How do teachers spend their time?
Mike McShaneOne of my favorite quotations comes from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. When Gandalf the wizard recounts the story of the ring and the havoc that it has brought to Middle-earth to the hero Frodo, Frodo says to him, “I wish it need not have happened in my time.” To which Gandalf replies, “So do I, and so do all who live to see such times.
Gifted-student screenings often miss poor students who should qualify
Bich Thi Ngoc Tran, Jonathan Wai, Sarah McKenzieHigh-achieving students from low-income backgrounds are half as likely to be placed in a gifted program as their more affluent peers, according to our new study.
Can we revive standards-based reform?
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Few people have done more to boost academic standards in U.S. schools than Michael Cohen and Laura Slover, coauthors of a new paper offering a bright vision for revitalizing them. But there are reasons to doubt the feasibility of its proposals.
Relinquishment or instructional coherence: What’s the right goal for districts?
Dale ChuThe “tripod” of standards, testing, and accountability has taken a real beating in recent years, following decades in which it was accepted dogma within reform circles.
Beyond free tuition: How college promise scholarships are perceived by awardees
Jeff MurrayDozens of states and cities provide “college promise” programs.
On the persistence of the achievement gap
David ArmorI read Mike Petrilli’s very interesting article “How to narrow the excellence gap in early elementary school” in Fordham’s June 2 Education Gadfly Weekly.
Does keeping students with the same teacher for multiple years boost outcomes?
Nathaniel GrossmanThe relationship between teacher and student has profound effects on learning. A new study explores whether schools can strengthen this relationship over time by keeping students with teachers for more than one year.
Hope and progress for gifted education
Brandon L. WrightThis is the first edition of “Advance,” a new Fordham Institute newsletter that will monitor the progress of gifted education. Here, Wright recounts recent developments that reinforce two truths: Gifted education is a clear and substantial good, and it can be much better.
Building better evidence on pre-K by strengthening assessments of children’s skills
Meghan McCormickResearch has found that high-quality pre-K programs can have positive impacts on children’s learning and development, improving outcomes like literacy and math skills in the short-term and even increasing
Baked in: School quality and home values
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.If you want to know which schools are good, ask a realtor—so goes the conventional wisdom—and families often do so.
Complicating factors: Evaluating a federal program to increase access to dual enrollment
Jeff MurrayIn 2016, the U.S. Department of Education launched an offshoot of the Pell Grant program intended to assist low-income high schoolers in accessing college credit through dual enrollment.
Encouraging progress on “high quality instructional materials”
Robert PondiscioAs a long-time (and often lonely) curriculum enthusiast, I’ve followed the work of the High-Quality Instructional Materials and Professional Development (IMPD) Network for several years.
Bus commutes and their academic impacts in New York City
Jeff MurrayProviding transportation for students to and from school is a basic requirement of most public school districts in America. During the 2018–19 school year, nearly 60 percent of all K–12 students nationwide, public and private, were transported by those ubiquitous yellow buses.
Education Gadfly Show #824: Dana Suskind on supporting low-income parents in their children’s early years
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Dr.
“Expert” idiocy on teaching kids to read
Robert PondiscioEvery teacher of struggling readers has experienced the moment when a student says, “I read it, but I didn’t get it.” It can be a bewildering experience. Why don’t they get it?
Do gifted and talented programs contribute to racial imbalances in elementary school?
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.The clatter that rose in late 2021 over New York City’s plan to phase out its gifted and talented (G/T) programs had much to do with the presumed negative effects of such programs on racial sorting.
How much do teachers matter in the early grades?
William RostA recent CALDER study examines the effects that earlier-grade teachers have on students’ eighth-grade math outcomes by analyzing Washington State administrative data.
How does a child’s religious background affect her choices about higher education?
Nathaniel Grossman“From Bat Mitzvah to the Bar: Religious Habitus, Self-Concept, and Women’s Educational Outcomes,” a new study by Ilana Horwitz et al., analyzes the college-going rates of women raised by Jewish versus non-Jewish parents.
The excellence gap opens early
Michael J. PetrilliLast week, I provided sobering evidence of the “excellence gap” among twelfth grade students—the sharp divides along lines of race and class in achievement at the highest levels.
Getting to work: The effect of school-year employment on student outcomes
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Calls are rising for America’s aging high-school model to modernize, in part by accommodating work experience through hands-on internships or actual employment for students.
Will every high schooler soon have a 4.0?
Adam Tyner, Ph.D.Scholars and testing companies have been following grade inflation for decades. The first ACT study on the topic dates to the mid-1990s, while researchers have used SAT data to study grade inflation since the 1970s.
The excellence gap and underrepresentation at America’s most selective universities
Michael J. PetrilliAmerica’s education system suffers from a variety of “excellence gaps”—sharp disparities in performance by race and class at the highest levels of academic achievement. These gaps explain why college administrators turn to various forms of affirmative action in order to create freshmen classes that more closely represent the nation’s diversity—actions that may soon be declared unconstitutional. But when do these gaps start?
“What do you mean, ‘proficient’?” The saga of NAEP achievement levels
Chester E. Finn, Jr.As I write this, representative samples of fourth and eighth graders are taking National Assessment of Educational Progress tests in math and English.
Evidence, struggling math students, and California’s 2022 math framework
Tom LovelessThe proposed California Mathematics Framework generated a storm of controversy when the first draft was released in early 2021. Critics objected to the document’s condemnation of tracking and negative portrayal of acceleration for high-achieving students.
What does teacher certification contribute to outcomes for students with disabilities?
Jeff MurrayReams of research have reported contradictory outcomes for students with disabilities (SWDs) who are taught in general education classrooms alongside their non-disabled peers versus learning in settings with only SWDs. A new report focuses on teacher certification as a possible mechanism to explain the variations in outcomes.
More data on the impact of remote and hybrid learning during the pandemic
Julia WolfThroughout the pandemic, we encountered much speculation about the impact that remote learning would have on student performance. The expected learning loss was a concern not just of American parents and educators, but of citizens all around the world.
Assessing the Nation’s Report Card: Challenges and choices for NAEP
Chester E. Finn, Jr.NAEP is by far the country’s most important source of information on student achievement, achievement gaps and so much more, even though it’s invisible to most Americans. Yet NAEP is far from perfect—and could do so much more than it does. It’s time to wrestle with its challenges, shortcomings, and possible future scenarios.
Stop mandating financial literacy courses for high school students
Daniel BuckGeorgia is the latest on a growing list of states that make financial literacy courses a requirement for high school graduation.
The Federal civil service adopted standardized testing in 1883. Are there lessons for education today?
Christian EggersOne common refrain in debates around education is that standardized exams negatively impact applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds.