Displaying 1-19 of 19 results
Commentary
9.30.2020
Evidence-Based Learning, Curriculum & Instruction, Teachers & School Leaders

Elementary schools: To improve reading comprehension, teach more social studies

Amber M. Northern, Ph.D., Michael J. Petrilli

If America is serious about wanting kids to become better readers, our elementary schools need to spend more time teaching social studies rather than doubling-down on “reading comprehension.” This may seem counterintuitive, but it’s the key takeaway from our new study. It’s also especially important for girls and those from lower-income and/or non-English-speaking homes.

Commentary
9.30.2020
Evidence-Based Learning, Curriculum & Instruction, Teachers & School Leaders

Do America’s elementary school students need more social studies?

Dale Chu

A new study published last week by Fordham, Social Studies Instruction and Reading Comprehension: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, suggests that to become better readers, elementary students should spend more time on social studies.

Commentary
9.24.2020
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders

Outdoor learning can help students during Covid-19 and beyond

Alan Gottlieb

When students at Anser Charter School in Garden City, Idaho, begin returning to in-person classes September 28, everything about school will look different than six months ago.

Commentary
9.24.2020
Curriculum & Instruction, Teachers & School Leaders

NEW REPORT: Social Studies Instruction and Reading Comprehension: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study

The Education Gadfly

Even as phonics battles rage in the realm of primary reading and with two-thirds of American fourth and eighth graders failing to read proficiently, another tussle has been with us for ages regarding how best to develop the vital elements of reading ability that go beyond decoding skills and phonemic awareness.

Commentary
9.23.2020
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders

A commission on teaching American history might do some good

Michael J. Petrilli

American schoolchildren should not be taught to hate their country, or to view it as an “inherently racist” or “white supremacist” nation. But to move forward constructively on this point, instead of in a manner that further divides the country, it would be much better for a broad coalition of the center-right to the center-left to embrace a teaching of history that is clear-eyed, patriotic, and critical.

Commentary
9.23.2020
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders

Rocky road to better civics education

Chester E. Finn, Jr.

There’s much energy in the cosmos these days around civics education, history education, maybe even “patriotic” history and civics education.

Commentary
9.23.2020
Accountability & Testing, Curriculum & Instruction, Teachers & School Leaders

Reality check: Rating students’ math performance

Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.

There are two aspects of standardized testing to which opponents tend to object: The testing itself and how the results are used.

Commentary
9.16.2020
Charter Schools, Private School Choice

How states can meet the rising demand for school choice

Dale Chu

Six months into the pandemic, the nation’s forced experiment in remote learning has resumed. But our education system’s design is ill-suited to the unique quandaries posed by Covid-19. District officials continue to ask parents for grace and patience, and many have continued to oblige, but if current conditions persist into next year and beyond, demand for choice will almost certainly increase as a large number of parents keep their children at home.

Commentary
9.16.2020
Charter Schools, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders

“Evasive entrepreneurs” create new K–12 school options

Bruno V. Manno

Covid-19 is upending what parents think about America’s schools, motivating them to seek different ways to educate their children. It’s also inspiring enterprising individuals and imaginative policymakers to create new ways to support that parent demand for change.

Commentary
9.16.2020
Curriculum & Instruction, Teachers & School Leaders

Zoom like a champion

Robert Pondiscio

I’ve made no secret over the years of my admiration for the work of Doug Lemov. When I was a new and clueless fifth grade teacher in 2002, his essential book, Teach Like a Champion, was unfortunately still a few years away.

Commentary
9.9.2020
Charter Schools, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders

How the conventions showcased education and what it means for ed reform

Dale Chu

The first-ever virtual political conventions have come and gone, during which neither party offered a serious path forward on education reform. The Democrats belong to the self-interested teacher unions, and the GOP has become a single-issue party in pursuit of choice, leaving us with a lot of talk but little action.

Commentary
9.9.2020
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders

Months without play dates, hugs from grandma, and trips to the library

Victoria McDougald

Around six months ago, stay-at-home orders and school closures upended normal life for children of all ages across the United States. The loss of academic learning has been a huge concern, but we’re not talking enough about the implications of long-term “social distancing” for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.

Commentary
9.9.2020
Curriculum & Instruction

A virtual scramble: Google searches in the time of Covid-19

Amber M. Northern, Ph.D., Jeff Murray

Upon the pandemic-induced closure of schools across the country this past March, millions of students and parents were thrust into a brand-new world of remote learning. Where else would they turn for help but the internet?

Commentary
9.9.2020
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders

Rural districts’ Covid-19 response

Jessica Poiner

The National Center for Rural Education Research Networks (NCRERN) is a recently established organization out of Harvard that studies and supports a network of rural school districts in New York and Ohio.

Commentary
9.2.2020
Accountability & Testing, Curriculum & Instruction

Covid-19 clouds the future for collegians

Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.

In the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, a group of researchers at Arizona State University (ASU) surveyed students at that school to determine the impact of Covid-19 on their current and future plans—including their enrollment decisions, study habits, remote learning experiences, labor market participation, and more.

Commentary
9.2.2020
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance

Donald Trump, patriotic history, and the federal role

Chester E. Finn, Jr.

The Republican party has no 2020 platform. They refer people looking for one to the 2016 version. That goes for education along with everything else. The Trump-Pence campaign website doesn’t display policy positions, either, though there’s a section on “promises kept” that includes one skimpy page on education.