America's Best (and Worst) Cities for School Choice
More than twelve million American students exercise some form of school choice by going to a charter, magnet, or private school——instead of attending a traditional public school.
More than twelve million American students exercise some form of school choice by going to a charter, magnet, or private school——instead of attending a traditional public school.
The dominant narrative about the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is that it shifts authority over schools back to state governments. But this belies a key feature of the legislation.
Undoing damage inflicted by the blunt axe of test-driven accountability. Robert Pondiscio
Earlier this year, when it looked like ESEA finally had a chance of being reauthorized, I came up with a graphic for assessing the accountability provisions of the various proposals.
The ESEA reauthorization conferees delivered some good news for America’s high-achieving students last week.
The action is moving to the state level. It’s about time. Michael J. Petrilli
Editor's note: Politics K-12 reports that House and Senate negotiators have reached a preliminary compromise on reauthorization of No Child Left Behind.
Boehner is out! McCarthy is in! No, wait, McCarthy is out!
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the average American lived to be about 50 years old.
A new report can’t see the forest for the trees. Robert Pondiscio
If it becomes law, the federal government will have much less power than it does today. Michael J. Petrilli
The end is near. Hooray! Michael J. Petrilli
It’s finally here: Our best chance to update the Elementary and Secondary Education Act since its passage shortly after 9/11. A whole generation of students has come and gone, yet our nation’s key education law remains the same. There’s absolutely no good reason to delay reauthorization any longer. To the contrary; it’s sorely overdue.
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.
Promising early signs that the standards are working. Jane Song
What is the critical mass of opt-outs and to what might it lead?
Misunderstanding Common Core’s aspirational nature. Michael J. Petrilli
An open letter to the candidates. Tim Shanahan
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.
A sobering new report says our most educated generation still can’t compete. Robert Pondiscio
Gadfly editorial by Chester E. Finn, Jr. and Amber M. Northern
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.