Let's tell the truth: High-stakes tests damage reading instruction
Accountability works. But not in reading, which isn’t a subject or a skill. Robert Pondiscio
Accountability works. But not in reading, which isn’t a subject or a skill. Robert Pondiscio
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 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.
Here’s a hint: It’s not Prince George’s County. Michael J. Petrilli and Matt Richmond
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.
I 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.
At war with the “loose” part of “tight-loose” federalism. Michael J. Petrilli
Testing works. Federal intrusiveness and poorly designed interventions are the real problem. Andy Smarick
The 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.
START SPREADING THE NEWSGreat news for students at underperforming district schools in New York City: On Wednesday, the Empire State
Lessons from a legend. Ellen Alpaugh
Analysts are half-right. Robert Pondiscio
A worm’s-eye view of implementation. Victoria Sears
NEW 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.
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.”
[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.
Welcome 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.
Ed reform is dead. Long live ed reform. Chester E. Finn, Jr.
As the founder and Executive Director of KIPP Philadelphia Schools, I was surprised to read Dr. Laurence Steinberg’s Flypaper post on how KIPP charter schools approach character development. In response to his portrayal of our character work, I want to offer a KIPP educator’s perspective.
Twenty-six state-by-state rankings of charter school quality, growth, and innovation.
On the whole, the new guidance from the U.S.
Some good results, but there’s work to be done everywhere. Megan Lail
There’s more to Common Core than “close reading.” Robert Pondiscio