Podcast
Accountability & Testing, ESSA, Curriculum & Instruction
Education Gadfly Show #801: Grumpy New Year with Checker Finn
Podcast
Accountability & Testing, ESSA, Governance, Private School Choice
The Education Gadfly Show #777: O-H-I-O: School reform victories in the Buckeye State
Commentary
Accountability & Testing, ESSA, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
A new era of accountability in education has barely just begun
Most states have spent the past decade overhauling their standards, tests, and accountability systems, and finally committing real resources to capacity-building, especially in the form of curriculum implementation. These pieces have only begun to come together in the last year or two, culminating with the release of school ratings as required by ESSA. What’s needed isn’t to spin the wheel of education policy once again, but to show some patience and commitment—and finish what we started.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing, ESSA, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Personalized Learning, Teachers & School Leaders
In math, grade-level tests are holding back low-achieving students
Imagine that you’re a sixth-grade math teacher. It’s the first day of school, and the vast majority of your students arrived multiple years behind where they should be. Your job is to teach them concepts such as understanding percentages and dividing fractions.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing, Evidence-Based Learning, ESSA, Governance
Why end-of-course exams are being replaced by the ACT and SAT, and how to reverse that
In the last month, two reports have renewed questions about the current direction of states’ high school assessments.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing, Evidence-Based Learning, ESSA, Curriculum & Instruction, Standards
End-of-course exams benefit students—and states
Very little previous research has looked at end-of-course exams. Our new study on their relationship to student outcomes helps remedy that. We learned much that’s worth knowing and sharing. Probably most important: EOCs, properly deployed, have positive academic benefits and do so without causing kids to drop out or graduation rates to falter.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing, Evidence-Based Learning, ESSA, Governance, Standards
The “left behind” kids made incredible progress from the late 1990s until the Great Recession. Here are key lessons for ed reform.
Editor’s note: This is the final post in a series looking at whether and how the nation’s schools have improved over the past quarter-century or so (see the others here,
Commentary
Podcast
ESSA, Governance
The Education Gadfly Show: Federal education policy in 2019
On this week’s podcast, Andrew Ujifusa, an assistant editor for Education Week, and one-half of the Politics K–12 team, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to explain why we wonks shouldn’t completely ignore Washington in the coming year. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern counts down the five most influential education studies of 2018.
Report
Accountability & Testing, ESSA, Curriculum & Instruction, Standards
Gotta Give 'Em Credit: State and District Variation in Credit Recovery Participation Rates
Credit recovery, or the practice of enabling high school students to retrieve credits from courses that they either failed or failed to complete, is at the crossroads of two big trends in education: the desire to move toward “competency based” education and a push to dramatically boost graduation rates.
New Media
New Media
ESSA
How to get more districts on a path to quality, aligned curriculums
By Laura Slover and Bonnie Hain
New Media
Commentary
ESSA
Student-based budgeting in the Buckeye State
Weighted student funding, also known as student-based budgeting (SBB), is a funding mechanism that aims to allocate school resources more equitably.
Commentary
ESSA
How Ohio should distribute its school improvement funds
When state report cards are released this fall, it will be the first time that overall letter grades are assigned to districts and schools.
Commentary
ESSA
Are High School Diplomas Really a Ticket to College and Work?
An increasing number of headline-grabbing graduation scandals have renewed the public’s interest in how students earn a high school diploma.
Commentary
Commentary
ESSA
State ESSA plans embrace CTE, but there's still much work to be done
By Kate Kreamer and Ryan Reyna
Podcast
ESSA
State policymaking in the ESSA era
On this week's podcast, special guest Chris Minnich, who is stepping down after five years at the helm of the Council of Chief State School Officers, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss the future of state education policymaking in the ESSA era. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern highlights the best research studies of 2017.
Podcast
ESSA
Are states' ESSA plans naughty or nice?
On this week’s podcast, special guest Chad Aldeman, a principal at Bellwether Education Partners, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to compare Fordham’s ESSA review to that of Bellwether and the Collaborative for Student Success. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines educators’ political persuasions and their potential effects on classrooms.
Commentary
ESSA
National experts agree that Ohio’s school accountability system is too complicated
Last week, Bellwether Education Partners (in partnership with the Collaborative for Student Success) released its review of Ohio’s plan to comply with the federal law known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Podcast
ESSA
Do ESSA plans deserve our thanks?
On this week's podcast, special guest Marc Porter Magee—founder and CEO of 50CAN—joins Mike Petrilli and Brandon Wright to discuss states’ accountability plans under ESSA. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines an international meta-analysis of how technology is affecting academic outcomes.
Commentary
Commentary
ESSA
Good news for students and federalism: Most states step up on accountability under ESSA
By Brandon L. Wright and Michael J. Petrilli
Report
Accountability & Testing, ESSA, Governance
Rating the Ratings: An Analysis of the 51 ESSA Accountability Plans
The Every Student Succeeds Act grants states more authority over their accountability systems than did No Child Left Behind, but have they seized the opportunity to develop school ratings that are clearer and fairer than those in the past?
Commentary
ESSA
A little known ESSA provision sheds some more light on Ohio’s graduation “fix”
A recent article in Education Week highlighted how an under-the-radar ESSA provision could spell trouble for states with multiple high school diplomas.
Podcast
ESSA
The state of state ed policy
On this week's podcast, special guest Yamuna Menon, vice president of advocacy and policy at 50CAN, joins Alyssa Schwenk and Brandon Wright to discuss the ins and outs of state education policy and how national organizations can more constructively influence it. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how being among the older children in a grade affects cognitive development.
Commentary
ESSA
The first 17 ESSA accountability plans correct many NCLB-era errors
By Brandon L. Wright and Michael J. Petrilli
Report
Accountability & Testing, ESSA
Rating the Ratings: Analyzing the First 17 ESSA Accountability Plans
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) grants states more authority over their school accountability systems than did No Child Left Behind (NCLB)—meaning that states now have a greater opportunity to design improved school ratings. Rating the Ratings: Analyzing the First 17 ESSA Accountability Plans examines whether states are making the most of the moment.
Podcast
ESSA
ESSA, innovation, and optimism
On this week's podcast, special guest Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds, vice president of policy at the Foundation for Excellence in Education, joins Alyssa Schwenk and Brandon Wright to discuss whether state ESSA plans have been innovative, and whether they’re cause for optimism. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the effect of mandatory college entrance exams on college enrollment.