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.
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.
Will more social studies instruction improve students’ reading outcomes?
According to the Nation’s Report Card (NAEP), just one-third of U.S. fourth- and eighth-grade students can read proficiently. Among students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, it’s just one in five.
Partisanship and American education
Ashley Rogers BernerWhat are we teaching the children about our country? The short answer: not much.
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.
Denver school board champions Black excellence, except in charter schools
Alan GottliebThe Denver school board spent forty-five minutes Monday getting an update on its Black Excellence Resolution and worthy efforts being made at district and school levels to address systemic racism and implicit bias.
The Education Gadfly Show: Lemov and Woolway on teaching like a champion—online
On this week’s podcast, Mike Petrilli and David Griffith are joined by Doug Lemov and Erica Woolway, co-managing director and chi
A response to Tim Shanahan on “Social Studies Instruction and Reading Comprehension”
Adam Tyner, Ph.D.After the release of a new study I co-authored for the Thomas B.
Equity and unintended consequences in the Washington suburbs
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Two big public-school systems in the D.C. area are on the verge of letting their zeal for equity and racial justice lead to consequences they may end up regretting. Fairfax County, which operates one of America’s best known and most esteemed “exam schools,” is may use a lottery, rather than test scores and other quality measures, for admissions. And Loudoun County is considering revising its rules for “professional conduct” by school staff to punish employees—teachers included—in truly Orwellian ways.
The Education Gadfly Show: Reading comprehension is not a skill, and other lessons from Fordham’s latest study
On this week’s podcast, Fordham’s Adam Tyner joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the
Elementary schools: To improve reading comprehension, teach more social studies
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D., Michael J. PetrilliIf America is serious about wanting kids to become better readers, our elementary schools need to spend more time teaching social studies rather than doubling-down on “reading comprehension.” This may seem counterintuitive, but it’s the key takeaway from our new study. It’s also especially important for girls and those from lower-income and/or non-English-speaking homes.
Do America’s elementary school students need more social studies?
Dale ChuA new study published last week by Fordham, Social Studies Instruction and Reading Comprehension: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, suggests that to become better readers, elementary students should spend more time on social studies.
The Education Gadfly Show: How to open a school safely during a pandemic
On this week’s podcast, Aaron Daly, COO of Brooklyn Laboratory Chart
Outdoor learning can help students during Covid-19 and beyond
Alan GottliebWhen students at Anser Charter School in Garden City, Idaho, begin returning to in-person classes September 28, everything about school will look different than six months ago.
NEW REPORT: Social Studies Instruction and Reading Comprehension: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study
The Education GadflyEven as phonics battles rage in the realm of primary reading and with two-thirds of American fourth and eighth graders failing to read proficiently, another tussle has been with us for ages regarding how best to develop the vital elements of reading ability that go beyond decoding skills and phonemic awareness.
Social Studies Instruction and Reading Comprehension: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study
Adam Tyner, Ph.D., Sarah KabourekEven as phonics battles rage in the realm of primary reading and with two-thirds of American fourth and eighth graders failing to read proficiently, another tussle has been with us for ages regarding how best to develop the vital elements of reading ability that go beyond decoding skills and phonemic awareness.
A commission on teaching American history might do some good
Michael J. PetrilliAmerican schoolchildren should not be taught to hate their country, or to view it as an “inherently racist” or “white supremacist” nation. But to move forward constructively on this point, instead of in a manner that further divides the country, it would be much better for a broad coalition of the center-right to the center-left to embrace a teaching of history that is clear-eyed, patriotic, and critical.
Rocky road to better civics education
Chester E. Finn, Jr.There’s much energy in the cosmos these days around civics education, history education, maybe even “patriotic” history and civics education.
Reality check: Rating students’ math performance
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.There are two aspects of standardized testing to which opponents tend to object: The testing itself and how the results are used.
The Education Gadfly Show: How did those online summer camps go?
On this week’s podcast, Timothy Daly, co-founder and CEO of EdNavigator, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss
“Evasive entrepreneurs” create new K–12 school options
Bruno V. MannoCovid-19 is upending what parents think about America’s schools, motivating them to seek different ways to educate their children. It’s also inspiring enterprising individuals and imaginative policymakers to create new ways to support that parent demand for change.
Zoom like a champion
Robert PondiscioI’ve made no secret over the years of my admiration for the work of Doug Lemov. When I was a new and clueless fifth grade teacher in 2002, his essential book, Teach Like a Champion, was unfortunately still a few years away.
Can “high-dosage tutors” help ensure low-performing students don’t fall behind?
Trinady MaddockThe pandemic has left us in a world quite different from the one before. While we’re faced with plenty of new challenges, we also have the opportunity to test out creative solutions.