American students underperform, but our economy overachieves
There is a large literature linking the quality of education to economic growth, and numerous economists and development agencies, including the
There is a large literature linking the quality of education to economic growth, and numerous economists and development agencies, including the
The four-day school week is increasingly popular, particularly in rural districts, with roughly 900 school districts having adopted such a truncated schedule as of 202
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, M
“Charter school laws have been arguably the most influential school reform efforts of the past several decades,” write economists
At Partnership Schools, we are excited that so many Ohioans are excited about the “science of reading.” In 2023 legislation that took effect this school year, Governor DeWine and the General Assembly have mandated that all reading curricula follow this approach—one we know well, since Partnership Schools have implemented it for over a
Grade inflation influences the environment in which teachers teach and students study, shaping their behavior and relationships. But utilizing external assessments, increasing transparency, and supporting reforms that preserve the rigor of grading standards can help fix the problem.
Predicting the future is often compared to reading tea leaves. In the case of forecasting what education policies Vice President Kamala Harris might pursue as president, though, a more apt analogy might be reading her mind. Frankly it’s anyone’s guess what her education policies would be, given how few clues we have.
The American dream is still alive and can be achieved in just one generation, even among the most economically disadvantaged young people. That finding is among the most promising takeaways from new research produced by Harvard University’s Raj Chetty and his collaborators.
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcas
Editor’s note: This was first published by The 74. Say your boss gives you an unexpected bonus at work. Would you save the money, make those home upgrades you’ve been putting off or splurge on a nice vacation?
The macro trend that will have the greatest impact on the American education system over the next decade or two is our declining birth rate and the resulting enrollment crisis facing many public schools. We have too many schools for too few kids and, as a result, thousands of schools are going to need to close. But what we don’t have are enough excellent schools, and therefore the charter sector should keep growing anyway.
As the clock winds down towards Election Day, Colorado voters—myself included—face an important decision beyond the presidential contest: whether to amend the state constitution to enshrine a “right to school choice.” To be clear, the Centennial State has a long and proud record on the issue.
Chicago’s troubled school district has made national headlines recently—from the mass resignation of its appointed school board, which opposed the mayor’s efforts to borrow nearly $300 million at ruinous rates to give the teachers union a sweetheart contract, to the
The growing popularity of career and technical education (CTE) at the high school level creates an ongoing need for more teachers with industry experience to provide hands-on instruction in a diverse variety of fields.
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Parker Baxter, Director
Rose Horowitch’s article in The Atlantic is getting lots of buzz.
Rates of student misbehavior remain elevated compared to pre-Covid levels. Pandemic-era disruptions, broader societal disorder and crime rates, and social media are also plausible explanations. But so is “discipline reform,” a set of policies and practices that many schools embraced over the past decade. Its tenets: talk to those kids, pursue “restorative justice,” or ignore their poor behavior. But never impose a consequence.
A 6,000 student Midwestern district recently adopted a budget that would result—if all goes according to plan—in a $13.2 million deficit, or more than $2,000 per student. This follows $10 million shortfalls in each of the previous two years. Cash is dwindling.
We tend to think of schools as simply the place where kids go to learn, but they aren’t only about education. They provide many essential services to students and families, including nutrition, healthcare—and even if simply as a byproduct of mandatory attendance for educational purposes, giving parents a place to send their children while they’re at work.
Eschewing the traditional September start to the new school year (or, at most, mid-August), some Richmond, Virginia, public schools kicked off the 2024–25 academic calendar on July 22.
Forcing students to switch schools can be traumatic and even harmful. Yet closing an underenrolled school can also be beneficial when displaced students land in better alternatives, and when it ensures that innumerable children in future generations are well-served. But how should policymakers identify which schools should be candidates for closure? Our latest study offers some answers.
Of the school choice options available to many U.S. families today, few embody the spirit of “power to the parents” quite like education savings accounts (ESAs).
Houston’s local ABC news affiliate recently ran a report that the Houston Independent School District, Texas’s largest, has more than 2,000 uncertified teachers (out of a teaching force of approximately 10,000).
Schools across the country spend billions of dollars each year on the construction and renovation of their facilities—everything from roof repairs to new science labs and from classroom expansions to whole new buildings. How do these expenditures impact students and the taxpaying community around schools?
Governor Glenn Youngkin is under fire again from Virginia’s education establishment, this time because a new school accountability system his administration is promoting refuses to put lipstick on a pig.
Editor’s note: This was first published by The 74.
Modern States Education Alliance is a non-profit that makes college-level courses and college credit free to any learner anywhere, including high school students interested in advanced coursework. It offers thirty-two online courses free of charge at www.modernstates.org, including all the necessary textbooks and readings.
As a candidate for president in 2020, Kamala Harris introduced a plan to raise teacher salaries by $13,500.
Kamala Harris’s presidential acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention promised Americans “an opportunity economy where everyone has the chance to compete and the chance to succeed.” But working-class Americans are glum about their economic position today and what this promise means for them.
As school systems around the world continue trying to recover from learning losses caused by the pandemic, a new paper out of Germany gives us some historic context on what to look for and what to be wary of.