America's best (and worst) cities for school choice
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D., Michael J. PetrilliReformers: Keep building smarter policies. But keep your eyes on the politics, too. Amber M. Northern, Ph.D., and Michael J. Petrilli
How Fordham's rankings measure up
At CRPE, we believe strongly in taking a city-wide view of education. The reality of urban education these days is a complicated mash-up of schools run by districts, charter providers, independent private schools, and sometimes even state agencies.
Three school choice commitments for 2016
David Griffith, Kevin MahnkenBy David Griffith and Kevin Mahnken
The school choice movement's schisms, explained
Michael J. PetrilliBy Michael J. Petrilli
The Snowzilla edition
In this week's podcast, Mike Petrilli and Brandon Wright explain the schisms in the school choice movement, defend career and technical education programs, and discuss Eva Moskowitz’s big speech on school discipline. In the Research Minute, Amber Northern describes the effect of teacher turnover and quality on student achievement in District of Columbia Public Schools.
School choice: The end of the beginning
I’ve dedicated a big part of my career to expanding school choice. I think it’s the right thing to do for kids, families, educators, neighborhoods, civil society, and much else. In fact, I’m convinced that years from now, students of history will be scandalized to learn that we used to have a K–12 system defined by one government provider in each geographic area.
A guide for K–12 gardeners
Fordham’s exceptional study illuminates school choice in thirty cities and how it can improve nationwide. By Frederick M. Hess
Coming soon - Quality in Adversity: Lessons from Ohio's best charter schools
Ohio Education GadflyListening to some of the most important voices in the charter school debate
Public private districts and open enrollment
Aaron ChurchillMany of Ohio's best districts are closed to open enrollment
More than meets the eye: Ohio’s unimpressive charter law ranking
Jamie Davies O'LearyLooking behind the latest NAPCS rankings
Don't blame Common Core for publishers' lousy textbooks
Kevin MahnkenIf you’ve been keeping up with the Common Core scandal pages, you may be wondering who Dianne Barrow is.
NAEP computer-based writing pilot assessment: Fourth-grade performance
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.A new study from the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences provides results for fourth-grade students on the 2012 NAEP pilot computer-based writing assessment. The study asks whether fourth graders can fully demonstrate their writing ability on a computer and what factors are related to their writing performance on said computers.
Governing urban schools in the future: What’s facing Philadelphia and Pennsylvania
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Urban school governance is a moving target, in part because it’s pretty clear that there’s no best way to handle it and in part because no change in a city’s arrangements ever works as well as its promoters hoped.
Rays of hope in the Sunshine State
The Education GadflyOn the same day that Jeb Bush unveiled his education agenda, thousands of families in his home state marched in Tallahassee to support some of the very school choice programs he championed in office.
The Bush education plan
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Education reform has been a specialty of Jeb Bush’s, and his track record on this issue in Florida is unbeatable. He knows the topic up, down, and sideways.
Ten things every American should know
Robert PondiscioNearly thirty years ago, a then-obscure University of Virginia professor named E.D. Hirsch, Jr. set off a hot national debate with the publication of Cultural Literacy.
Has your child's elementary school stopped teaching history, science, and other content? Here's how to do it yourself
Michael J. PetrilliIn a perfect world, all children would have access to an inspiring, well-rounded education, especially in pre-K and elementary school. They need a solid grounding in history, science, art, music, and literature.
Can parents help with math homework? YES
Jason Zimba, Ph.D.My wife and I both spend time working with our kids on their homework. We have also made a family tradition of “Saturday School,” a routine that my wife and I instituted a couple of years ago because our kids’ school was using a pre-Common Core math curriculum that wasn’t keeping pace with the standards.
A fair shot at opportunity
Editor's note: This is the first in a series of blog posts that will be collaboratively published every Wednesday by the National Association for Gifted Children and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Each post in the series will exist both here on Flypaper and on the NAGC Blog.
Court watching
The Education GadflyThe ink is dry on the bill, the interest groups are mollified, and the lobbyists have made the first payments on their tastefully appointed condominiums. Now that the Every Student Achieves Act has become the law of the land, it’s time to examine its implications for our federal education bureaucracy.
America's most disadvantaged students need real accountability, not ideology
John WhiteIn a recent blog post, Jason Bedrick of the Cato Institute attributes the apparently troubling results of a recent study on Louisiana’s private school voucher program to the theory that “[r]egulations intended to guarantee quality might well have had the opposite effect.
Louisiana's voucher program and student achievement
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D., Michael J. PetrilliA new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research examines how Louisiana’s statewide voucher program affects student achievement. The Pelican State expanded its program statewide in 2012; by 2014, twelve thousand students had applied for more than six thousand slots to attend 126 private schools.
Youth Voting: State and city approaches to early civic engagement
Robert PondiscioBy Robert Pondiscio