What we're reading this week: September 7, 2023
The Education GadflyScience of reading policies and curricula have spread across the country, but the science of proper implementation is less clear.
#886: Achievement gaps among advanced students, with Adam Tyner
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Adam Tyner, Fordham’s national research director, joins Mike to discuss dispariti
The essential state role in educating advanced learners
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Getting advanced learners (a.k.a. “gifted” students) the education they need, and ensuring that this works equitably for youngsters from every sort of background, is substantially the responsibility of state leaders.
Texas’s controversial takeover of Houston’s schools
Daniel BuckIf you believe the media, it seems a dark lord has come to cut down the educational Eden that is the Houston Independent School District. He’s closing libraries to open detention centers.
Searching for mobility in K–12 achievement
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Many Americans believe that the foremost mission of public education is to provide a pathway to success for every student, even in the face of considerable life obstacles. Yet persistent achievement gaps along dimensions of race, income, family education level, and other factors call this earnest expectation into question.
What we're reading this week: August 31, 2023
The Education GadflyMicro-schools, private institutions that serve five to twenty students, are rapidly growing in popularity across the U.S.
America’s highest-achieving students are disproportionately Asian. Let’s not be afraid to investigate why.
Michael J. Petrilli, Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Fordham’s latest study finds that fewer Black and Hispanic students from the highest-SES group are achieving at NAEP’s Advanced level than we would expect, given their socioeconomic status. That disparity clearly commands our attention. But so do the findings on Asian American high achievers—who deserve our attention for a different reason.
#885: Virtual teachers are back, with Linda Jacobson
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Linda Jacobson, a senior writer at The 74, joins Mike to discuss why more students
Excellence Gaps by Race and Socioeconomic Status
Meredith Coffey, Ph.D., Adam Tyner, Ph.D.This study uses NAEP data on eighth graders over the last two decades to trace the performance of America’s highest-achieving students by both race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status.
The hill that public education dies on: Transgender policies’ utter contempt for parents
Robert PondiscioEnshrining into policy and practice ideological views on student gender to which a majority of Americans do not subscribe could easily be fatal to support for public education. Indeed, there are no words adequate to capture this level of hubris.
How districts are gaming graduation rates by letting students cheat
Jeremy NoonanFor at least a decade, schools have been using online credit-recovery (OCR) courses to award bogus credits that satisfy graduation requirements, and thus inflating graduation rates.
Seven ways state leaders can rigorously implement the science of reading
Aaron ChurchillOhio recently passed a historic state budget that includes, among other components, ambitious literacy reforms that require schools to follow the science of reading—an instructional approach that emphasizes phonics for building foundational lit
Long term outcomes of a home- and community-based literacy program
Jeff MurrayFuture Forward began in Milwaukee in 2005 as SPARK—a small-scale, local effort to combine family engagement with intensive tutoring to help low-income elementary-age students improve their literacy skills. It has since expanded significantly, rebranded, and moved under the aegis of national nonprofit Education Analytics, Inc.
#884: Texas takes over Houston’s schools, with William McKenzie
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, William McKenzie, a senior editorial advisor at the George W.
Why AI hasn’t made coding skills obsolete
Adam Tyner, Ph.D.Many states now require high school students to learn coding before they can graduate, and a host of organizations encourage students to build coding skills. Is this all a waste of time and energy now that chatbots can code? In a word, no.
Stop using learning stations
Daniel BuckCan we stop with the learning stations already? My teacher prep endorsed them. My first instructional coach trained me in them. Every school that I’ve ever worked at has incorporated them. Look them up on Teachers Pay Teachers and you’ll find scores of activities for various literacy stations, each one promising that they are proven effective.
Rethinking gifted coverage in the media
Michael J. PetrilliHigh-achieving students who are also disadvantaged by class, race, or ethnicity may be the most overlooked group in American education. Education reporters, ask yourself: The last time you visited a high-poverty elementary school, did you query the principal or teachers about how they serve children who are a year or more above grade level?
How effective are programs that encourage mindfulness in schools?
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.School systems have long been interested in supporting students’ mental health as a means to improve behavior, decrease absenteeism,
Examining the role of property assessment in education funding
Jeff MurrayAccurate property assessments are a basic requirement for many school funding systems to function properly.
What we're reading this week: August 17, 2023
The Education GadflyResearchers found that a Florida retention policy that increased resources and support for retained students had spillover benefits for younger siblings.
#883: The student behavior crisis, with Daniel Buck
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Daniel Buck, Fordham’s editorial and policy associate, joins Mike and David to discuss the be
Hard lessons from a veteran homeschooler
Larissa PhillipsIn the last three years, the families of 1.8 million children switched to homeschooling, bringing the nationwide total to 4.3 million in 2022. But glib calls for parents to join those ranks gloss over some persistent challenges inherent in homeschooling. Phillips discovered these challenges firsthand when her family moved to rural upstate New York and began homeschooling their kids.
Mike Schmoker’s achievable vision for education reform
Daniel BuckI must admit, I’d become something of an education fatalist. I know the research about direct instruction. I know the power of a knowledge-rich, well-sequenced curriculum and the promise of school choice. I know that individual schools and even whole charter systems can achieve amazing results. But I always wonder: Is it all for naught?
Learning by going: Springfield, Illinois
Chester E. Finn, Jr.After a millennium or so in the world of ed policy, I nearly always think of education as stuff schools do that produces results on various metrics that (one hopes) enables education leaders and policymakers to make better decisions about what schools should do tomorrow.
Early College High Schools boost degree attainment, especially for marginalized students
Jamya DavisEarly College High Schools are designed to be rigorous programs that partner with higher-education institutions to help teens earn college credit before graduation, with the aim of improving their chance of success after graduation.