The thing about school closures
On this week's podcast, special guest Scott Pearson, executive director of the DC Public Charter School Board, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss the pros, cons, and challenges of closing low-performing schools. During the Research Minute, David Griffith explores why unionized charter schools in California perform better.
Does a mostly female workforce explain America's teacher absenteeism problem?
David GriffithBy David Griffith
Partnership Schools, year five: Taking flight in the fight for Catholic schools
Kathleen Porter-MageeBy Kathleen Porter-Magee
Fordham is your one-stop shop for state report card data and analysis
Ohio Education GadflyYou have no doubt seen numerous media stories regarding the recent release of school report card data in Ohio. As supporters of a robust accountability system, we urge you to pay attention to the stories and the ongoing discussion. The success of our public schools (charter and district) in doing the vital work with which they are entrusted must be assessed, reported, and analyzed.
Dropout recovery schools: a safe haven, not a safe harbor
NOTE: The Thomas B. Fordham Institute occasionally publishes guest commentaries on its blogs. The views expressed by guest authors do not necessarily reflect those of Fordham.
How do we overcome the challenges of providing more and better high school choices?
Anthony NguyenBy Anthony Nguyen
Teacher chronic absenteeism rates in traditional public schools far exceed those of charters
The Education GadflyResearch confirms what common sense dictates: Students learn less when their teachers aren’t there. According to multiple studies, a ten-day increase in teacher absence results in at least ten fewer days of learning for students.
D.C. Public Schools see large achievement gains, growing inequality
Nicholas Munyan-PenneyBy Nicholas Munyan-Penney
Praise for charter teachers—for showing up to work
On this week's podcast, special guest Derrell Bradford, the executive vice president of 50CAN, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss Fordham’s new report on teacher absenteeism. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines what happened to student outcomes when desegregation orders came to an end in the 1990s.
VIDEO: Chester E. Finn, Jr. interviews David Osborne, author of "Reinventing America’s Schools"
The Education GadflyOn September 5, 2017, Chester E. Finn, Jr. appeared on C-SPAN’s “After Words” to interview David Osborne about his new book, Reinventing America’s Schools: Creating a 21st Century Education System. As the network describes:
A little known ESSA provision sheds some more light on Ohio’s graduation “fix”
Jessica PoinerA recent article in Education Week highlighted how an under-the-radar ESSA provision could spell trouble for states with multiple high school diplomas.
Teacher Absenteeism in Charter and Traditional Public Schools
David GriffithResearch confirms what common sense dictates: Students learn less when their teachers aren’t there. According to multiple studies, a ten-day increase in teacher absence results in at least ten fewer days of learning for students.
Bricks without straw: Maryland's ESSA accountability plan
Chester E. Finn, Jr.By Chester E. Finn, Jr.
Watch out for unfair comparisons between charter and district schools
Jamie Davies O'LearyAs Ohio’s annual report cards are released this week, Fordham is gearing up to dive into the data and explore what it means about K-12 public education in the Buckeye State.
Is New York City vacuously filling teacher vacancies?
On this week's podcast, special guest Constance A. Lindsay, a research associate at the Urban Institute, joins Mike Petrilli and Brandon Wright to discuss New York City’s controversial new plan to use its Absent Teacher Reserve Pool to fill its teacher vacancies. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines an imperfect study of classrooms’ use of technology.
The case for letting school districts be school districts
Michael J. PetrilliBy Michael J. Petrilli