An olive branch on voucher accountability

Fordham has long been a supporter of results-based accountability for private-school choice programs.

The wise wonks’ hierarchy of charter school quality

Over the past three weeks, Fordham’s Flypaper blog hosted the charter school wonk-a-thon, an exercise in punditry and policy analysis that exceeded all expectations.

Charter school wonk-a-thon: We have a winner!

Ladies and gentlemen, the voters have spoken and the wisest wonk in the land is…Joe Siedlecki of the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, edging out Michael Goldstein of Match Education, 35 to 27 percent. It’s the biggest upset since Brat beat Cantor! (Granted, that just happened Tuesday.)

Contexts Matter: Selection in Means-Tested School Voucher Programs

A common gripe among choice kvetchers is that private schools that participate in voucher and tax-credit scholarship programs “cherry pick” the best students. This research by University of California professor Cassandra Hart finds evidence to the contrary.

Democracy, community, and school choice

While proponents of school choice often base their case on student achievement—contending that choice-based accountability leads to school improvement and stronger pupil attainments—opponents seem likelier to argue against choice on the grounds that it fractures communities and undermines democratic values.

The three-sector approach and decision-defending

Back in college, one of my political science professors wanted to make a point to a lecture hall full of know-it-all freshman.He asked all of us to think back to when we were first getting interested in politics and developing positions on major issues. For most of us at this inside-the-beltway university, that was early.

Charter school wonk-a-thon: Who was the wisest wonk?

Over the course of thirteen days, Flypaper’s Charter School Wonk-a-Thon produced eleven posts jam-packed with sound analysis on charter school policy today. But who was the wisest, wonkiest wonk of all? 

‘More’ is the operative word for building a high-quality charter sector

Here follows the eleventh entry in Fordham’s “Charter School Policy Wonk-a-Thon,” in which Mike Petrilli challenged a number of prominent scholars, practitioners, and policy analysts to take a stab at explaining why some charter sectors outpace their local distric

Schools educate kids; movements don’t

Here follows the tenth entry in Fordham’s “Charter School Policy Wonk-a-Thon,” in which Mike Petrilli challenged a number of prominent scholars, practitioners, and policy analysts to take a stab at explaining why some cities’ charter sectors outpace their district

Why we are betting on Washington State charters

Here follows the ninth entry in Fordham’s “Charter School Policy Wonk-a-Thon,” in which Mike Petrilli challenged a number of prominent scholars, practitioners, and policy analysts to take a stab at explaining why some charter sectors outpace their local district s

The interdependence of strong authorizers and great school operators

Here follows the eighth entry in Fordham’s “Charter School Policy Wonk-a-Thon,” in which Mike Petrilli challenged a number of prominent scholars, practitioners, and policy analysts to take a stab at explaining why some charter sectors outpace their local district

To achieve a strong charter sector, start with supportive laws

Here follows the seventh entry in Fordham’s “Charter School Policy Wonk-a-Thon,” in which Mike Petrilli challenged a number of prominent scholars, practitioners, and policy analysts to take a stab at explaining why some charter sectors outpace their local district

Charter school quality: Policy matters, but so does implementation

Here follows the sixth entry in Fordham’s “Charter School Policy Wonk-a-Thon,” in which Mike Petrilli challenged a number of prominent scholars, practitioners, and policy analysts to take a stab at explaining why some charter sectors outpace their local district s

The California charter school paradox

Here follows the fifth entry in Fordham’s “Charter School Policy Wonk-a-Thon,” in which Mike Petrilli challenged a number of prominent scholars, practitioners, and policy analysts to take a stab at explaining why some charter sectors outpace their local district schools while others are falling behind.

Why some charter sectors outpace their local district schools while others fall behind

Here follows the fourth entry in Fordham’s “Charter School Policy Wonk-a-Thon,” in which Mike Petrilli challenged a number of prominent scholars, practitioners, and policy analysts to take a stab at explaining why some charter sectors outpace their local district

Building a great city charter sector

Here follows the second entry in Fordham’s “Charter School Policy Wonk-a-Thon,” in which Mike Petrilli challenged a number of prominent scholars, practitioners, and policy analysts to take a stab at explaining why some charter sectors outpace their local district

Boston’s high-quality charters make no excuses

Here follows the first entry in Fordham’s “Charter School Policy Wonk-a-Thon,” in which Mike Petrilli challenged a number of prominent scholars, practitioners, and policy ana

NACSA’s sixth annual survey and the future of authorizing

I’m a huge believer in high-quality charter authorizing. My view is that many of the strengths of chartering today are attributable to good authorizing and that many of chartering’s weaknesses are the result of bad authorizing.

Announcing a charter school policy wonk-a-thon!

It strikes us at the Thomas B.

The ‘public’ in the urban public education system of the future

Last week, I participated in two events that challenged my ideas on one of urban education’s trickiest and most combustible issues.

School Choice in 2014: The year in review (so far)

As most states’ legislative sessions wind down for the year, it’s not too early to ask how school choice has been faring, particularly when compared with the remarkable gains around the country during the past several years. Here’s a rundown, in case you haven’t been paying attention:

Prestigious visitors learning lessons from outstanding charter schools in Columbus

United Schools Network welcomes fellows from Building Excellent Schools to observe and learn from their success.

Prestigious visitors learning lessons from outstanding charter schools in Columbus

United Schools Network welcomes fellows from Building Excellent Schools to observe and learn from their success.

The State of Charter School Authorizers 2013

Every year, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers draws on survey data from half of the nation’s charter-school authorizers to assess the quality of their practices, outlining a set of twelve essential practices and scoring authorizers based on their adherence to them. In this sixth edition, the results are mixed.

A fifty-state strategy for course choice

Individual district schools don’t serve all students, either

Last week was National Charter School Week and, to celebrate, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Success and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act.” This was an exciting occasion for us Washington-based policy wonks, starved as we are for any legislative action on education.

Setting a course toward charter quality

Now is the time for a renewed commitment to charter school quality in Ohio.

Setting a course toward charter quality

Now is the time for a renewed commitment to charter school quality in Ohio.

National Charter Schools Week: A time to celebrate good charter schools

A look back at a week of charter school profiles.

The DOJ and Wisconsin’s private-school choice program: a storm is brewing

Last week, the Wisconsin Reporter reported that the United States Department of Justice is still conducting an “ongoing investigation” into whether Wisconsin’s private-school choice program d