Can Reading Comprehension Be Taught?
Robert PondiscioNot really. Here’s how to make better use of instructional time. Robert Pondiscio
Is it Worth It? Postsecondary Education and Labor Market Outcomes for the Disadvantaged
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.A poor start makes for a tough finish. Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.
The Impact of No Child Left Behind's Accountability Sanctions on School Performance: Regression Discontinuity Evidence from North Carolina.
Victoria McDougaldMore evidence that NCLB worked. Victoria Sears and John Elkins
BRIEFLY NOTED: Landlords that moonlight as EMOs...and more
The Education GadflyThe Columbus Dispatch recently reported that Imagine Schools, a large charter-management company, has a number of schools in the Columbus area that are spending what appear to be excessive amounts of their st
D.C. school spending: Don't forget to read the fine print
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s Metro D.C. School Spending Explorer offers the public a great resource by sharing data on public school spending (at the school level) across the District.
Late Bell: October 15, 2014
Thomas B. Fordham InstituteNEA FLEXES POLITICAL MUSCLESThe National Education Ass
Let's tell the truth: High-stakes tests damage reading instruction
Robert PondiscioAccountability works. But not in reading, which isn’t a subject or a skill. Robert Pondiscio
NEW from Fordham: Metro D.C. School Spending Explorer
The Education GadflyThe Thomas B. Fordham Institute set out to answer a basic (yet complicated) question: how much does each school in the D.C. metro area spend for each student it enrolls? In the Metro D.C. School Spending Explorer, we found that there are differences in spending within the same district.
Which Washington-area system does best at funding its neediest schools?
Michael J. Petrilli, Matt RichmondHere’s a hint: It’s not Prince George’s County. Michael J. Petrilli and Matt Richmond
Metro D.C. School Spending Explorer
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute set out to answer a basic (yet complicated) question: how much does each school in the D.C. metro area spend on day-to-day operations for each student it enrolls? In the Metro D.C.
What's right about Common Core
Robert PondiscioI confess I’m somewhat bewildered by the passionate arguments over the Common Core State Standards. Getting in high dudgeon about K–12 learning standards, which say almost nothing about what kids do in school all day, makes no more sense to me than getting apoplectic about food-handling procedures, which I seldom think about when pushing my cart through the grocery store.
Arne Duncan's Office of Civil Rights: Six years of meddling
Michael J. PetrilliAt war with the “loose” part of “tight-loose” federalism. Michael J. Petrilli
In defense of annual testing
Testing works. Federal intrusiveness and poorly designed interventions are the real problem. Andy Smarick
The new Education Trust report: The triumph of hope over experience
Michael J. PetrilliThe Education Trust has a proud and distinguished history. When the group got its start in the mid-1990s, achievement for poor and minority children was lagging, and the education policy community largely ignored their needs. Ed Trust changed all that with a single-minded focus on equity, hitched to the relatively new notion of school-level accountability.
Late Bell: October 9, 2014
Thomas B. Fordham InstituteSTART SPREADING THE NEWSGreat news for students at underperforming district schools in New York City: On Wednesday, the Empire State
No Struggle No Progress: A Warrior's Life from Black Power to Education Reform
Ellen AlpaughLessons from a legend. Ellen Alpaugh
The Cognitive Science Behind the Common Core
Robert PondiscioAnalysts are half-right. Robert Pondiscio
Common Core State Standards in 2014: Districts' Perceptions, Progress, and Challenges
Victoria McDougaldA worm’s-eye view of implementation. Victoria Sears
Late Bell: October 8, 2014
Thomas B. Fordham InstituteNEW PRESIDENT FOR STUDENTSFIRSTJim Blew of the Walton Foundation will take over the helm of the advocacy group StudentsFirst after the resignation of founder Michelle Rhee, who announced she was stepping down two months ago.
Howls of protest? Check!
In a recent EdNext column, Checker Finn proposed what he expected to be a controversial solution to the problem of low levels of college readiness among our high school graduates: namely, “different ways of completing—and being credentialed for completing—one’s primary and secondary education.”
Ed reform's blind spot: Catholic schools and social capital
[Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a series of personal reflections on the current state of education reform and contemporary conservatism by Andy Smarick, a Bernard Lee Schwartz senior policy fellow with the Thomas B.
Late Bell: October 6, 2014
Thomas B. Fordham InstituteWelcome to the new-and-improved Late Bell, Fordham's uncanny afternoon newsletter! We're starting off our bold new era with a special Fordham-in-the-news edition.
Time for a Reboot
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Ed reform is dead. Long live ed reform. Chester E. Finn, Jr.