Supporting low birth weight babies helps long after infancy
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.A recent working paper from NBER takes the notion of “early intervention” f
Resources for learning from home during Covid-19 school closures
Michael J. PetrilliWith more than half of states closing their schools due to the coronavirus pandemic, hundreds of thousands of parents, grandparents, and other caregivers have become de facto “home schoolers” practically overnight. Students in this situation will likely be spending a fair amount of time on screens—as a lifeline, respite, or both. We have compiled some excellent suggestions—updated several times since initial publication—for making at least some of that time educational.
The harm of special education enrollment caps
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.A couple years ago, a high-profile dispute played out between the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the federal Department of Education, with a January 2019 New York Times headline pronouncing,
The top 10 EconTalk episodes on education
Adam Tyner, Ph.D.A few years ago, as I was wrapping up grad school (where my dissertation was about migrant workers in China, of all things), I came across a bunch of fascinating podcast episodes about education policy and school reform.
How high school CTE programs affect outcomes after graduation
Tran LeA new study by CALDER investigates how career and technical education (CTE) course-taking affects college enrollment, employment, and continuation into specific vocational or academic programs in college.
Opening STEM opportunities in Appalachia
Aaron ChurchillWith the backing of Chevron and local philanthropy, the Appalachia Partnership Initiative (API) was launched five years ago.
Access, equity, and quality in dual enrollment
Lexi Barrett, Ryan ReynaPrograms that allow high school students the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school are growing fast. In addition to familiar options like Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate, dual enrollment, concurrent enrollment, and early college high school—otherwise known as college in high school programs–are increasingly popular models in states.
Advanced coursework gets a needed boost
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Last week in Austin, at the annual “summit” sponsored by the PIE (“Policy Innovators in Education”) Network, prizes were conferred on a handful of state-based education-reform groups that had accomplished remarkable feats in the previous year, this despite the reform-averse mood that chills much of the nation.
In math, grade-level tests are holding back low-achieving students
Joel RoseImagine 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.
Why has AP succeeded when so many other reforms have failed?
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Andrew ScanlanAmerican K–12 education is awash in reforms, nostrums, interventions, silver bullets, pilot programs, snake oil peddlers, advocates, and crusaders, not to mention innumerable private foundations that occasionally emerge from their endless cycles of strategic planning to unload their latest brainstorms upon the land. Yet when subjected to close scrutiny, not much actually “works.” The six-decade old Advanced Placement program is a rare and welcome exception.
Low public support for ability grouping is an opportunity for personalized pacing
Brandon L. WrightThe latest Education Next poll asked respondents whether they support ability grouping, whereby students take classes with peers at similar academic achievement levels, and for middle school the majority’s answer was no.
How two personalized learning models accelerate the progress of their high-achieving students
Michael J. PetrilliEditor’s note: This is the third in a series of posts looking at how two school networks—Rocketship Public Schools and Wildflower Schools—enable their students to meet standards at their own pace.
How personalized learning enthusiasts can ensure they aren’t lowering the bar for the kids who are behind
Michael J. PetrilliEditor’s note: This is the second in a series of posts looking at how two school networks—Rocketship Public Schools and Wildflower Schools—enable their students to master standards at their own pace. See the first post here.
In most elementary classrooms, kids are all over the map academically. Here’s how two schools cope.
Michael J. PetrilliAlmost a decade ago, I wrote that “the greatest challenge facing America’s schools today [is] the enormous variation in the academic level of students coming into any given classroom.” Unlike plenty of what I’ve said over the years, this one has stood the test of time.
Effective social studies interventions for students with emotional and behavioral disorders
Pedro EnamoradoTeaching students to engage with history and civics is important in a democratic society. The critical thinking and communication skills taught in social studies classes are all the more essential to students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD) because they equip them to overcome difficulties interacting with and relating to peers.
Can educational data mining predict student performance and enhance personalized learning?
Olivia PiontekArtificial intelligence and machine learning are ubiquitous, playing a role in everything from Netflix and Instagram algorithms to transportation and healthcare delivery. But it’s also increasingly being used to improve educational pedagogy and delivery through a process called educational data mining (EDM).
Can AP ease Gotham’s selective-high-school deadlock?
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Andrew ScanlanControversy surrounds New York City’s selective-admission high schools and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to change the time-honored path by which students gain entry to them; the dispute largely concerns how to ration the limited supply of a valued commodity in the face of mounting demand.
The new PDK poll: Gems amid the gravel
Chester E. Finn, Jr.For more than half a century now, back-to-school time has brought another Phi Delta Kappan survey of “the public’s attitudes toward the public schools.” They invariably recycle some familiar questions (e.g., the grades you would give your child’s schools and the nation’s schools). Other topics, however, come and go.
Are career-tech students preparing for jobs that actually exist?
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D., Michael J. PetrilliTo our knowledge, no study has empirically examined the degree to which CTE course-taking in high school aligns with the kinds of work available in local labor markets, as our newest report does. It shows that the country needs local business, industrial, and secondary and postsecondary education sectors to join hands. At the top of their to-do list should be better integration of what is taught in local high school CTE programs with the skills, knowledge, and positions needed in area labor markets, both now and in the future.
How Aligned is Career and Technical Education to Local Labor Markets?
The recent reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act—the principal federal education program supporting career and technical education (CTE)—expressly aims to “align workforce skills with labor market needs.” Our latest report examines whether students in high school CTE programs are more likely to take courses in high-demand and/or high-wage industries, both nationally and locally.
Creating world-class CTE programs: Five lessons from Colorado
Last week, I explained why career and technical education will make agile learners America's future, and that maximizing their potential requires CTE that works well for students, employers, and school systems.
Career and technical education will make agile learners America's future
Seventeen-year-old Sandra can’t wait for school to start each day. Perhaps that’s because her school day looks nothing like what most of us envision a classic high school schedule to be.
Addressing high school dropout rates starting at the elementary school level
Jeff MurrayBy Jeff Murray
What Teens Want From Their Schools: A National Survey of High School Student Engagement
John Geraci, Maureen Palmerini, Pat Cirillo, Victoria McDougaldAmong high school students who consider dropping out, half cite lack of engagement with the school as a primary reason, and 42 percent report that they don’t see value in the schoolwork they are asked to do.
Enrollment and Achievement in Ohio's Virtual Charter Schools
June Ahn, Ph.D.This Fordham study, conducted by learning technology researcher June Ahn from NYU, dives into one of the most promising—and contentious—issues in education today: virtual schools. What type of students choose them? Which online courses do students take? Do virtual schools lead to improved outcomes for kids?
Career and Technical Education in High School: Does It Improve Student Outcomes?
Shaun M. DoughertyFordham’s latest study, by the University of Connecticut's Shaun M. Dougherty, uses data from Arkansas to explore whether students benefit from CTE coursework—and, more specifically, from focused sequences of CTE courses aligned to certain industries.
Expanding the Education Universe: A Fifty-State Strategy for Course Choice
Michael BrickmanAfter twenty years of expanding school-choice options, state leaders, educators, and families have a new tool: course choice, a strategy for students to learn from unconventional providers that might range from top-tier universities or innovative community colleges to local employers, labs, or hospitals.