What we're reading this week: March 24, 2022
The Education GadflyCalifornia has revised its math framework, leaving some course-offering decisions to local districts to mitigate backlash its last state-level decision caused.
Should we be worried about rising inflation?
Seth GershensonInflation is up, and no, I’m not talking about gas prices. I’m talking about some troubling trends observed among the 2019 graduating class of high school students in the recently released 2019 NAEP High School Transcript Study.
NAEP: Meeting today’s needs and building a national assessment for the future
Peggy G. Carr, Lesley MuldoonJoint Statement from Peggy G. Carr, Ph.D., Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics and Lesley Muldoon, Executive Director of the National Assessment Governing Board
Work instead of school: A better approach for our lowest-performing students?
Michael J. PetrilliHigh school-age Americans struggling mightily with academics aren’t well served by our current approach to secondary education. But there may be a better model that would give them a more worthwhile experience and lead to better long-term outcomes: Let them take jobs while still in high school—during the school day, during both their junior and senior years, full pay included, no strings attached.
Civic education and the battle for Ukraine
Chester E. Finn, Jr.We’re all watching the news and hating what we’re seeing, the one big exception being the patriotic heroism of millions of Ukrainians (and the much smaller but still impressive collection of others who have been traveling to Ukraine to join the fight for freedom).
San Francisco’s detracking experiment
Tom LovelessEditor's note: This post was originally published on tomloveless.com.
What we're reading this week: March 17, 2022
The Education GadflyMore data confirm the severity of the post-pandemic literacy crisis, especially for students in impoverished communities. —New York Times Sociological research on thousands of teenagers finds that religious faith and communities are correlated with students’ academic success.
Keep fighting for selective high schools
Brandon L. WrightIn cities across the country, selective high schools are facing increasing pressure to change their admissions policies to make their incoming student populations more socioeconomically and racially diverse. Closing these gaps is a laudable and important goal. But the most common strategies for accomplishing it are racially discriminatory, misguided, and ineffective.
Could Great Hearts Academy change the face of private education?
Robert PondiscioRemote learning is hard to love. The nation’s forced experiment in online education the past few years has been a disaster for kids. Educators and parents alike have come to view virtual learning as a necessary evil at best, an ad hoc response to a national crisis.
The casualties of “college for all”
Arthur SamuelsA couple of weeks ago, I shared some ideas about how schools and districts can move away from the well-intentioned but deeply flawed “college for all” mindset that has permeated the education reform world and has, in turn, harmed many of the disadvantaged students whom the approach is m
About that Tennessee pre-K study
David GriffithIt’s rare that a piece of social science makes you question the nature of your reality, but such was my reaction to the latest, much-discussed update on the performance of Tennessee’s pre-k program—or more specifically, on the fate of the 2,990 children from low-income families who applied to oversubscribed pre-K program sites across
Academic and labor market outcomes for adults with some college credits but no degree
Jeff MurrayIn a laudable quest to boost the number of adults with postsecondary credentials, a number of states—including Ohio—are focusing time and treasure on former students who have earned some college credits but
What we're reading this week: March 10, 2022
The Education GadflyMaria Montessori’s child-centered education model was designed for the masses. But today it’s used by the privileged.
Beyond “Maus”: How Tennessee’s schools are changing for the better
Natalie WexlerTennessee schools have gotten a lot of negative coverage lately. But they’re also the scene of hugely important positive developments that no one is talking about.
Smash-and-grab education reform
Dale ChuEight months out from a midterm election cycle that is shaping up to be a bloodbath for Democrats, Republican Senator Rick Scott recently released an “eleven-point plan to rescue America” that speaks volumes about the GOP’s posture on education. What’s most telling is what’s missing from Scott’s plan: a serious and good faith discussion of the most pressing issues facing our Covid-constrained education system.
Restorative circles are unethical and have no place in schools
Daniel BuckIn the past decade, the role of the teacher in schools has slowly shifted from pedagogue to therapist.
The upside of the downward trend in college enrollment
Michael J. PetrilliThe media have been full of
Evidence suggests that teachers of color improve outcomes for students of all races
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Efforts to match Black and Hispanic students with teachers of their same race or ethnicity have shown positive outcomes
Is attending college a good investment?
Nathaniel GrossmanIs college worth it? How we answer that question depends on how we measure the impact of attending college. Ranking 4,500 Colleges by ROI (2022), a new project from the Center for Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University, provides us with a novel tool of measurement: return on investment, or ROI.
What we're reading this week: March 3, 2022
The Education Gadfly“What gay men’s stunning success might teach us about the academic gender gap.” —Washington Post The Supreme Court will take up a case on whether states can send public funds to religious schools, a case that some believe might open the door to religious
The hypocrisy of school districts saying they’re “open to all”
Jessica PoinerOpponents of school choice regularly criticize private schools for not taking all comers, contrasting them with traditional public schools, which they claim are open to all. But that’s not true in many places, especially wealthier suburbs, where public schools are typically restricted to students who live within geographic boundaries. Attending them requires a hefty mortgage and property taxes or sky-high rents that are out of the reach of low- and middle-income families.
Classics and Black history: Lessons from Dr. Anika Prather
Jennifer FreyA common charge against classical education—education that is rooted in the classical texts of the Western ancient world and that seeks to develop the moral and intellectual character of its students—is that it is inextricably racist, sexist, and quite generally offensive or alienating to members of historically marginalized communities.
A principal explains how to repair the harm of “college for all”
Arthur SamuelsAs Michael Petrilli wrote in these pages a few weeks ago, the education reform movement has come to the realization that its belief in “college for all,” while well-intended, was misguided.
“Doing science” boosts academic achievement
Jeff MurrayIn 2017, a team of researchers from Finland and Michigan State University who were eager to improve science instruction for secondary students launched a field trial for Crafting Engaging Science Environments (CESE), a project-based curriculum they created and aligned with the Next Gener
Online credit recovery and long-term earnings potential
Jeff MurrayThe Covid slide has both expanded the need for students to take remedial classes and produced greater familiarity with remote learning. As a result, online credit recovery options have become more necessary and readily accessible at the same time.
What we're reading this week: February 24, 2022
The Education GadflySan Francisco school board’s decision to end test-based admission to Lowell High was the catalyst for the recalls—and the grassroots mobilizing of Asian parents. —Jay Caspian Kang Two states are considering unmasking in schools. What that could mean.