Gifted-student screenings often miss poor students who should qualify
Bich Thi Ngoc Tran, Jonathan Wai, Sarah McKenzieHigh-achieving students from low-income backgrounds are half as likely to be placed in a gifted program as their more affluent peers, according to our new study.
Can we revive standards-based reform?
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Few people have done more to boost academic standards in U.S. schools than Michael Cohen and Laura Slover, coauthors of a new paper offering a bright vision for revitalizing them. But there are reasons to doubt the feasibility of its proposals.
Relinquishment or instructional coherence: What’s the right goal for districts?
Dale ChuThe “tripod” of standards, testing, and accountability has taken a real beating in recent years, following decades in which it was accepted dogma within reform circles.
Stop neglecting gifted students’ social and emotional needs
Susan Miller, Tom CoyneBack in February, Bloomberg’s Adrian Wooldridge published a column claiming that “America is facing a great talent recession.” He noted that, “today, demand for top talent in the corporate world and elsewhere is exploding just at a time when the supply is t
The Education Gadfly Show #828: Arizona’s expanded ESA: The big enchilada of school choice
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Matt Beienburg, Director of Education Policy
Hope and progress for gifted education
Brandon L. WrightThis is the first edition of “Advance,” a new Fordham Institute newsletter that will monitor the progress of gifted education. Here, Wright recounts recent developments that reinforce two truths: Gifted education is a clear and substantial good, and it can be much better.
The Education Gadfly Show #827: The debate over “no zeroes” grading policies
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Daniel Buck, a teacher and a Fordham senior visiting fellow, joins Mike Petrilli to discuss “
The Education Gadfly Show #826: Research Deep Dive: What we know about gifted education
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, we present the sixth edition of our Research Deep Dive series.
Do gifted and talented programs contribute to racial imbalances in elementary school?
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.The clatter that rose in late 2021 over New York City’s plan to phase out its gifted and talented (G/T) programs had much to do with the presumed negative effects of such programs on racial sorting.
How to narrow the excellence gap in early elementary school
Michael J. PetrilliIn recent weeks, I’ve dug into the “excellence gap“—the sharp divides along lines of race
The excellence gap opens early
Michael J. PetrilliLast week, I provided sobering evidence of the “excellence gap” among twelfth grade students—the sharp divides along lines of race and class in achievement at the highest levels.
Getting to work: The effect of school-year employment on student outcomes
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Calls are rising for America’s aging high-school model to modernize, in part by accommodating work experience through hands-on internships or actual employment for students.
Evidence, struggling math students, and California’s 2022 math framework
Tom LovelessThe proposed California Mathematics Framework generated a storm of controversy when the first draft was released in early 2021. Critics objected to the document’s condemnation of tracking and negative portrayal of acceleration for high-achieving students.
Stop mandating financial literacy courses for high school students
Daniel BuckGeorgia is the latest on a growing list of states that make financial literacy courses a requirement for high school graduation.
Education Gadfly Show #819: The pod on (pandemic) pods
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Ashley Jochim, a principal at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, joins Mike
National Working Group on Advanced Education: Inaugural meeting summary of discussion
The Education GadflyNOTE: On March 7, 2022, seventeen members of the National Working Group on Advanced Education met in Washington, D.C., to get acquainted and to start identifying evidence-based practices to support the success of high-achieving students.
Announcing the National Working Group on Advanced Education
The Education GadflyThe Thomas B. Fordham Institute is pleased to announce the launch of the National Working Group on Advanced Education. The Working Group’s mission is to promote research, policies, and practices that will develop the full capacities of students with high academic potential, especially Black and Hispanic students and those coming from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
How a summer job may help improve school outcomes
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.The influence of out-of-school activities such as sports and clubs on school outcomes has been an enduring
The college readiness battle is won or lost in elementary school
Michael J. PetrilliEarlier this year, I took to the pages of Education Next to make the case for NAEP to test starting in kindergarten, stating that, “The rationale for testing academic skills in the early elementary grades is powerful.” Therefore, “Starting NAEP in 4th grade is much too late.” I was wrong, and I’m sorry. Kindergarten is much too late. We must begin a program of NAEP testing for newborns.
What hiring ads indicate about the skills that employers want in a college major
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Not all college majors are created alike, but it turns out that employers want their new hires to exhibit many of same skills regardless of what they major in. A recent study examines online job ads as a proxy for what employers view as the skills inherent in various college majors.
Work instead of school: A better approach for our lowest-performing students?
Michael J. PetrilliHigh school-age Americans struggling mightily with academics aren’t well served by our current approach to secondary education. But there may be a better model that would give them a more worthwhile experience and lead to better long-term outcomes: Let them take jobs while still in high school—during the school day, during both their junior and senior years, full pay included, no strings attached.
San Francisco’s detracking experiment
Tom LovelessEditor's note: This post was originally published on tomloveless.com.
Education Gadfly Show #811: How one district scouts for talent for its gifted programs
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, April Wells, Gifted Coordinator in Illinois School District U-46 and
Keep fighting for selective high schools
Brandon L. WrightIn cities across the country, selective high schools are facing increasing pressure to change their admissions policies to make their incoming student populations more socioeconomically and racially diverse. Closing these gaps is a laudable and important goal. But the most common strategies for accomplishing it are racially discriminatory, misguided, and ineffective.
The casualties of “college for all”
Arthur SamuelsA couple of weeks ago, I shared some ideas about how schools and districts can move away from the well-intentioned but deeply flawed “college for all” mindset that has permeated the education reform world and has, in turn, harmed many of the disadvantaged students whom the approach is m
Education Gadfly Show #810: College for all or college for some?
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast (listen on
The upside of the downward trend in college enrollment
Michael J. PetrilliThe media have been full of
Education Gadfly Show #809: Diversity, the law, and the future of selective-admission schools
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Fordham’s editorial director, Brandon Wright, joins Mike Petrilli
A principal explains how to repair the harm of “college for all”
Arthur SamuelsAs Michael Petrilli wrote in these pages a few weeks ago, the education reform movement has come to the realization that its belief in “college for all,” while well-intended, was misguided.