Boosting the Quality and Efficiency of Special Education
Nathan LevensonThis groundbreaking study uses the largest database of information on special education spending and staffing ever assembled to uncover significant variance in how districts staff for special education. The report concludes that if the high-spending districts studied reduce their staffing in this area to the national median the public could save $10 billion and offers clear recommendations for improving special-education quality and efficiency.
Raising the floor, but neglecting the ceiling
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Jessica HockettGifted education, selective public schools, and the troubles of one of America's best high schools
Exam Schools: Inside America's Most Selective Public High Schools
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Jessica HockettWhat is the best education for exceptionally able and high-achieving youngsters? There are no easy answers but, as Chester Finn and Jessica Hockett show, for more than 100,000 students each year, the solution is to enroll in an academically selective public high school. Exam Schools is the first-ever close-up look at this small, sometimes controversial, yet crucial segment of American public education.
How Americans Would Slim Down Public Education
Steve Farkas, Ann DuffettEducation budgets are tight and state and district leaders must make tough decisions about where to save. But is the public willing to accept cuts? If so, where? According to the results of this new survey, many Americans are open—selectively open—to dramatic changes in how school districts do business.
The case for public-school choice in the suburbs
Michael J. Petrilli“Customization” isn’t just for urban hipsters
Can schools spur social mobility?
Michael J. PetrilliHere’s hoping Charles Murray is wrong
Should CMOs really be in the business of ed reform?
The premise that charter management organizations can—or should—be effective advocacy vehicles rests on assumptions of questionable validity.
Disruptive innovation and independent public schools
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Education’s mini mills
Commentary & Feedback on Draft I of the Next Generation Science Standards
Paul Gross, Lawrence S. Lerner, John Lynch, Martha Schwartz, Richard Schwartz, W. Stephen WilsonIn May, Achieve unveiled and solicited comments on the first draft of the Next Generation Science Standards, the product of months of work by a team of writers from twenty-six states. This document provides commentary, feedback, and constructive advice that Fordham hopes the NGSS authors will consider as they revise the standards before the release of a second draft later this year.
“Voucherizing Title I” is worth a shot
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Why not try strapping Title I dollars to the backs of needy kids and letting them take it to the schools of their choice?
Your guide to the Romney education plan
Tyson EberhardtMike analyzes Governor Romney's education proposal on WSJ.com.
Putting a Price Tag on the Common Core: How Much Will Smart Implementation Cost?
Patrick J. Murphy, Elliot RegensteinThe Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English language arts and mathematics represent a sea change in standards-based reform and their implementation is the movement’s next—and greatest—challenge. Yet, while most states have now set forth implementation plans, these tomes seldom address the crucial matter of cost. This report estimates the implementation cost for each of the forty-five states (and the District of Columbia) that have adopted the Common Core State Standards and shows that costs naturally depend on how states approach implementation.
Tax-credit scholarships need a critical, not hostile, eye
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Program design matters
Fordham volunteers to pilot vetting process in Cleveland
The Education GadflyTerry Ryan's writes today that Fordham would be willing to lead the way in going through a vetting process led by the Transformation Alliance in Cleveland.
Education Reform for the Digital Era
Bryan C. Hassel, Emily Ayscue Hassel, Tamara Butler Battaglino, Matt Haldeman, Paul T. Hill, John E. ChubbCan we be smarter about taking high-quality online and blended schools to scale—and to educational success? Yes, says this volume, as it addresses such thorny policy issues as quality control, staffing, funding, and governance for the digital sector. Read on to learn more.
Review of Draft Texas Mathematics Standards 2012
W. Stephen WilsonIn April 2012, Texas adopted new math standards. Fordham reviewed the draft standards and found them to be a modest improvement. But not by much, and they remain inferior to the Common Core math standards. Download the review to learn more.
The voucher animus
Chester E. Finn, Jr.8 reasons private school choice still struggles
How School Districts Can Stretch the School Dollar
Michael J. PetrilliThe "new normal" of tougher budget times is here to stay for American K-12 education. So how can local officials cope? This policy brief, by Mike Petrilli, provides a useful tool for navigating the financial challenges of the current school-funding climate, complete with clear dos and don'ts for anyone involved in or concerned with local education budgets.
Next stop for Louisiana: Accountability, done right
Adam EmersonLouisiana became the latest state to embrace the introduction of school vouchers, but the legislative moxie it showed should stimulate a new conversation about private school choice and accountability.
Defining Strong State Accountability Systems: How Can Better Standards Gain Greater Traction?
Eileen Reed, Janie Scull, Gerilyn Slicker, Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Rigorous standards and aligned assessments are vital tools for boosting education outcomes but they have little traction without strong accountability systems that attach consequences to performance. This pilot study lays out the essential features of such accountability systems, intended to add oomph to new common standards and aligned assessments.
10 years after Zelman, challenges still loom for voucher advocates
Adam EmersonThe U.S. Supreme Court's decision a decade ago didn't end the fight over private school choice, even though it should have caused states to rethink what they so sweepingly consider “aid” to sectarian institutions.
Wisconsin, school vouchers, and the perfidy of Tony Evers
Adam EmersonWisconsin's top educator has again used his position to imply that the Badger State is throwing more money at a voucher program he once called "morally wrong."
Teacher Compensation Based on Effectiveness: The Harrison (CO) School District's Pay-for-Performance Plan
This report, authored by Superintendent Mike Miles, takes a detailed look at the Harrison (CO) School District 2's Pay-for-Performance Plan. The Harrison Plan confronted the dual challenges of defining an effective teacher and identifying all the things that demonstrate her effectiveness. This how-to guide is meant to serve as a tool and model for Ohio’s school districts.
3 thoughts about the future of school integration
Michael J. PetrilliMike provides his take on how to approach the integration issue from a recent panel discussion co-hosted by the Century Foundation, Howard University, and the Fordham Institute
Georgia House passes measure to test the “134-year-old status quo”
Adam EmersonThe Georgia House this week took another step toward exiling last spring’s state Supreme Court decision prohibiting the state approval of charter schools to the history books, where it belongs.
It SHOULD be hard to pull the parent trigger
Adam EmersonThe recent failure to enact a parent trigger in a California community is an example of how the system should work.
Santorum lends extremes to a movement that should find a center
Adam EmersonThe spotlight shining on the GOP candidate's educational philosophy is both a blessing and a curse for home-schooling parents and their advocates.
A price tag on misbehavior? An embattled Chicago charter network isn’t alone
Adam EmersonA charter network's practice of charging fees for misbehavior has precedence in some Catholic school codes of conduct.
Overcoming the Governance Challenge in K-12 Online Learning
John E. ChubbIn this paper, John Chubb examines how local school district control retards the widespread use of instructional technologies. He argues that the surest way to break down the system’s inherent resistance to technology is to shift control from the local district—and thus the school board—and put it in the hands of states. Download the paper to read the ten steps Chubb argues will get us to this brave new governance system.