How Americans Would Slim Down Public Education
Steve Farkas, Ann DuffettEducation budgets are tight and state and district leaders must make tough decisions about where to save. But is the public willing to accept cuts? If so, where? According to the results of this new survey, many Americans are open—selectively open—to dramatic changes in how school districts do business.
Next Generation Science Standards: Repairs needed
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Kathleen Porter-MageeIf at first you don't succeed...
GAO and George Miller don’t understand how special education works
Michael J. PetrilliNo single public school is expected to serve students with every single type of disability. Except, apparently, public charter schools.
In defense of the F-word in K-16 education
J. Martin RochesterSuccess requires failure
Putting a Price Tag on the Common Core: How Much Will Smart Implementation Cost?
Patrick J. Murphy, Elliot RegensteinThe Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English language arts and mathematics represent a sea change in standards-based reform and their implementation is the movement’s next—and greatest—challenge. Yet, while most states have now set forth implementation plans, these tomes seldom address the crucial matter of cost. This report estimates the implementation cost for each of the forty-five states (and the District of Columbia) that have adopted the Common Core State Standards and shows that costs naturally depend on how states approach implementation.
The dilemma of academic diversity
Michael J. PetrilliOn integration and differentiation
How School Districts Can Stretch the School Dollar
Michael J. PetrilliThe "new normal" of tougher budget times is here to stay for American K-12 education. So how can local officials cope? This policy brief, by Mike Petrilli, provides a useful tool for navigating the financial challenges of the current school-funding climate, complete with clear dos and don'ts for anyone involved in or concerned with local education budgets.
Can schools rekindle the American work ethic?
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Encouraging hard work in the nanny state.
The Costs of Online Learning
The latest installment of Fordham's Creating Sound Policy for Digital Learning series investigates one of the more controversial aspects of digital learning: How much does it cost? In this paper, the Parthenon Group uses interviews with more than fifty vendors and online-schooling experts to estimate today's average per-pupil cost for a variety of schooling models, traditional and online, and presents a nuanced analysis of the important variance in cost between different school designs.
The Mad, Mad World of Textbook Adoption
Statewide textbook adoption distorts the market, entices extremist groups to hijack the curriculum, enriches the textbook cartel, and papers the land with mediocre instructional materials that cannot fulfill their important education mission.
School Finance in the Digital-Learning Era
Paul T. HillWill the move toward virtual and “blended learning” schools in American education repeat the mistakes of the charter-school movement, or will it learn from them? The Thomas B. Fordham Institute, with the support of the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, has commissioned five deep-thought papers that, together, address the thorniest policy issues surrounding digital learning. The goal is to boost the prospects for successful online learning (both substantively and politically) over the long run.
Why track on the sports field, but not in the classroom?
Tyson EberhardtThe performance of America's top students was a hot topic on Wisconsin's WSAU radio this morning, as Mike appeared to discuss the findings of Fordham's recent High Flyers study.?
Postcard from China: Constructivist Theory in Chinese Classrooms? Good Luck
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Amber Winkler, Fordham's VP for Research, recently traveled China as a Senior Fellow with the Global Education Policy Fellowship Program (GEPFP).
NAEP 2011: The Reading First effect?
Michael J. PetrilliLast night was fun for the kids, but today is every education wonk's favorite holiday: NAEP release day! Kevin Carey is already out with some savvy analysis; let me add some thoughts on the trends in reading.
Wrapping up "The Other Achievement Gap"
[pullquote]"I got to tell you, the only viable political strategy for getting broad-based support of school reform on that premise is to get those middle-class parents drunk.? -AEI's Rick Hess[/pullquote]We wrap up coverage of Monday's panel discussion, ?The Other Achievement Gap,?
Halting a Runaway Train: Reforming Teacher Pensions for the 21st Century
Mike LaffertyWhen it comes to public-sector pensions, writes lead author Mike Lafferty in this report, "A major public-policy (and public-finance) problem has been defined and measured, debated and deliberated, but not yet solved. Except where it has been." As recounted in "Halting a Runaway Train: Reforming Teacher Pensions for the 21st Century," these exceptions turn out to be revealing—and encouraging. As leaders around the country struggle to overhaul America's controversial and precarious public-sector pensions, this study draws on examples from diverse fields to provide a primer on successful pension reform. Download to find valuable lessons for policymakers, workers, and taxpayers looking for timely solutions to a dire problem.
Responding (reluctantly) to the Think Tank Review Project
The left-leaning Think Tank Review Project reviews virtually every analytic report that Fordham publishes—and they have yet to find one that they like.
K5 Learning offers new findings from High Flyers data
In this guest blog post, the team at?
Learn about High Flyers on the radio, online, or in person
Listen live this evening at 5:35 p.m.
A progressive school finds some accountability religion
Peter MeyerI was prepared for a rant against all things reform when I started reading the New York Times Q & A interview with Maria Velez-Clarke, the principal of the Children's Workshop School in Manhattan's East Village, about the school's C-grade from the City.?
Upon further review...Paul Gross' critique of the NRC Science Framework
Guest blogger Ze'ev Wurman, an executive with Monolithic 3D, a Silicon Valley startup, has participated in developing California's education standards and assessments in mathematics since the mid-1990s.
High Flyers in the news and on the air
Differentiation, tracking, and the needs of high-achievers are hot topics these days, thanks in part to Fordham's recent study Do High Flyers Maintain Their Altitude? Performance Trends of Top Students.
Computers in the classroom: the disconnect between K-12 and higher education
The dark side of censorhip: bad books
Peter MeyerAs a journalist for the better part of 30 years (not counting the samizdat paper I wrote and published (on my dad's mimeograph machine) in my high school seminary), I worship our first amendment.?
Wrap-up: Major findings from Do High Flyers Maintain Their Altitude?
Janie ScullLast week, Fordham released a groundbreaking new study on high-achieving students, titled Do High Flyers Maintain Their Altitude? Performance Trends of Top Students.
Learn early, learn often: School counts
Peter MeyerYou can read Sam Wang and Sandra Aaamodt's ?Delay Kindergarten at Your Child's Peril? essay in today's New York Times for what the two neuroscientists have to say about the development of young brains ?
Academic growth of high achievers
Janie ScullFordham's new report released on Tuesday, Do High Flyers Maintain Their Altitude?
The unilateral repeal of NCLB and the 2012 election
Chester E. Finn, Jr.The Obama administration's new waiver plan (officially here, and covered extensively here,
Fallen high flyers don't fall far
Janie ScullYesterday, we looked at the first finding of Fordham's new groundbreaking study, Do High Flyers Maintain Their Altitude?