose Your Own Adventure series encouraged children to experience books—and the world—through exploration and curiosity.
Rural gifted children are being neglected: An interview with Paula McGuire
Brandon L. WrightEditor’s note: This is an edition of “Advance,” a newsletter from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute written by Brandon Wright, our Editorial Director, and published every other week. Its purpose is to monitor the progress of gifted education in America, including legal and legislative developments, policy and leadership changes, emerging research, grassroots efforts, and more.
Explaining NAEP math “haves”: Software and private tutoring?
Mike GoldsteinEarlier this month, Michael Petrilli wrote about America’s top-quartile students making gains from 2009 to 2019 over their already high baseline—in math, reading, and science—and our lower-quartile kids declining from their already low baseline.
The case for specialized career and technical education
Zeyu Xu, Ben BackesAbout three-quarters of students in the U.S. take at least one credit in high school linked to career and technical education (CTE). When high school students take multiple CTE credits, they are often encouraged to focus in a specialized career pathway, like business, health sciences, or hospitality and tourism.
Beware of whiplash from clashing achievement results
Chester E. Finn, Jr.The last month has brought both bleak new NAEP results and a deeply researched piece on “a half-century of student progress nationwide.” The former abounds with gloom about the dire and declining state of U.S. educational achievement and widening gaps between groups. The latter is an upbeat rejoinder to the doomsayers and a well-documented celebration of half a century of gains and gap-narrowings. What’s going on here?