Preparing students of all races to achieve greatness
Ian RoweWhen looking for models of ambitious inspiration, Americans often hearken back to President John F. Kennedy’s “moonshot” address at Rice University on September 12, 1962:
An improved forecast for the NAEP reading assessment
Chester E. Finn, Jr.The prolonged fracas within and far beyond the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) concerning a new “framework” for NAEP’s future assessment of reading has been ominous on several fronts—as I haven’t hesi
Are Virginia’s elementary schools worsening achievement gaps?
William RostA new working paper from researchers out of the University of Virginia uses data from the state’s kindergarten literacy assessment, the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS), to examine how the subsequent achievement trajectories of kindergarteners who enter school with similar literacy levels differ by race and/or SES. The findings are worrying.
The Education Gadfly Show #777: O-H-I-O: School reform victories in the Buckeye State
Evaluating state intervention in low-performing districts 2011–2016
Jeff MurrayAcross America, states are constitutionally responsible for providing K–12 education, but in practice school districts are the primary structure by which education is delivered. The vast majority of such districts are run by locally elected school boards.
Zombie ideas in education
Bryan GoodwinEditor’s note: This was first published in Educational Leadership.
The Education Gadfly Show #772: What’s going to happen to the NAEP reading test?
A new look at the question of the effectiveness of school turnarounds
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Turnaround efforts for low performing schools have been the subject of research interest since their advent in the No Child Left Behind era.
The Education Gadfly Show #771: Same old, same old: How districts are spending federal relief dollars (so far)
We need to admit that school is alienating
Jeff McGuireEditor’s note: This was the second-place submission, out of twenty-five, in Fordham’s 2021 Wonkathon, in which we asked participants to answer the question, “How can schools best address students’ mental-health needs coming out of the
The effects of immigrant students on the educational performance of their U.S.-born peers
Jeff MurrayAccording to U.S. Census data, 23 percent of students in America’s K–12 schools were either first- or second-generation immigrant children in 2015. That was up from 11 percent in 1990 and 7 percent in 1980.
Six ways schools can serve gifted students after the pandemic
CAO CentralNow more than ever, high-ability students from low-income families will need specialized attention and guidance from their parents and teachers. Many less-resourced families have experienced illness or personal and financial instability, and low-income students’ schooling may have experienced long interruptions due to a lack of resources at home.
Improving assessments and accountability in the post-Covid era
Chester E. Finn, Jr.As U.S. schools reopen in the fall, a year and a half after nearly all of them closed due to the pandemic panic, what should be different? What needs to change if kids are actually to catch up? What’s important to retrieve from pre-Covid days? And what other changes, changes that should have been made pre-Covid, is there now a rare opportunity to initiate?
The culture wars come for the Nation’s Report Card
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Trouble continues at the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), the policy body for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
Evidence-based ways to assess student progress
CAO CentralEditor’s note: The Thomas B. Fordham Institute recently launched “The Acceleration Imperative,” a crowd-sourced, 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.
Inaugural PISA data on students’ growth mindset and teaching practices
Jeff MurraySince 1997, the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) has tested students around the globe every three years to determine the educational status of fifteen-year-old students in dozens of countries and economic regions that are part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Long-term trends in American students’ achievement, as measured by four major assessments
David GriffithA recent study uses data from math and reading tests conducted between 1954 and 2007 to explore long-term trends in American students’ achievement.
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).
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.
The Education Gadfly Show #766: The U.S. Department of Education’s puzzling take on testing in 2021
Uncle Sam goes soft on state tests
Dale ChuThings are getting messy in the world of assessment.
The unanticipated benefit of the “Colorado Compromise”: Time to address learning loss
Joel RoseThe Biden administration recently approved Colorado’s request to ease the burden of administering state assessments because of the pandemic.
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.
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.