School reform and the growing disconnect between DC and the states
Terry RyanThe Fordham Institute is unique in the school reform sector in that we have offices in both Washington, DC and Ohio
Howard Fuller's straight talk
Stafford PalmieriFeeling blue about school reform? This riveting no-nonsense address by Howard Fuller at last week's National Charter School Conference will relieve your doldrums.
The Hassels: Don't turn our backs on turnarounds yet
This post, written by Bryan C. Hassel and Emily Ayscue Hassel of Public Impact, is a response to Andy Smarick's June 25 post about turnarounds.
Taking our eyes off the ball
Emmy L. Partin, Terry RyanTwo weeks ago, our friends at Ki
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.
When Private Schools Take Public Dollars: What's the Place of Accountability in School Voucher Programs?
Michael J. Petrilli, Chester E. Finn, Jr., Christina Hentges, Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Voucher opponents often argue that it's unfair to hold public schools accountable for results under the No Child Left Behind Act and various state rules while allowing private schools that participate in school voucher programs to receive taxpayer dollars without similar accountability. In pursuit of a reasonable middle ground, we sought the advice of twenty experts in the school-choice world. This paper presents their thoughts and opinions, as well as Fordham's own ideas.
The Accountability Illusion
Yun Xiang, Michael Dahlin, John Cronin, Donna McCahonIn this study of the No Child Left Behind Act system and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) rules for 28 states, we selected 36 real schools that vary by size, achievement, diversity, etc. and determined which ones would or would not make AYP when evaluated under each state's accountability rules. If a school that made AYP in Washington were relocated to Ohio, would it still make AYP?
Climbing to Quality 2007-2008 Fordham Sponsorship Accountability Report
Kathryn MullenThis yearly report covers Fordham's sponsorship practices throughout the year as well as newsworthy events related to our sponsored charter schools. You can also find detailed reports on all of Fordham-sponsored schools. Each school report contains information on the school's academic performance, educational philosophy, and compliance for the 2007-2008 school year.
Education Olympics 2008: The Games in Review
Stafford Palmieri, Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.This report has a simple aim: to present results from international assessments so readers can judge for themselves how American students stack up globally. It shows how the U.S. has performed internationally in education in recent years, and it provides a glimpse of how education looks in several top-performing nations.
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.
Virtual insanity
Michael J. PetrilliThe Oregonian reports that its state board of education last
Pray for an even playing field
Michael J. PetrilliLiam asks "if urban Catholic schools can't compete with charter schools, why do they deserve special help?"
Genuflecting before choice
Mike, I may agree with your point that Catholic schools should receive public funding.
Oden for Obama
Update: The NBA's number 1 draft pick is against???i.e., not supportive of, never has been and never will be,
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.
The Proficiency Illusion
Deborah Adkins, G. Gage Kingsbury, Michael Dahlin, John CroninNCLB allows each state to define proficiency as it sees fit and design its own tests. This study compares state tests to benchmarks laid out by the Northwest Evaluation Association to evaluate proficiency cut scores for assessments in twenty-six states. The findings suggest that the tests states use to measure academic progress and student proficiency under NCLB are creating a false impression of success, especially in reading and especially in the early grades.
Crystal Apple: Education Insiders' Predictions for No Child Left Behind's Reauthorization
Michael J. Petrilli, Coby LoupJanuary 8, 2007, was the fifth birthday of the No Child Left Behind Act. This isn't just another milestone to be celebrated (or mourned). The law is now due for an update from Congress. But will NCLB be reauthorized on schedule? What changes are likely? No one knows for sure, but the ubiquitous 'Washington insiders' might be in a better position than others to cast prognostications. While not a 'representative sample' of thousands, their inside knowledge adds valuable insight.
2006 Thomas B. Fordham Foundation Sponsorship Accountability Report
Terry Ryan, Kathryn MullenFor information on Fordham's unique role as a charter school sponsor in Ohio, there's no better source than The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation Sponsorship Accountability Report 2005-06. The report offers a comprehensive account of Fordham's sponsorship policies and practices-as well as individual profiles of all Fordham-sponsored schools. Included in the profiles are descriptions of each school's educational program, school philosophy, and overall academic performance based on state achievement data.
The Fordham Report 2006: How Well Are States Educating Our Neediest Children?
The Fordham Report 2006: How Well Are States Educating Our Neediest Children? appraises each state according to thirty indicators across three major categories: student achievement for low-income, African-American, and Hispanic students; achievement trends for these same groups over the last 10-15 years; and the state's track record in implementing bold education reforms. It finds that just eight states can claim even moderate success over the past 15 years at boosting the percentage of their poor or minority students who are at or above proficient in reading, math or science.
To Dream the Impossible Dream: Four Approaches to National Standards and Tests for America's Schools
Michael J. Petrilli, Chester E. Finn, Jr.Education policy leaders from across the political spectrum flesh out and evaluate several forms that national standards and testing could take.
Trends in Charter School Authorizing
Michael J. Petrilli, Chester E. Finn, Jr., Rebecca GauBelatedly, policymakers and researchers are recognizing that quality charter schools depend on quality charter school authorizing. This report presents findings from a pioneering national examination of the organizations that sponsor, oversee, and hold accountable U.S. charter schools. Its primary aim is to describe and characterize these crucial but little-known organizations.
Playing To Type? (2006)
Dick Carpenter, Chester E. Finn, Jr.Most discussions of charter schools assume that they are monolithic. This study, the first of its kind, categorizes the nation's charter schools into a robust typology according to their educational approaches. It also provides demographic information by type,how many are in each category, what their student populations look like, and so forth,and makes a first attempt at comparing their test scores. The result is a much richer and more accurate picture of the charter school universe.
Mayhem in the Middle: How middle schools have failed America, and how to make them work
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Cheri Pierson YeckeAmerican middle schools have become the places "where academic achievement goes to die." So says Cheri Yecke, K-12 Education Chancellor of Florida and author of the new Fordham report Mayhem in the Middle: How middle schools have failed America, and how to make them work. Today's middle schools have succumbed to a concept of "middle schoolism" in which a strong academic curriculum is traded for one that focuses more on emotional and social development, and less on learning the basics. And the achievement data reflects "middle schoolism's" results. In 1999, U.S. eighth graders scored nine points below average on the TIMSS assessment of math. What's more, these same eighth graders had outperformed the average by 28 points as fourth graders in 1995! According to Fordham President Chester E. Finn, Jr., "Trying to fix high schools while ignoring middle schools is like bandaging a wound before treating it for infection."
Personality Test: The dispositional dispute in teacher preparation today, and what to do about it
William DamonThe standards of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Excellence (NCATE) are of critical import for America's future teaching corps and will wield disproportionate influence for decades to come. Over the past fifteen years, 25 states have outsourced the approval of teacher preparation programs to NCATE by adopting or adapting its standards as their own; the other 25 have various 'partnerships' with the organization. Which makes it all the more disturbing that central to these standards is the call for teachers to possess certain 'dispositions' such as particular attitudes toward 'social justice.' As Professor William Damon of Stanford University explains in Fordham's latest Fwd: Arresting Insights in Education, NCATE's framing of the 'dispositions' issue has given education schools 'unbounded power over what candidates may think and do.' This is leading to (understandable) charges of ideological arm-twisting and Orwellian mind-control.
Charter School Funding: Inequity's Next Frontier
Sheree Speakman, Chester E. Finn, Jr., Bryan C. HasselOf all the controversies swirling around the nation's charter schools, none is more hotly contested than the debate over funding. Into the fray leaps Charter School Funding: Inequitys Next Frontier, the most comprehensive and rigorous study ever undertaken of how public charter schools are funded, state by state, and how their revenues measure up to dollars received by district-run schools.
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?
Grading the Systems: The guide to state standards, tests, and accountability policies
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Richard W. Cross, Theodor RebarberCo-published by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and AccountabilityWorks, with support from the Smith Richardson Foundation, this report looks at six elements of K-12 accountability systems in 30 different states. Each state is rated on standards, test content, alignment of tests to standards, test rigor, testing trustworthiness and openness, and accountability policies. The major conclusion: while some states have the basis of a sophisticated and rigorous accountability system in place, no state has every element of a serious standards-based education reform package in place. And few states are as open to evaluation as they ought to be.
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.
The State Testing Program for Ohio and How It Works: A Primer for Charter Schools
Amy GermuthWith the passage of the politics-governance Act (NCLB), states have had to adjust their accountability systems to comply with federal law. As a result, in the summer of 2003 Ohio's Governor Taft signed House Bill 3, which dramatically changed the state's assessment system and what it means for charter schools. This report helps charter school leaders coordinate their testing and data reporting procedures to meet state and federal guidelines, in the hope that all students might surpass Ohio's academic expectations.