Leadership lessons from a brazen cheating scandal
Gregg VanourekKeeping ethics and results aligned
Vouchers − Darwin= ??
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Let there be controversy
The case for public-school choice in the suburbs
Michael J. Petrilli“Customization” isn’t just for urban hipsters
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.
Next Generation Science Standards: Repairs needed
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Kathleen Porter-MageeIf at first you don't succeed...
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.
In defense of the F-word in K-16 education
J. Martin RochesterSuccess requires failure
“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.
Tax-credit scholarships need a critical, not hostile, eye
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Program design matters
The dilemma of academic diversity
Michael J. PetrilliOn integration and differentiation
Fordham volunteers to pilot vetting process in Cleveland
The Education GadflyTerry Ryan's writes today that Fordham would be willing to lead the way in going through a vetting process led by the Transformation Alliance in Cleveland.
Review of Draft Texas Mathematics Standards 2012
W. Stephen WilsonIn April 2012, Texas adopted new math standards. Fordham reviewed the draft standards and found them to be a modest improvement. But not by much, and they remain inferior to the Common Core math standards. Download the review to learn more.
The voucher animus
Chester E. Finn, Jr.8 reasons private school choice still struggles
Next stop for Louisiana: Accountability, done right
Adam EmersonLouisiana became the latest state to embrace the introduction of school vouchers, but the legislative moxie it showed should stimulate a new conversation about private school choice and accountability.
Defining Strong State Accountability Systems: How Can Better Standards Gain Greater Traction?
Eileen Reed, Janie Scull, Gerilyn Slicker, Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Rigorous standards and aligned assessments are vital tools for boosting education outcomes but they have little traction without strong accountability systems that attach consequences to performance. This pilot study lays out the essential features of such accountability systems, intended to add oomph to new common standards and aligned assessments.
10 years after Zelman, challenges still loom for voucher advocates
Adam EmersonThe U.S. Supreme Court's decision a decade ago didn't end the fight over private school choice, even though it should have caused states to rethink what they so sweepingly consider “aid” to sectarian institutions.
Wisconsin, school vouchers, and the perfidy of Tony Evers
Adam EmersonWisconsin's top educator has again used his position to imply that the Badger State is throwing more money at a voucher program he once called "morally wrong."
3 thoughts about the future of school integration
Michael J. PetrilliMike provides his take on how to approach the integration issue from a recent panel discussion co-hosted by the Century Foundation, Howard University, and the Fordham Institute
Georgia House passes measure to test the “134-year-old status quo”
Adam EmersonThe Georgia House this week took another step toward exiling last spring’s state Supreme Court decision prohibiting the state approval of charter schools to the history books, where it belongs.
It SHOULD be hard to pull the parent trigger
Adam EmersonThe recent failure to enact a parent trigger in a California community is an example of how the system should work.
Santorum lends extremes to a movement that should find a center
Adam EmersonThe spotlight shining on the GOP candidate's educational philosophy is both a blessing and a curse for home-schooling parents and their advocates.
A price tag on misbehavior? An embattled Chicago charter network isn’t alone
Adam EmersonA charter network's practice of charging fees for misbehavior has precedence in some Catholic school codes of conduct.
The State of State Science Standards 2012
American science performance is lagging as the economy becomes increasingly high tech, but our current science standards are doing little to solve the problem.
Can schools rekindle the American work ethic?
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Encouraging hard work in the nanny state.
Graduating to a new conversation of parental choice
Choice Words' new editor Adam Emerson outlines the need for a reinvented dialogue on school choice.