Don’t let them make you do it, Haley!
Chester E. Finn, Jr.You wouldn’t expect a conservative Republican like former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour to turn into a facsimile of Chairman Xi as muzzler of dissent and monitor of communications, but something of the sort has reared its head at the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), which Barbour chairs. (He’s a DeVos appointee, and last I looked, those terms run a year at a time.
Don’t believe the haters. The federal Charter Schools Program deserves full funding.
Libby SobicIn the coming weeks, the House Appropriations subcommittee that decides on education spending will consider how much money to allocate to the federal Charter School Program (CSP).
Three things to watch for in schools’ post-Covid recovery
Dale ChuDespite the progress schools and districts have made on returning fully to in-person instruction, some of the habits and apprehensions they’ve developed over the last thirteen months could impede their upcoming education recovery efforts.
How to pump the Acceleration Imperative up to full speed
Kalman R. HettlemanThink of Michael Petrilli’s bold ideas and the Acceleration Imperative as newly designed Ford(ham) vehicles for K–12 recovery from the pandemic. Happily, there is much to admire in the showroom.
How parents determine childcare quality
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Numerous studies have found that the quality of child care is too low and that we need to do more to
The bias toward complexity when humans attempt to solve problems
Jeff MurrayProblem solving involves a complex set of mental steps, even when it happens quickly. A group of researchers from the University of Virginia sought to test one specific aspect of the process—the types of solutions people consider—and uncovered what could be an important human attribute, with significant implications for public policy.
The Education Gadfly Show #767: The fight to get kids back in class five days a week
Testing, SpaceX, and the quest for consensus
Chester E. Finn, Jr.A suite of technologies that are already widely used in some private-sector testing can and should be embraced by state and national assessments, as well as the private tests that aren’t yet making maximum use of them. Read more.
How does money matter for schools?
Adam Tyner, Ph.D.The “Does money matter?” debate has been getting boring. The idea that increasing school spending wouldn’t make the schools work at least a little better probably never made much sense to begin with.
Not all non-traditional schooling is created equal
Julie FitzWhen we imagine the typical school, at least one from the pre-pandemic era, generally the first thing that comes to mind is a teacher instructing a classroom full of students.
Public schools must act before it’s too late to promote equitable vaccinations and address hesitancy
Eric TuckerWe’re more than a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, and finally, thanks to the power of science, vaccines are now widely available. But to reach herd immunity—which scientists say requires having 70–85 percent of the population vaccinated—we need to recalibrate our country’s vaccination strategy.
Three important considerations for selecting and implementing an elementary ELA curriculum
CAO CentralEditor’s note: The Thomas B. Fordham Institute recently launched “The Acceleration Imperative,” an open-source, evidence-based resource designed to aid instructional leaders’ efforts to address the enormous challenges faced by their students, families, teachers, and staff over the past year.
High-quality, knowledge-rich curriculum is essential
CAO CentralEditor’s note: The Thomas B. Fordham Institute recently launched “The Acceleration Imperative,” an open-source, evidence-based resource designed to aid instructional leaders’ efforts to address the enormous challenges faced by their students, families, teachers, and staff over the past year.
Can teaching be improved by law?
Robert PondiscioIf there’s one lesson education policymakers might have learned in the last twenty-five years, it’s that it’s not hard to make schools and districts do something, but it’s extremely hard to make them do it well.
Uncle Sam goes soft on state tests
Dale ChuThings are getting messy in the world of assessment.
Mentors’ effect on middle school attendance
Melissa GutweinMore than a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, lost instructional time is top of mind for anyone connected to education.
The high cost and low performance of online charter schools in California
Julie FitzFull-time virtual charter schools received a great deal of attention as schools scrambled to transition classes online back in the Spring of 2020, and have experienced booming enrollments over the past year.
A different K–12 world: Teens and parents on Covid-19 shock and schools
Bruno V. MannoIn the song “Ballad of a Thin Man,” Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan penned an iconic refrain that asks: “But something is happening/And ya’ don’t know what it is/Do you, Mister Jones?” That refrain seems an apt way to describe what K–12 education stakeholders are sensing as they reel in response to Covid-19 shock.
How schools can return from the pandemic with strong mental health supports in place
Sarah BroomeThis fall, most students will be returning to full-time, in-person instruction after one of the most disrupted years of their lives. All students will be coming back with varying degrees of adverse experiences. Some may have lost loved ones, had a parent lose their job, seen a parent go through illness, or even been sick themselves.
Reduce class sizes, lengthen the school year, provide tutoring—or let principals decide?
Marguerite Roza, Chad AldemanDistrict leaders may be celebrating the $122 billion in stimulus relief Congress approved for K–12 schools last month.
Children learn best when they feel safe and valued
CAO CentralEditor’s note: The Thomas B. Fordham Institute recently launched “The Acceleration Imperative,” an open-source, evidence-based resource designed to aid instructional leaders’ efforts to address the enormous challenges faced by their students, families, teachers, and staff over the past year.
Proceed with caution: School reopening and Covid case rate data
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.School reopenings in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic are an ongoing, imperfect work in progress, and the science that school leaders and parents are being encouraged to follow is evolving.
A long overdue look at interdistrict open enrollment in Texas
Jeff MurrayInterdistrict open enrollment (OE) is something of an enigma in Texas. It’s up to districts whether to open their borders or to keep them closed to non-resident students.
Lessons from Race to the Top
Emily FreitagI have been thinking a lot about the early years of Race to the Top recently. I moved to Nashville in 2011 to work at the Tennessee Department of Education. Tennessee had won one of the first two Race to the Top grants with bipartisan legislation and an ambitious plan, and the state had $500 million to invest in innovative support to advance student learning.
Drawing a line in the sand on state testing
Dale ChuThe Biden team has issued its first responses to state requests to waive federal testing requirements because of the pandemic. Dale Chu reads the tea leaves, and concludes that the new Administration is trying to eat its cake and have it too.
Best- and worst-case scenarios for how school stimulus dollars will be spent
Chad AldemanIn the last year, Congress has now invested nearly $200 billion to support K–12 education. It’s an unprecedented federal infusion of money, but will it lead to an unprecedented recovery effort? It’s worth taking a moment to pause and consider the range of possibilities. Best case
Our full rebuttal to a flawed critique of “Robbers or Victims? Charter Schools and District Finances”
Earlier this month on her “Answer Sheet” blog in the Washington Post, Valerie Strauss ran a lengthy rebuttal written by Carol Burris about a study that we recently published. Robbers or Victims?
How districts and charter networks can best address unfinished learning
Michael J. PetrilliFordham’s new resource, “The Acceleration Imperative,” aims to give the nation’s chief academic officers a head start on planning for America’s educational recovery, with a focus on high-poverty elementary schools. It’s intentionally a work in progress, and already the product of thoughtful advice from more than three dozen experts. The intention is for it to continue evolving and improving with readers’ help, via a “crowdsourced” initiative on a new wiki site.