Should CMOs really be in the business of ed reform?
The premise that charter management organizations can—or should—be effective advocacy vehicles rests on assumptions of questionable validity.
The Gadfly Daily's week in review
The Education GadflyA look back at wit and wisdom from Fordham's blogs for week of June 25, 2012.
Is American Education Coming Apart?
For all the talk of gaps in achievement, opportunity, and funding between ethnic and racial groups in American education, a different divide may also be splitting our schools and our future. In his acclaimed and controversial recent book, Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010, scholar/pundit/provocateur Charles Murray describes a widening class schism. On Tuesday, June 26, he will deliver a lecture on what that divide means for U.S. schools and education policy. What does it portend for student achievement? For diversity within schools and choices among them? Is our education system equipped to serve a society separated by social class?
Next Generation Science Standards: Repairs needed
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Kathleen Porter-MageeIf at first you don't succeed...
The Gadfly Daily’s week in review
The Education GadflyA look back at wit and wisdom from the Fordham Institute's blogs from the week on June 18, 2012.
Arne scorns Iowa: political courage or political suicide?
Michael J. PetrilliWill the Department of Education's rejection of the Hawkeye State's NCLB waiver application become an election issue?
Disruptive innovation and independent public schools
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Education’s mini mills
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.
Commentary & Feedback on Draft I of the Next Generation Science Standards
Paul Gross, Lawrence S. Lerner, John Lynch, Martha Schwartz, Richard Schwartz, W. Stephen WilsonIn May, Achieve unveiled and solicited comments on the first draft of the Next Generation Science Standards, the product of months of work by a team of writers from twenty-six states. This document provides commentary, feedback, and constructive advice that Fordham hopes the NGSS authors will consider as they revise the standards before the release of a second draft later this year.
The 50 zip codes with the largest growth in white population share, 2000-2010
Michael J. PetrilliThe list, part II
"Gentrification" generates buzz
Tyson EberhardtA quick look at the reactions to Mike's analysis of the top 25 "fastest-gentrifying" neighborhoods in America.
The fastest-gentrifying neighborhoods in the United States
Michael J. PetrilliWhat communities have changed the most demographically from 2000 to 2010?
Eli Broad, conservative hero?
Michael J. PetrilliYou might not agree with Eli Broad’s views on education. But it would be foolish to take him as naïve. His unreasonableness has led to tremendous success for sixty years. And he’s not done with America’s schools yet.
Pricing the Common Core: How Much Will Smart Implementation Cost States and Districts?
The Common Core is coming, with forty-five states and the District of Columbia challenged to implement these new standards. Yet mystery surrounds how much this will cost states (and districts)—and whether the payoff will justify the price. On May 30, the Fordham Institute peeked behind that curtain with a lively panel discussion of "Pricing the Common Core." Taking part will be former Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith, Achieve President Mike Cohen, former Department of Education official Ze'ev Wurman, and University of San Francisco professor Patrick J. Murphy, who will present the findings of a new Fordham study that he co-authored. It estimates the dollar cost of the implementation process for each participating state—and shows how the pricetag varies depending on the approach a state selects.
The Price of the Common Core
The Common Core State Standards will soon be driving instruction in forty-five states and the District of Columbia. While the standards are high quality, getting their implementation right is a real challenge—and it won't be free, a serious concern given the tight budgets of many districts and states. But while critics have warned of a hefty price tag, the reality is more complicated.
In defense of the F-word in K-16 education
J. Martin RochesterSuccess requires failure
How much will the Common Core cost?
The Education GadflyAccording to Fordham's latest report, it depends.
“Voucherizing Title I” is worth a shot
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Why not try strapping Title I dollars to the backs of needy kids and letting them take it to the schools of their choice?
Your guide to the Romney education plan
Tyson EberhardtMike analyzes Governor Romney's education proposal on WSJ.com.
Digital Learning: The Future of Schooling? Session 1
Join us for this important, nonpartisan event about digital learning and where it will take education in Ohio -- and the nation -- in the years to come. National and state-based education experts and policymakers will debate and discuss digital learning in the context of the Common Core academic standards initiatives, teacher evaluations and school accountability, governance challenges and opportunities, and school funding and spending.
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.
A race to fix education governance?
Chester E. Finn, Jr.School board members should be accountable for achievement, too
Tax-credit scholarships need a critical, not hostile, eye
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Program design matters
The Romney education plan: Replacing federal overreach on accountability with federal overreach on school choice
Michael J. PetrilliPortable funding is a worthy idea; just make it voluntary
The Gadfly Daily’s week in review
The Education GadflyA look back at wit and wisdom from the Fordham Institute’s blogs from the week of May 14, 2012.
The dilemma of academic diversity
Michael J. PetrilliOn integration and differentiation
The Gadfly Daily's week in review
The Education GadflyA look back at commentary from the Fordham Institute's blogs for the week of May 7, 2012