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.
Everything you need to know about online tutoring
Ulrich BoserTutoring can be pricey. But it works. Here’s what you need to know.
Why reading growth flatlines, and what to do about it
Gene KernsDiscussions about the power of literacy are ceaseless.
How gerrymandering can hurt education
Trinady Maddock2020 brings the decennial national census, and with that comes a whole host of challenges and changes brought on by the redistricting that follows—or as it’s sometimes known in its more questionable forms, gerrymandering.
The growth and diversification of charter school facilities funding
Jeff MurrayOne of the starkest differences between charter and traditional district schools is in the area of facilities funding.
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.
With its next stimulus bill, Congress should return federal education aid to its roots
Michael J. PetrilliSenate Republicans released their relief bill this week, the HEALS act, which proposes to steer the bulk of education aid to schools that open for in-person instruction. This is triggering angry reactions from most of the education establishment. Here's a less controversial and more constructive suggestion: Return federal education policy to its roots and require schools to provide “targeted assistance” to their disadvantaged, low-achieving students.
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.
The “gifted gap” was already growing before the pandemic
Chris YalumaThe Covid-19 pandemic has further exposed the inequities that have long existed in K–12 education system.
How states have responded to school finance reforms
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.School funding mechanisms are the largest and perhaps most obvious levers for policymakers to pull when attempting to reform how education dollars are distributed. To wit, a new research report from a trio of scholars tells us that there were a whopping sixty-seven major school finance reforms (SFRs) across twenty-seven states between 1990 and 2014.
Federal relief funding should be used to help schools reopen
Aaron ChurchillWith Covid-19 cases on the rise and state budgets in crisis, federal lawmakers seem poised to pass another round of stimulus. It appears that K–12 education will receive a decent portion of the emergency aid, likely exceeding the $13.5 billion-plus provided to U.S.
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
Biden’s education plan should be more student-centric
Tressa PankovitsGiven its makeup, it’s no surprise that the task force report trots out the oft-refuted canard that charter schools “undermine” traditional schools. The National Education Association (NEA) used identical language in a 2017 policy statement pledging “forceful support” for limiting charter schools. “The growth of charters has undermined local public schools and communities, without producing any overall increase in student learning and growth,” the NEA claimed.
Schools should ignore Trump and DeVos and worry about winning parents’ trust instead
Michael J. PetrilliFiguring out how to safely reopen schools this fall was sure to be a hugely complicated logistical and academic challenge.
The upcoming experiment with class size reduction
Dale ChuWith all of the sniping back and forth about if or how schools will reopen this fall, the outlook for the coming school year is looking rather grim. Many school districts find themselves in a political pressure cooker, full of tensions about to bubble over as the resumption of school draws nearer. Educators remain caught in the tug of war between economists and epidemiologists.
Listening to our elders: The timeless wisdom of Thomas Sowell
Robert PondiscioThere is a reason we’re told to respect our elders. It’s bracing and edifying to listen to voices of wisdom and experience. Those whose time grows short are compelled to speak clearly and directly. Thomas Sowell is one such voice.
Faculty engagement leads to student engagement in higher education
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.There is a growing body of research that evaluates the effectiveness of supports for college students in helping the
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.
Response to “Let’s rebuild special education when schools reopen”
Alice Parker, Christopher T. CrossThe Fordham Institute recently published an article called “Let’s rebuild special education when schools reopen,” by Anne Delfosse and Miriam Kurtzig Freedman. Reading it prompted both of us to offer our own thoughts, drawn from experience.
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.
Is it finally, at long last, time for religious charter schools?
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Seventeen long years ago, I urged the creation of “religious charter schools,” either encouraging their start from scratch or—more realistically—allowing extant Catholic and other faith-based schools to convert to charter status
The past, present, and future of school accountability
Chad Aldeman, Alex Spurrier, Jennifer SchiessLast week, Bellwether Education Partners released three briefs examining the past, present, and future of modern school accountability systems.
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.
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.