Building education's watershed moment
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the average American lived to be about 50 years old.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the average American lived to be about 50 years old.
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.
Test refusals may force reformers to rethink their priorities. Robert Pondiscio
The era of judging New York City Schools on academics is over. Robert Pondiscio
The testing “opt-out” movement is testing education reform’s humility.
Promising early signs that the standards are working. Jane Song
Parents should use the threat of test refusal to demand a well-rounded education for their kids.
What is the critical mass of opt-outs and to what might it lead?
Arne Duncan was half right about those “white suburban moms.” Robert Pondiscio
Misunderstanding Common Core’s aspirational nature. Michael J. Petrilli
An open letter to the candidates. Tim Shanahan
It takes more than a "gut feeling" to know how a school is doing
A great resource fact-checks textbooks’ “Common Core-aligned” claims. Victoria Sears
A new video series shows what it looks like when your kid meets Common Core benchmarks. Robert Pondiscio
Just when you thought we’d run out of things to blame on the standards. Kathleen Porter-Magee
This post has been updated with the full text of "No time to lose on early reading"
I’d like to see Bobby Jindal use a teleprompter the next time he attacks Common Core. I’d like to be reassured he knows how to read.
When we talk about high standards, accountability, and school choice, one essential element is often overlooked: giving parents and education leaders information they can actually use. It’s one thing to produce data, but quite another to make it useful—easily understood, comparable, and actionable.
A few weeks ago, I used a graphic to show the four dimensions of federal accountability, each of which has a range of options. I then used this graphic to show the consensus for preserving NCLB testing.
A sobering new report says our most educated generation still can’t compete. Robert Pondiscio
Higher standards are no excuse to ditch gifted services. Chester E. Finn, Jr. and Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.
This post originally appeared in a slightly different form at Psychology Today.
The pros and cons of college courses in high school. Michael Brickman
We at Fordham are big fans of Jason Riley, a Wall Street Journal columnist who just joined the team at the Manhattan Institute.
A couple weeks ago, I created a graphic to help explain the contours of the debate about federal accountability in the ESEA reauthorization process.
Some progressive parents will never embrace Common Core. And that’s OK. Michael J. Petrilli
There’s no such thing as too much, too soon in reading. Robert Pondiscio
Revisiting the Common Core debate in Ohio