The case for Sonja Santelises as the twelfth U.S. Secretary of Education
Dale ChuWhen it comes to education and the incoming Biden administration, all eyes are on who is put forward, likely before the year is out, as the next secretary of education.
Memo to policymakers: Help teachers focus on reading
Robert PondiscioAt the tail end of a recent symposium titled “Why children can’t read—and what we can do about it” hosted by American Enterprise Institute, Margaret Goldberg, a California first grade teacher and founder of the
Reinventing ed reform with a focus on opportunity and social capital
Bruno V. MannoNothing better evokes education reform’s predicament today than what occurred in late July when the National Basketball Association restarted its 2020 season. Players were given the option of featuring on the back of their jerseys one of about thirty messages.
Reducing grading bias against Black students
Adam Tyner, Ph.D.A perennial complaint about holding students accountable through grades and test scores is that these mechanisms are biased against already disadva
What we're reading this week: November 19
The Education GadflyResearch supports having classrooms keep only three feet of social distancing. In fact, more kids in school may prevent spread more than hybrid models. —Washington Post How will the forthcoming distribution of vaccines impact schooling?
When excellence isn’t on a school’s menu
Erika SanziI knew something was wrong when, during what was supposed to be a full day of remote learning, my thirteen-year-old son announced at 9:30 a.m. that he was free until 11:27 a.m., and then plopped onto the couch and flipped on the television.
Use caution, district leaders: Even in a pandemic, there’s no immunity from financial missteps
Marguerite RozaCharges of financial blunders have taken out district leaders before. Think the pandemic inoculates leaders from that possible fate? Think again.
The racial-justice war on merit-based schools is an injustice against excellence, critics say
Vince BielskiAt a virtual town hall in Brooklyn about how the pandemic will change admissions to high-performing selective schools, New York City officials got a lecture on systemic racism.
Leadership makes a difference: Lamar Alexander and K–12 education
Chester E. Finn, Jr.When the 116th Congress adjourns, sometime before January 2021, Tennessee’s eighty-year-old senior senator, Lamar Alexander, will retire after three full terms. No one living today has had more far-reaching influence on American K–12 education. As we wish him many glorious years of retirement, we do well to recognize that his legacy will last even longer.
Democrats’ ed designs dealt setback in statehouses
Dale ChuControl of state legislatures is particularly important in a census year, but it’s also an often-overlooked element in driving substantive education policy changes. National politics takes up all the oxygen, but it’s state legislators who make most of the big decisions about how a state’s public-education system operates, is funded, is held accountable (if at all), and much more.
What we're reading this week: November 12
The Education Gadfly“The pandemic has caused deep, ‘horrifying’ learning losses for Dallas children, and underscored the disparities among Black students, according to new Dallas Independent School District results.” —Dallas Morning News Indianapoli
Suing for peace in the culture wars
Michael J. PetrilliDespite the divisiveness of the past four years, we should give peace a chance and heed President-Elect Biden’s plain but true words: “It’s time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again. And to make progress, we have to stop treating our opponents as our enemies. They are not our enemies, they are Americans.”
Create more autonomous, accountable district schools. Here's how.
Tressa Pankovits, David OsborneEducation wasn’t explicitly on the national ballot in 2020, but education is always on the ballot, even when you don’t see it. Now that the election is behind us, education reformers can focus again on states and communities, where most of the important decisions about K–12 education get made.
Finding inspiration in Idaho voters
Terry RyanDivisiveness, anger, frustration, mistrust, and threats. That is the narrative emerging around the 2020 presidential election. What I saw on election day as an Ada County poll worker in Boise, Idaho, couldn’t have been more different. The election I witnessed and served was distinctly positive and hopeful.
The Education Gadfly Show: What the election means for education reform
Cancel partisan politics to reopen our schools safely and sensibly
Victoria McDougaldAs we conclude a particularly fraught and divisive presidential election, most Americans (and even those of us who live in D.C.) welcome a reprieve from the constant onslaught of negative political ads, contentious debates, and around-the-clock election coverage.
Our aging population will end this golden era of school spending
Andrew J. RotherhamSpend a few minutes on education Twitter or listening to the loudest special-interest voices, and you’d think the future of public education hinges on whether Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, and the president can agree to another stimulus deal. That’s just a short-term Washington game—that will likely soon have a new roster of players.
Are schools essential or not?
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Are schools essential or aren’t they? Are teachers essential workers or aren’t they? How would Americans respond if large numbers of doctors, nurses, policemen, firemen, and postal workers simply opted to stay home—and their unions defended them? If you’re essential, you go to work.
For better or worse, religiously-affiliated charter schools are on their way
Michael J. PetrilliA U.S. Supreme Court decision is introducing a new type of charter school that’s likely to cheer conservatives but alarm many progressives: the religiously-affiliated charter. Those of us in the charter movement need to figure out how to keep them from splitting the charter coalition.
What we're reading this week: November 5
The Education GadflyThe winner of this election won’t resolve our nation’s deep-rooted social problems. For that, we need local, personal action. —Yuval Levin Parents are reconsidering schooling decisions as they weigh worsening Covid rates against the costs of isolation and disrupting routines for their children.
About those 12th grade NAEP scores: The cake was (mostly) baked years ago
Michael J. PetrilliAs we previously saw at the 4th grade and 8th grade levels, the just-released 2019 12 grade NAEP results were mostly flat or down. But we already knew from the 2015 results that this cohort of students entered high school performing below their older peers.
Three gubernatorial contests with important ed implications
Dale ChuAs the clock winds down on the 2020 presidential campaign, what seems certain is that the path forward on education reform will not be through whoever wins the White House.
Gifted education done right benefits Black and Hispanic children. It’s not inherently racist.
Brandon L. WrightAs our country grapples with racial injustice, there are persistent calls to diversify elite institutions at all levels, from corporate and foundation boards to law schools and medical schools to undergraduate programs. All good.
Educating patriots
Robert PondiscioDecades before “equity” became a buzzword in education, E. D. Hirsch, Jr. had his finger on what the word actually means: equal access for all children to the knowledge and verbal proficiency that makes full participation in American life possible.
The Education Gadfly Show: Coping with the costs of declining enrollments
On this week’s podcast, Karen Hawley Miles, CEO and president of Education Resource Strategies, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith
Teacher improvement during the first ten years
David GriffithA recent study from Brown University’s Matthew A. Kraft and John P. Papay and Harvard’s Olivia L. Chi uses nine years of administrative data from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina to examine teacher improvement through the lens of principal evaluations.
What we're reading this week: October 29
The Education GadflySchool districts in Texas are reporting troubling percentages of students failing remote courses, causing educators and parents to push for a return to in-person instruction.
Don’t place all the blame on our high schools—or Trump—if the 12th-grade test scores disappoint this week
Michael J. PetrilliOn Wednesday, the government will release the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress scores for twelfth grade students.