What we're reading this week: August 4, 2022
The Education GadflyHaving friendships that cut across class lines can improve future earnings for poor children, but those relationships are rare. —New York Times Fewer young children live in cities, which could mean more enrollment declines for urban K–12 schools.
An interview with Janet Kragen, who taught gifted education for four decades
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.
The Education Gadfly Show #831 Resurfaced: Research Deep Dive: The impact of urban charter schools
Our host Mike Petrilli is on vacation this week, so we're republishing our most popular podcast episode for three years r
The problem with “differentiation”
Daniel BuckShouldn’t we all seek to individualize instructions to meet each child’s needs? Who could oppose “differentiation”? Well, I do.
Biden’s misguided guidance on discipline for students with disabilities
Max EdenLast week, the Biden administration released new guidance for how schools should handle discipline for students with disabilities.
When students feel unsafe, absenteeism grows
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D., Christian EggersSchool shootings are profoundly tragic—scarring not only the families whose children become victims, but casting a shadow over the lives, mental health, and outcomes of the surviving students. But evidence is also clear that it’s not only horrific mass shootings that can lead a child to miss school. Any feeling of not being safe can prompt children and teenagers to stay home.
CREDO examines charter school performance in three cities
Christian EggersAre charter schools helping students succeed?
What we're reading this week: July 28, 2022
The Education GadflyThe publisher of Lucy Calkins’s troubled reading curriculum has halted the release of an updated version over concerns about conservative states’ new curriculum laws. —New York Times Children’s needs were sacrificed more than any other group’s during Covid-19 policymaking decisions.
Education Gadfly Show #830: When it comes to Covid learning loss, the bleeding has stopped
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show Podcast, Lindsay Dworkin and Karyn Lewis, senior vice preside
Ed reformers should rally around the Romney family aid plan
Michael J. PetrilliA major, though largely unnoticed, development in America’s support for families with children is the recent release of the “Family Security Act 2.0” by Senator Mitt Romney, along with fellow Republicans Richard Burr and Steve Daines. It could and should serve as the starting point for bipartisan negotiations for a new federal investment in families that might stand the test of time.
The American family is still coming apart
Kay HymowitzIn 2004, the late Sara McLanahan published a landmark article called “Diverging Destinies: How Children Are Faring Under the Second Demographic Transition.” The paper was the first scholarly attempt to propose that the decline of the two-parent family in the United States since the 1960’s was intensifying the already unequal l
In a time of crisis, Catholic schools offered a choice, not an echo
Kathleen Porter-Magee“New data suggest that the damage from shutting down schools has been worse than almost anyone expected,” the Economist tweeted recently to promote a
The bravest man in education reform
Robert PondiscioA few years ago, when I was writing my book about Success Academy and school choice, I had a moment of self-doubt bordering on despair.
Chatbot nudges boost student outcomes
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.“Nudges” to induce specific actions take many forms in education.
What we're reading this week: July 21, 2022
The Education GadflyPost-pandemic confidence in public schools has plummeted, especially among Republicans. —Gallup Asian Americans’ academic success is not a problem. Are White parents pushing against standardized tests just anxious about their children getting out-competed?
Balancing equity and excellence in selective high schools
Brandon L. Wright, Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, Evan GlazerEditor’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.
How do teachers spend their time?
Mike McShaneOne of my favorite quotations comes from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. When Gandalf the wizard recounts the story of the ring and the havoc that it has brought to Middle-earth to the hero Frodo, Frodo says to him, “I wish it need not have happened in my time.” To which Gandalf replies, “So do I, and so do all who live to see such times.
Gifted-student screenings often miss poor students who should qualify
Bich Thi Ngoc Tran, Jonathan Wai, Sarah McKenzieHigh-achieving students from low-income backgrounds are half as likely to be placed in a gifted program as their more affluent peers, according to our new study.
Can we revive standards-based reform?
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Few people have done more to boost academic standards in U.S. schools than Michael Cohen and Laura Slover, coauthors of a new paper offering a bright vision for revitalizing them. But there are reasons to doubt the feasibility of its proposals.
Relinquishment or instructional coherence: What’s the right goal for districts?
Dale ChuThe “tripod” of standards, testing, and accountability has taken a real beating in recent years, following decades in which it was accepted dogma within reform circles.
Stop neglecting gifted students’ social and emotional needs
Susan Miller, Tom CoyneBack in February, Bloomberg’s Adrian Wooldridge published a column claiming that “America is facing a great talent recession.” He noted that, “today, demand for top talent in the corporate world and elsewhere is exploding just at a time when the supply is t
Beyond free tuition: How college promise scholarships are perceived by awardees
Jeff MurrayDozens of states and cities provide “college promise” programs.
What we're reading this week: July 14, 2022
The Education GadflyFifty years of data on gifted youth finds that, contrary to some assumptions, achieving success later in life doesn’t cause unhappiness.
The Education Gadfly Show #828: Arizona’s expanded ESA: The big enchilada of school choice
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Matt Beienburg, Director of Education Policy
The swirling private-school universe
Chester E. Finn, Jr.The universe of private elementary-secondary schooling in America today is diverse and confusing, with innumerable twists and turns in efforts to use public funds to help families access schools that suit them—including private schools of all colors and stripes. But the virtue of these institutions is that they’re different, which also means very different from each other. Which complicates the quest to deploy public dollars to assist families to choose them.