Education reform: Not complicated, but seriously difficult
Given the highly favorable reviews and rave blurbs from such diverse figures as former New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, one might expect
What to do about Richie Rich
Michael J. PetrilliDear Deborah, Over the course of our dialogue, we've written a lot about children living in poverty and about inequality. But you've been practically daring me to engage on the question of the other end of the spectrum: the children of the rich. OK, fine, I see that resistance is futile! In your most recent post, for instance, you argued,
Common Core: Institution, implementation, and assessment
Aaron ChurchillThe latest installment in our "From the Frontlines" blog series, looking at Common Core implementation in Ohio charter schools.
Netflix Academy: The 10 best streaming videos on insects
Michael J. PetrilliNote: This post is part of our series, "Netflix Academy: The best educational videos available for streaming." Be sure to check out our previous Netflix Academy posts on dinosaurs; the
National Reporting Project on the Common Core
Victoria McDougaldDrawing on classroom visits, teacher training observations, and interviews with multiple education stakeholders, this special reporting project by the Hechinger Report and the Education Writers Association succeeds in bringing lofty notions of Common Core implementation down to an easily consumable level.
Resistance isn’t futile
The Education GadflyThe results of New York’s hard-fought, revamped, and supposedly tougher teacher-evaluation system are in: 91.5 percent of teachers were rated either highly effective or effective, 4.4 percent were rated “developing,” and just 1 percent were rated “ineffective.” This appears to be a
America and its high-potential kids
Throughout much of 2013, a colleague and I worked on a project related to America’s highest-potential boys and girls, students colloquially known as “gifted.” Though I learned a great deal, it was mostly a discouraging enterprise.
Common Core in the schools: A first look at reading assignments
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Kathleen Porter-MageeFor almost a year now, many states have been engulfed in a raucous debate about the Common Core State Standards.
Common Core in the Schools: A First Look at Reading Assignments
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Common Core in the Schools: A First Look at Reading Assignments
Tim Shanahan, Ann DuffettIn Common Core in the Schools: A First Look at Reading Assignments, researchers analyze what texts English teachers assign their students and the instructional techniques they used in the classroom.
What Obamacare, ‘supplemental services,’ and teacher evaluations have in common
Michael J. PetrilliAs a born optimist, I don’t generally enjoy being “against” reforms. This sometimes makes playing the role of gadfly challenging. If only I had the curmudgeonly qualities of Checker Finn, my mentor and boss, it would be so much easier. (Even Rick Hess, for all of his straight talk and fun-loving, bare-kneed exploits, is much more the natural cynic.)
Hold me accountable on SIG
Throughout his tenure as Secretary, Arne Duncan has often told audiences, “
Netflix Academy: The 10 best movie adaptations of classic children’s books available for streaming
Michael J. PetrilliNote: This post is part of our series, "Netflix Academy: The best educational videos available for streaming." Be sure to check out our previous Netflix Academy posts on
Ohio's ever-evolving value-added accountability system
Aaron ChurchillHolding schools accountable for student growth in a rigorous manner that doesn’t systemically favor one school over another is a vital policy objective.
Rain of Errors
Michael J. PetrilliClaim: Rolling back education reform will improve outcomes for students, especially poor students. Reality: There is no evidence for this claim.
Getting implementation right
For some time now, I’ve been impressed by Tennessee’s Common Core implementation efforts.
Education, Education, Education: Reforming England’s Schools
Melissa ReynoldsAcross the pond, education wonks plug away at solving problems and enacting reforms that will sound both familiar and not to our U.S. readers.
Shaking things up in the best of ways
The Education GadflyThe introduction of the Common Core standards is shaking up the $7 billion textbook industry, according to this great piece by Sarah Garland.
Moody’s shortchanges investors
Adam EmersonWe know this much: Moody’s investment analysts don’t care much for parental choice, but they care a lot about the credit-worthiness of school districts.
Changing the conversation: The promise of the Common Core reading standards
Kathleen Porter-MageeThe following post was adapted from a talk delivered by Kathleen Porter-Magee at the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.Thank you, Dr. Reyes and also, thanks to Reverend Rodriguez for the invitation to speak. I’m honored to be with you here today.
The impact of IMPACT
In recent months, so many reformers have come down with a case of the shakes, fretting about everything under the sun.
It’s a bad idea to use a lottery system for varsity football…and for varsity courses
Michelle LernerLottery systems are too common in education. And while it’s the fairest way to allocate a limited number of seats at, say, an oversubscribed, high-performing charter school, it’s not the way forward when it comes to Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Unfortunately, that’s the direction some California school districts may be heading.
The licensure trap
Michael BrickmanOver at Education Week’s Bridging Differences blog, our own Mike Petrilli and educator Deborah Meier have been engaged in a spirited back and forth about the role that poverty plays in education.
The especially deserving poor
Michael J. PetrilliDear Deborah, A healthy debate we've started indeed! I'm not sure we've bridged many differences, though; maybe we should change the blog's name to Bigging Differences.
Rethinking high school
Chester E. Finn, Jr.As waves of reforms and would-be reforms have washed over American public education these past three decades, high schools have mostly stayed dry. Although test scores have risen slightly in the early grades, especially in math, National Assessment results for twelfth-graders have been flat or down a bit. SAT scores are also flat, and ACT averages much the same.
The conversation
Mitchell B. PearlsteinOver the past several weeks, Fordham’s Mike Petrilli has been debating Deborah Meier on her Bridging Differences blog about the relationship between poverty and education. One topic that’s come up is the impact of family breakdown.
Showtime's over, the hard work continues
Aaron Churchill , Jeff MurrayLast Wednesday, the House Education Committee heard sponsor testimony on House Bill 237, legislation that would repeal the Common Core State Standards in Ohio. For those unaware, the Common Core is a set of academic standards that the State Board of Education voluntarily adopted for English and math in June 2010.
Netflix Academy: The best streaming videos on Christopher Columbus and the Age of Discovery
Michael J. PetrilliNote: This post is part of our series, "Netflix Academy: The best educational videos available for streaming." Be sure to check out our previous Netflix Academy posts on