Once an ed-reform standard bearer, Denver loses its way
Dale ChuA long simmering feud between Denver’s school board and superintendent finally burst into the open last week following months of tensions and mutual distrust.
More ways to expand classical schools
Sheila Byrd CarmichaelIn part one of this two-part essay, published last week, I reflected on Clare Basil’s “definitional” challenge to the growth of classical schools—schools that take “a unifying approach to intellectual and moral formation by developing the integrity of mind and heart,”
Will students recover their Covid-19 learning losses?
Tom CoyneHere in Fordham’s pages, I’ve previously written about the challenge of Covid-19 learning losses at the macro level. In this article, I focus on the micro level.
Testing, accountability, NAEP, and reading
Chester E. Finn, Jr.For those of us who still believe that results-based school accountability is an essential part of the education renewal that America sorely needs, not many things are looking great this week.
The grading lies we tell our students
Steven Birnholz, Eric FreyTwo years ago, Seth Gershenson and Fordham published Grade Inflation in High Schools, groundbreaking research examining the relationship between students’ Algebra I course grades and end-of-course (EOC) test results in North Carolina.
Can we overcome challenges facing the expansion of classical schools?
Sheila Byrd CarmichaelClare Basil recently shared some thoughtful observations about the growth of K–12 classical schools, schools that take “a unifying approach to intellectual and moral formation by developing the integrity of mind and heart”—a quote Basil borrows from the Institute for Classical Educat
Memo to policymakers: Help teachers focus on reading
Robert PondiscioAt the tail end of a recent symposium titled “Why children can’t read—and what we can do about it” hosted by American Enterprise Institute, Margaret Goldberg, a California first grade teacher and founder of the
Reinventing ed reform with a focus on opportunity and social capital
Bruno V. Manno, ChairNothing better evokes education reform’s predicament today than what occurred in late July when the National Basketball Association restarted its 2020 season. Players were given the option of featuring on the back of their jerseys one of about thirty messages.
Reducing grading bias against Black students
Adam Tyner, Ph.D.A perennial complaint about holding students accountable through grades and test scores is that these mechanisms are biased against already disadva
When excellence isn’t on a school’s menu
Erika SanziI knew something was wrong when, during what was supposed to be a full day of remote learning, my thirteen-year-old son announced at 9:30 a.m. that he was free until 11:27 a.m., and then plopped onto the couch and flipped on the television.
Use caution, district leaders: Even in a pandemic, there’s no immunity from financial missteps
Marguerite RozaCharges of financial blunders have taken out district leaders before. Think the pandemic inoculates leaders from that possible fate? Think again.
The racial-justice war on merit-based schools is an injustice against excellence, critics say
Vince BielskiAt a virtual town hall in Brooklyn about how the pandemic will change admissions to high-performing selective schools, New York City officials got a lecture on systemic racism.
Democrats’ ed designs dealt setback in statehouses
Dale ChuControl of state legislatures is particularly important in a census year, but it’s also an often-overlooked element in driving substantive education policy changes. National politics takes up all the oxygen, but it’s state legislators who make most of the big decisions about how a state’s public-education system operates, is funded, is held accountable (if at all), and much more.
Create more autonomous, accountable district schools. Here's how.
Tressa Pankovits, David OsborneEducation wasn’t explicitly on the national ballot in 2020, but education is always on the ballot, even when you don’t see it. Now that the election is behind us, education reformers can focus again on states and communities, where most of the important decisions about K–12 education get made.
Are schools essential or not?
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Are schools essential or aren’t they? Are teachers essential workers or aren’t they? How would Americans respond if large numbers of doctors, nurses, policemen, firemen, and postal workers simply opted to stay home—and their unions defended them? If you’re essential, you go to work.
For better or worse, religiously-affiliated charter schools are on their way
Michael J. PetrilliA U.S. Supreme Court decision is introducing a new type of charter school that’s likely to cheer conservatives but alarm many progressives: the religiously-affiliated charter. Those of us in the charter movement need to figure out how to keep them from splitting the charter coalition.
About those 12th grade NAEP scores: The cake was (mostly) baked years ago
Michael J. PetrilliAs we previously saw at the 4th grade and 8th grade levels, the just-released 2019 12 grade NAEP results were mostly flat or down. But we already knew from the 2015 results that this cohort of students entered high school performing below their older peers.
Gifted education done right benefits Black and Hispanic children. It’s not inherently racist.
Brandon L. WrightAs our country grapples with racial injustice, there are persistent calls to diversify elite institutions at all levels, from corporate and foundation boards to law schools and medical schools to undergraduate programs. All good.
Educating patriots
Robert PondiscioDecades before “equity” became a buzzword in education, E. D. Hirsch, Jr. had his finger on what the word actually means: equal access for all children to the knowledge and verbal proficiency that makes full participation in American life possible.
Teacher improvement during the first ten years
David GriffithA recent study from Brown University’s Matthew A. Kraft and John P. Papay and Harvard’s Olivia L. Chi uses nine years of administrative data from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina to examine teacher improvement through the lens of principal evaluations.
Don’t place all the blame on our high schools—or Trump—if the 12th-grade test scores disappoint this week
Michael J. PetrilliOn Wednesday, the government will release the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress scores for twelfth grade students.
Restarting the “science of reading” conversation
Robert PondiscioEarly childhood literacy advocacy has been a quiet casualty of our current annus horribilis.
Strategies to help schools navigate the Covid-19 cash crunch
Frederick M. Hess, Brandon L. WrightIn education, one of the more bizarre debates of the past quarter century has been over whether more money improves students’ outcomes. It’s tough to think of anywhere else in American life where we’d even have that discussion.
Creating autonomous schools in traditional districts
Chester E. Finn, Jr.The Progressive Policy Institute’s indefatigable David Osborne, a long-time student of and advocate for quality charter schools, now joined by Tressa Pankovits, has penned a valu
Partisanship and American education
Ashley Rogers BernerWhat are we teaching the children about our country? The short answer: not much.
The case for urban charter schools
David Griffith, Michael J. PetrilliContrary to much public rhetoric, the evidence for expanding charter schools in urban areas is stronger than ever. To be sure, the research is less positive for charters operating outside of the nation’s urban centers. And multiple studies suggest that internet-based schools and charters that serve mostly middle-class students, perform worse than their district counterparts, at least on traditional test-score-based measures. But charters needn’t work everywhere to be of service to society.
Charter schooling on the ropes?
Dale ChuThe negative partisanship animating this year’s presidential contest notwithstanding, charter school advocates will have their hands full no matter who prevails.
Ohio’s charter school turnaround
Aaron ChurchillFor a number of years, Ohio’s charter school sector has been more of a punchline than an exemplar in national debates about charters. The criticisms, though sometimes exaggerated, were not entirely unwarranted.
The vanishing pre-K advantage
Jeff MurrayBefore the coming of the pandemic, pre-K was a hot topic.