Many students with the potential to excel in STEM fields struggle in school
Joni Lakin, Jonathan WaiStudents who have the kinds of talent scientists and engineers need to solve problems by visualizing how objects could be rotated, combined or changed in three dimensions often struggle at school.
Why reading growth flatlines, and what to do about it
Gene KernsDiscussions about the power of literacy are ceaseless.
The cancellers come for charter schools
Robert PondiscioAlmost exactly twenty years ago, in August 2000, CBS News’s 60 Minutes aired a segment about a pair of charter schools—one in the South Bronx; another in Houston, Texas—founded by a duo of twenty-something White male teachers. To see it now is to catch a time capsule glimpse of a more earnest and hopeful time.
School districts could try harder to reopen
Dale ChuAs coronavirus cases continue to rise, Colorado’s two largest school districts, Denver and Jeffco, recently announced their intention to start the school year remotely.
WEBINAR—Leading in Uncertain Times: How School Leaders are Meeting Students’ Academic and Social Needs
When schools resume instruction this fall, most students will have been absent from the classroom (and without direct access to teachers, peers, and other school-based supports) for upwards of six months. In addition to addressing significant learning loss, school leaders will need to carefully consider how to address student
No easy choices except to be kind (and butt out!)
Erika SanziIf we are to survive the stress and uncertainty of this year’s school reopenings, we are going to have to learn how to lead from a place of grace and empathy. None of this is easy. There are not any good, let alone perfect, options. The conditions on the ground are changing daily, and the personal circumstances of each family—whether teacher or student—are different.
Tutoring as an effective strategy in our troubled times
Robert Slavin, David SteinerAs state and district leaders face the challenges posed by Covid-19, safely reopening schools within the current budgets is first, second, and third on their priority list.
Will NAEP wreck its reading assessment?
Chester E. Finn, Jr.The National Assessment Governing Board is in the middle of an enormous effort to revamp its framework for assessing reading, a central element of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Frameworks set forth what is to be assessed and how that’s to be done. Changing them is harder than moving a cemetery, requiring years of lead time, costing much money, and entailing endless palaver among people with divergent views of the subject. Unfortunately, in the proposed set of revisions, the bad outweighs the good by a considerable margin
The Education Gadfly Show: NAEP’s flawed reading revamp
On this week’s podcast, Checker Finn and David Griffith discuss the flawed effort to revamp NAEP’s reading framework.
Teacher and principals’ views from the Covid battle zone
Jeff MurrayThe coronavirus pandemic has upended many facets of K–12 education but not the regular surveys of public school teachers and principals conducted several times annually for the RAND Corporation’s American Educator Panels.
Dueling Florida standards reviews
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Last month, Fordham released a detailed review of Florida’s latest K–12 academic standards for English language arts (ELA) and mathematics.
Pity the history teachers
Michael J. PetrilliAs the start of the school year rushes toward us, teachers across America are girding themselves for their new role as “essential workers” during a persistent pandemic. But one group of teachers has it particularly rough: U.S. history instructors, who must also perform their duties during a full-scale culture war over how to tell the American story, especially on the central issue of race. As tempting as it may be, they shouldn’t sidestep controversies or smooth the edges with bland, antiseptic readings. This would lead only to bored, disengaged students, and contribute to our woeful knowledge of our nation’s history.
Schools’ role in detecting child maltreatment
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Early reporting of suspected maltreatment is one key to mitigating the damage that abuse can inflict on a child. Yet with millions of school age children having their classroom time shortchanged due to the coronavirus, a primary source of detection for maltreatment has been cut off—teachers.
The Education Gadfly Show: Why fall testing could do more harm than good
On this week’s podcast, Mora Segal, CEO of Achievement Network, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the organization’s lat
What are we going to do about school?
Jonathan V. LastEditor’s note: This post was first sent as an email in The Bulwark’s newsletter “The Triad: Three things to read, from JVL.” 1. School?
Why grades matter
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Pass-fail ratings in schools are widespread this pandemic-stricken spring. But when “passing” denotes anything that’s not “failing,” what signifies excellence? What distinguishes a first-rate research paper or book review or math proof from one that’s barely serviceable? Where’s the recognition for a student whose class participation is well-prepared, attentive, thoughtful and articulate versus the pupil who yawns, smirks, whispers, peeks at his phone and responds to direct questions with surly, one-word answers? Grades surround us and we depend on them in one realm of our lives after another.
Why Secretary DeVos should reject Michigan’s testing waiver request
Dale ChuToday, Michigan became the first state to formally seek federal permission to suspend standardized testing in 2021 because of learning disruptions caused by the coronavirus.
A snapshot of substitute teaching in the U.S.
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Illness. Family emergencies. In-service training requirements. On average, classroom teachers in the U.S.
Anti-bullying laws work for female students
Tran LeIn the past twenty years, every state and the District of Columbia has passed state-level anti-bullying laws (ABLs), requiring school districts to develop policies that define bullying, encourage students to report victimization, and punish offenders.
The Education Gadfly Show: How assessment data can drive instruction this fall
On this week’s podcast, Mike Petrilli, Tran Le, Amber Northern, and David Griffith discuss Fordham’s new