How schools can solve Robert Putnam's poverty paradox
Poor kids need social capital; schools can help to provide it. Michael J. Petrilli
Poor kids need social capital; schools can help to provide it. Michael J. Petrilli
AEI just released a very good, short report on charter authorizing, “The Paperwork Pileup: Measuring the Burden of Charter School Applications.”
How to identify and promote good CTE programs. Michelle Lerner
We’ve learned a lot since 2001. Andy Smarick
A new AEI report raises the right questions—and promulgates some of the wrong answers. Kathryn Mullen Upton
Since we at Fordham began reviewing state academic standards in 1997, we have understood—and made clear—that standards alone are insufficient to drive improvements in student achievement.
The need for standards-aligned curricula is the most cited Common Core challenge for states, districts, and schools. Yet five years into that implementation, teachers still report scrambling to find high-quality instructional materials. Despite publishers’ claims, there is a dearth of programs that are truly aligned to the demands of the Common Core for content and rigor.
Last week, Fordham hosted Robert Putnam for a discussion of his new book Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis, which argues that a growing opportunity gap is leaving many American children behind.
Leaders of high-performing schools address charter law reform efforts
For Nashville charters, funding disparities endanger progress. Kevin Mahnken
When bad schools close, families usually get something better.That’s what the Thomas B. Fordham Institute asserts in its April 2015 study School Closures and Student Achievement, using new research conducted in both traditional and charter public schools located in Ohio’s large urban school districts.
Editor's note: On May 6, Fordham contributor Andy Smarick delivered testimony before an Ohio education subcommittee on Senate Bill 148, a critical piece of legislation that would help clean up
Rewarding parents who make informed decisions. Matthew Levey
Like pretty much everyone who is passionate about closing the achievement gap, I’m interested in Success Academies.
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has consistently believed that all schools should be held accountable for the performance of their students and that any school that isn’t perfor
A decade ago, I became fixated on what I saw as the biggest problem in K–12 education—that we continued to assign low-income inner-city kids to persistently failing schools.
Where are quality school seats most needed?
New report findings challenge popular myth that closing schools hurts students academically
Charter law reform efforts get attention at all levels, but it's worth remembering that great charter schools can change lives
Promising early signs that the standards are working. Jane Song
What is the critical mass of opt-outs and to what might it lead?
Special Edition looking at coverage of Ohio Senate's charter reform bill
An internecine argument exposes a fault line in charter school rhetoric. Robert Pondiscio
Hint: Think Mad Men. Jeff Murray
My U.S.
The impulse to protect kids from bad choices serves no one well. Matthew Levey