Commentary
Commentary
What we're reading this week: September 30, 2021
A study by Jay Greene and James Paul finds that courting Democrats has been a lost cause—and a costly one—for school choice legislation.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
Performative teaching is undermining trust in schools
Increasingly, teachers are not shy about expressing their views on charged racial and political views. This may be a symptom of a profound shift in our relationship with institutions and the role they play in our lives. Where institutions once functioned as molds of our character and behavior, they’re now platforms on which we stand to be seen. And this could be cratering our trust in them.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction, Advanced Education, Teachers & School Leaders
Rigorous courses are a good thing—and good for equity
“As a broader mechanism for equity, [Advanced Placement] has fallen short, unable to overcome the powerful structural forces that disadvantage far too many students,” writes Anne Kim in a recent long-form article in Washington Monthly titled “AP’s Equity Face-Plant.” “If the ultimate goal
Commentary
School Finance, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
There’s a fiscal cliff coming, and some districts appear hell-bent on making it worse
We’ve been polling district finance leaders about their biggest concern in this moment, and the most common answer is financial problems down the road.
Commentary
Evidence-Based Learning, Governance, Private School Choice
A flawed study of Indiana’s voucher program
A recent study looks at the impact of
Podcast
Commentary
Commentary
What we're reading this week: September 23, 2021
There is a growing gap in college enrollment and graduation between men and women. Is it driven by the effects of more children growing up in single-parent homes? —New York Times “Student quarantines will cause the next major school disruptions.
Commentary
Governance
The rise in Black unemployment is about more than race
Recently, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its disappointing monthly jobs report, which showed that the economy had added only 250,000 jobs in August, far fewer than the 750,000 expected.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
Five crucial considerations to protect social and emotional learning
The growth in popularity of social and emotional learning (SEL) is bringing with it increased attention to and scrutiny of what exactly SEL means and questions about whether it is something more than just another educational fad or ideological movement.
Commentary
Evidence-Based Learning, Charter Schools, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Private School Choice, Teachers & School Leaders
School choice is a better instrument for racial justice than critical race theory
The outlook has gotten bleak for the anti-racist and CRT movements in U.S. classrooms, as Americans saw these ideas in action and largely recoiled from them. But there's another K–12 strategy for achieving racial justice: school choice.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
Blinding ourselves to America’s achievement woes
Much as happened after A Nation at Risk, the U.S. finds itself facing a bleak education fate, even as many deny the problem. Back then, however, the denials came mostly from the education establishment, while governors, business leaders, and even U.S.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing, Evidence-Based Learning, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
Ohio data show the pandemic's heavy toll on student achievement and the importance of in-person learning
The Covid-19 pandemic caused unprecedented disruptions to teaching and learning across America, including school closures, sudden changes to instructional delivery, economic hardship, and social isolation.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
What U.S. teens think about their futures—and the country’s
The Washington Post and Ipsos recently surveyed fourteen to eighteen year olds on their attitudes toward the state of the U.S.
Commentary
Commentary
What we're reading this week: September 16, 2021
Boston’s next mayor will have to rise to the challenge of revitalizing the once-exemplary school district after years of declining performance.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
What 9/11 means for America’s schools twenty years later
This week, we remember and reflect upon an unforgettably tragic day. This comes amid throes of national conflicts over information, misinformation, even the nature of facts and truth themselves. Schools can’t fix all this, but they must reclaim their vital role in ensuring that Americans understand their history and the interconnectedness of today’s world.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
Seven questions about September 11
This advice from my friend Lamar Alexander for teaching about 9/11 was published twice by Fordham, first in 2003 and again (lightly revised) in 2011.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
From the personal to the political, for the love of freedom
This superb short essay by Stanford professor Bill Damon is a hard-hitting piece from a gentle, thoughtful, and learned psychologist, and (as with Senator Alexander's contribution) was first published by Fordham in 2003
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
Alternative certification policies and teacher recruitment outcomes
A recent study published in Educational Policy is a timely look at the ways in which states’ alternative certification (or AC) policies for teachers have impacted the composition of the corps of novice educators.
Commentary
Evidence-Based Learning, Teachers & School Leaders
The wide-ranging benefits of natural mentorships
A recent Annenberg working paper explores the effects of “natural” mentorships, which researchers define as voluntary and informal relationships between school personnel and students. It finds many benefits, especially for teens from low-income households.
Commentary
Commentary
What we're reading this week: September 9, 2021
“What schools teach about 9/11 and the war on terror.” —Houston Chronicle Men are trailing women’s college enrollment in record numbers.
Podcast
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction, Standards, Teachers & School Leaders
Addressing constructive criticisms of Fordham’s report on state civics and U.S. history standards
Our recent study of states’ U.S. history and civics standards attracted some constructive criticism from both the left and the right. It was, after all, explicitly bipartisan. Here are our responses to four critiques.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
A commonsense alternative to critical race theory bans
There are good arguments to be made in favor of so-called critical race theory “bans” that have now been considered in some form by more than half of all US states.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
A better way to improve literacy among Black and Hispanic children
For the last half-century, if you read the mission statement of virtually any education reform organization, you will find earnest language about closing the racial or class achievement gaps. Unfortunately, not only have gaps failed to narrow during this multi-decade obsession, overall achievement levels have also remained mostly static.
Commentary
Evidence-Based Learning, Curriculum & Instruction, Teachers & School Leaders
A downbeat assessment of students’ mental and social-emotional health in the Covid era
It is no exaggeration to say that very little good can likely come from a global pandemic, especially in the short term. And while the “term” of the current pandemic seems to lengthen every day, we are still firmly in the realm of the immediate when discussing impacts.
