Catching up from the break
Andy Smarick's pick of education news from over the Thanksgiving holiday
Andy Smarick's pick of education news from over the Thanksgiving holiday
Congratulations to Checker, who received the 2012 National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) President’s award for outstanding contributions to the field of gifted education
Expanding exam schools would be an extremely wise national investment—a way to provide a world-class public education to high-performing students
Keeping mixed schools mixed
Investigation of whether or not demographic changes in communities are leading to demographic changes in their schools
Going after governance
Mike Petrilli's highly-anticipated book, the Diverse Schools Dilemma, drops today
A review of education-related responses to Tuesday's election
The results are in and our non-partisan candidate, Ed Reform, had a mixed performance. Here's a look at how the seven key races and referenda turned out
Seven education races and referenda to watch tonight
This timely study represents the most comprehensive analysis of American teacher unions’ strength ever conducted, ranking all fifty states and the District of Columbia according to the power and influence of their state-level unions.
What the Common Core may mean for accountability
Keeping ethics and results aligned
Let there be controversy
This 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.
Education 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.
“Customization” isn’t just for urban hipsters
The premise that charter management organizations can—or should—be effective advocacy vehicles rests on assumptions of questionable validity.
Education’s mini mills
In 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.
Why not try strapping Title I dollars to the backs of needy kids and letting them take it to the schools of their choice?
Mike analyzes Governor Romney's education proposal on WSJ.com.
The 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.
Program design matters
Terry 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.
Can 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.
In 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.
8 reasons private school choice still struggles