What we're reading this week: June 29, 2023
The Education GadflyOn Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case about a North Carolina charter school’s dress code. In doing so, SCOTUS also declined the opportunity to declare charter schools public—or not.
#876: The chronic absenteeism crisis, and what to do about it, with Alia Wong
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Alia Wong of USA Today joins Mike and David to discuss what’s caus
More NAEP losses for high achievers—and how to reverse them
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.
Richmond nixes year-round schools as NAEP scores plummet: “If everyone was out of school, and everyone had learning loss, then aren’t we all equal?”
Chester E. Finn, Jr.You might think the latest headlines proclaiming
Do tests predict later success?
Dan Goldhaber, Michael DeArmondStandardized tests and test-based accountability have come under serious criticism in recent years. One of the most important questions is whether improving student learning, as measured by test scores, helps improve students’ opportunities later in life. It’s a tough issue to study, but the weight of the evidence says: yes.
School choice battles continue across the country
Terry RyanWhile national school-choice advocates crow about recent legislative victories in states like Iowa, Utah, South Carolina, and West Virginia, setbacks and struggles simmer in Illinois, Montana, and Idaho.
New York City’s selective high schools work
Wai Wah ChinThis month, New York City students received their offers to the city’s eight specialized high schools. As has been the case in recent years, Asian students form over half of the admittees, followed by White, Hispanic, and Black students.
More evidence that all charter schools shouldn’t be lumped together
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.It should be common knowledge by now that all charter schools—like all district schools and, for that matter, all private schools—are not created equal. Nor do they produce equal outcomes.
What we're reading this week: June 22, 2023
The Education GadflyTo sell their movement, education reformers overpromised in the 1990s and early 2000s. Now reformers need a more pragmatic narrative. —James Peyser To help students recover from pandemic learning losses, Richmond, Virginia, proposed a year-round school calendar.
#875: Charter schools that help students earn college credentials, with Kevin Teasley
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Kevin Teasley, of the Greater Educational Opportunities F
How not to read a book with students: A rebuttal to NCTE
Daniel BuckAn academic trifle to most, literary theory is a deceptively consequential issue in American education. In English classrooms, students are supposed to encounter great works of literature, sharpening and honing their own view of the world. And so it matters not just what books we choose to read with students, but how we read them.
What we're reading this week: June 15, 2023
The Education GadflyCentrists can reboot education reform. —Liam Kerr Passing legislation is only the start of the challenges to implementing universal ESAs successfully.
#874: How to build a continuum of advanced learning opportunities, with Nick Colangelo
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Nick Colangelo of the University of Iowa joins Mike Petr
How school systems can balance equity and excellence in their advanced education initiatives
Michael J. PetrilliOne of the most important efforts in America today is making sure we have as large and diverse a group of academic high achievers as possible in order to meet tomorrow’s challenges. A new report released this week—Building a Wider, More Diverse Pipeline of Advanced Learners—offers three-dozen recommendations to education leaders and policymakers at all levels on how to accomplish this.
Webinar: How to Build a Wider, More Diverse Pipeline of Advanced Learners
The National Working Group on Advanced Education was formed in Spring 2022, prompted by long-standing shortcomings in America’s handling of schooling for advanced learners (a.k.a.
Building a Wider, More Diverse Pipeline of Advanced Learners
The National Working Group on Advanced EducationThirty-six recommendations for how districts, charter networks, and states can build a continuum of advanced learning opportunities, customized to individual students’ needs and abilities, that spans the K–12 spectrum.
Summertime isn’t quite so easy
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Kids are now about to finish school for the year—in some places already have—and parents face difficult challenges, even as their daughters and sons kick up their heels in blissful freedom. Some of those challenges have been around forever, such as how to keep them occupied and out of trouble without completely disrupting parents’ lives and work. But others, like offsetting the immense learning loss caused by the pandemic, are still new.
Classical charter school enrollment skyrockets in Texas
Cassidy Syftestad, Albert ChengRecent shifts in enrollment patterns across Texas school sectors have gone in one direction—out of traditional public schools. Within those shifts, a disproportionately large swath of students has left for classical charter schools. These trends reflect a wider renaissance of classical schooling across the United States.
The charter school landscape for English learners: An interview with two Texas experts
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Texas is home to a fifth of the country’s English learners, as well as the state where the number of them has quintupled over the past decade.
“Hold harmless” grading policies are anything but
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Arguments for and against “no zeroes” and other types of “hold harmless” grading
What we're reading this week: June 8, 2023
The Education Gadfly“There is no such thing as a morally neutral education, in public schools or anywhere else.” —American Conservative Schools should be phone-free zones, as a growing body of research shows that they inhibit academic, cognitive, and social development.
#873: Private and charter school teachers are thriving, with Paul DiPerna
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Paul DiPerna of EdChoice joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to di
Catch up on the religious charter schools debate
The Education GadflyIn a 3-2 decision yesterday, an Oklahoma state board defied the attorney general and approved the nation’s first religious charter school. Those of us at Fordham have been following the debate closely. These blog posts and podcasts will help you get up to speed:
Building moral literacy through reading: One charter school’s answer to “book bans”
Robert PondiscioWhile most of the country debates restricting children’s access to books, at Liberty, a Core Knowledge school that emphasizes character education, the debate runs in the opposite direction: Which books should kids be reading?
No, AP isn’t ushering in a totalitarian regime
Meredith Coffey, Ph.D.In the summer of 2018, I was thrilled to learn that I would be teaching AP English Language and Composition starting that fall. As part of New York City’s AP for All initiative, I became one of the first two AP teachers at my small, alternative public high school.
School choice proponents must wrestle with its shortcomings
Daniel BuckThomas Sowell famously quipped that “there are no solutions, only tradeoffs.” Even seemingly beneficial policies have repercussions. Reduce the prison population and crime increases. Close schools to prevent the spread of Covid and standardized test scores plummet. What’s more, even historic, society-altering changes come with side effects.