America and its high-potential kids
Throughout much of 2013, a colleague and I worked on a project related to America’s highest-potential boys and girls, students colloquially known as “gifted.” Though I learned a great deal, it was mostly a discouraging enterprise.
It’s a bad idea to use a lottery system for varsity football…and for varsity courses
Michelle LernerLottery systems are too common in education. And while it’s the fairest way to allocate a limited number of seats at, say, an oversubscribed, high-performing charter school, it’s not the way forward when it comes to Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Unfortunately, that’s the direction some California school districts may be heading.
Columbus school reform shouldn’t forget the whiz kids
Aaron ChurchillHigh-ability low-income students could get lost in the shuffle in Columbus
Ed Next Book Club: Tony Wagner on Creating Innovators
In this edition of the Ed Next Book Club, Mike Petrilli sits down with Tony Wagner to discuss his new book
School Choice Regulations: Red Tape or Red Herring?
David A. Stuit, Sy DoanMany proponents of private school choice take for granted that schools won’t participate if government asks too much of them, especially if it demands that they be publicly accountable for student achievement. Were such school refusals to be widespread, the programs themselves could not serve many kids. But is this assumption justified? A new Fordham Institute study—to be released on January 29—provides empirical answers. Do regulations and accountability requirements deter private schools from participating in choice programs? How important are such requirements compared to other factors, such as voucher amounts? Are certain types of regulations stronger deterrents than others? Do certain types schools shy away from regulation more than others?
What We’re Listening To: Mike Petrilli and Josh Starr on Whether the Brightest Students Are Being Challenged
This week, Mike Petrilli was a guest on "What’s the Big Idea?," a podcast hosted by Josh Starr
Playing the gifted-student race card
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Shame on the New York Times
Fordham President Chester E. Finn, Jr. receives NAGC President's Award
Pamela TatzCongratulations to Checker, who received the 2012 National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) President’s award for outstanding contributions to the field of gifted education
The best bargain in American education
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Jessica HockettExam schools stretch the school dollar
Gotham’s exam-school problem
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Simplistic? Yes. Discriminatory? No.
Raising the floor, but neglecting the ceiling
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Jessica HockettGifted education, selective public schools, and the troubles of one of America's best high schools
Exam Schools: Inside America's Most Selective Public High Schools
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Jessica HockettWhat is the best education for exceptionally able and high-achieving youngsters? There are no easy answers but, as Chester Finn and Jessica Hockett show, for more than 100,000 students each year, the solution is to enroll in an academically selective public high school. Exam Schools is the first-ever close-up look at this small, sometimes controversial, yet crucial segment of American public education.
Can schools spur social mobility?
Michael J. PetrilliHere’s hoping Charles Murray is wrong
Closing the achievement gap, but at gifted students' expense
Michael J. PetrilliMike Petrilli and AEI's Rick Hess examine the consequences of the America's focus on achievement gaps in a Washington Post Op-Ed.
The Obama Administration's war on Stuyvesant and Thomas Jefferson
Michael J. PetrilliED's diversity enforcement policies could negatively impact magnet schools.
Valuing growth for all students
As part of the release of our new study, Do High Flyers Maintain Their Performance: Performance Trends of Top Students, we are hosting a forum for
Do High Flyers Maintain Their Altitude? Performance Trends of Top Students
Robert Theaker, Yun Xiang, Michael Dahlin, John Cronin, Sarah Durant"Do High Flyers Maintain Their Altitude? Performance Trends of Top Students," is the first study to examine the performance of America's highest-achieving children over time at the individual-student level. Produced in partnership with the Northwest Evaluation Association, it finds that many high-achieving students struggle to maintain their elite performance over the years and often fail to improve their reading ability at the same rate as their average and below-average classmates. The study raises troubling questions: Is our obsession with closing achievement gaps and "leaving no child behind" coming at the expense of our "talented tenth" and America's future international competitiveness? Read on to learn more.
Distressing but not surprising
We asked a few experts to weigh in on our new study, "Do High Flyers Maintain Their Performance: Performance Trends of Top Students," as part of an online forum we'll be hosting on Flypaper over the next couple days.
Tracking and Detracking: High Achievers in Massachusetts Middle Schools
Tom LovelessBrookings scholar Tom Loveless examines tracking and detracking in Massachusetts middle schools, focusing on changes that have occurred and the implications for high-achieving students. Among the findings: detracked schools have fewer advanced students in math than tracked schools and detracking is more popular in schools serving disadvantaged populations.
Growing Pains in the Advanced Placement Program: Do Tough Trade-Offs Lie Ahead?
Steve Farkas, Ann DuffettOver the past five years, the number of students taking at least one Advanced Placement exam rose by more than half. This news is celebrated but is there a downside? To find out, Fordham commissioned the Farkas Duffett Research Group to survey AP teachers in the US. The AP program remains popular with its teachers. But there are signs that the move toward "open door" access to AP is starting to cause concern.
High-Achieving Students in the Era of No Child Left Behind
Steve Farkas, Ann Duffett, Tom LovelessThis publication reports the results of the first two (of five) studies of a multifaceted research investigation of the state of high-achieving students in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) era. Part I examines achievement trends for high-achieving students since the early 1990s; Part II reports on teachers' own views of how schools are serving high-achieving pupils in the NCLB era.
Who Will Save America's Urban Catholic Schools?
Scott HamiltonAmerica's urban Catholic schools are in crisis. Over 1,300 of them have shut down since 1990, mostly in our cities. As a result, some 300,000 students have been displaced--double the number affected by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. This report, which includes a comprehensive survey of the attitudes of U.S. Catholics and the broader public towards inner-city Catholic schools, examines this crisis and offers several suggestions for arresting and perhaps reversing this trend in the interests of better education.
Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate: Do They Deserve Gold Star Status?
Sheila Byrd Carmichael, Lucien Ellington, Paul Gross, Carol Jago, Sheldon SternThis report examines whether the reputation the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs have for academic excellence is truly deserved. Our expert reviewers looked at the four AP and IB courses most similar to the core content areas in American high schools--English, history, math, and science--and found that, in general, the courses do warrant praise. In a few cases, they deserve gold stars.
Whole-Language High Jinks
Louisa MoatsIf you thought whole-language reading instruction had been relegated to the scrap heap of history, think again. Many such programs (proven to be ineffective) are still around, but they're hiding behind phrases like 'balanced literacy' in order to win contracts from school districts and avoid public scrutiny. Louisa Moats calls them out in Fordham's new report, Whole-Language High Jinks.
Fwd: It's All About the Kids
Martin A. Davis, Jr.In just more than five years, Mary Anne Stanton has led 13 Catholic schools from high-poverty Washington, D.C. neighborhoods into a consortium that has not only strengthened each school's financial health, but has also greatly improved the academic performance of the children the schools are charged with educating. To get there, she's installed a new standards-based curriculum, shaken up old bureaucratic approaches, and streamlined operations. In its latest Fwd: Arresting Insights in Education, the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation presents a compelling story of just how much change can be made by one determined school leader with a vision.
Fwd: Where Do Public School Teachers Send Their Kids to School?
Brian Diepold, Denis P. Doyle, David A. DeSchryverDoes it matter where public-school teachers send their own children to school? If so, how and why? What can we learn from them?
2004 Thomas B. Fordham Prizes for Excellence in Education
Eric HanushekThis brochure contains profiles of the winners of the second annual Thomas B. Fordham Foundation Prizes for Excellence in Education. The 2004 prize for Valor is awarded to Howard Fuller, and the 2004 prize for Distinguished Scholarship is awarded to Eric Hanushek.
Parochial Schools and Public Aid: Today's Catholic Schools
Christopher ConnellHow much government aid do parochial schools and their students actually receive? Connell finds that public aid flows to church-affiliated schools through many channels, though amounts vary greatly from state to state. This report is especially timely in light of the Supreme Court's important decision upholding government aid to religious schools.