How to build a better public school choice program: Evidence from Los Angeles
School choice discussions often overlook intradistrict open enrollment, allowing students to attend any public school within their resident district.
School choice discussions often overlook intradistrict open enrollment, allowing students to attend any public school within their resident district.
Most young people who enroll in college after high school graduation do so in the hope that it will help them secure a good job. Similarly, many employers look to colleges as sources of high-quality candidates to fill job openings.
Due to demographic changes and the democratization of expertise, AI could help rebuild the middle class, not destroy their jobs. —David Autor, Noēma School choice stands to benefit, not harm, rural communities.
There are, generally speaking, two ways to report students’ performance on tests. One is normative, and it compares a student’s performance to his peers. The second is criterion, and it compares a student’s performance to learning standards, indicating grade-level proficiency and is independent of peers’ test performance.
The push for more “equitable” grading policies has exacerbated grade inflation while yielding little evidence of greater learning. Some aspects of traditional grading can indeed perpetuate inequities, but top-down policies that make grading more lenient are not the answer, especially as schools grapple with the academic and behavioral challenges of the post-pandemic era.
Rick Hess and Mike McShane have provided the education world with a thoughtful, accessible, perceptive, and—in its way—persuasive book on improving education. Though sub-titled (and marketed as) “a conservative vision,” it’s both more and less than that.
My friend Michael Petrilli just wrote a great essay about the “homework gap.” He sets aside the upper-class question (stressed out kids with too much of it) and steers readers to the gap (some kids do what’s assigned, some kids copy and cheat, and some kids skip it).
Districts have used almost $190 billion in ESSER funds to help students recover from pandemic learning loss by implementing a wide variety of initiatives, including
Approximately half of college graduates work jobs that don’t use the skills and knowledge from their degree. —Wall Street Journal A recent Supreme Court action allows schools to consider socioeconomic status, but not race, in admissions decisions.
If we care about doing educational equity right, we need to call the bluff of those who want to lower expectations for students’ effort “because equity.” Those so-called advocates need to do some of their own homework—and penance—as well.
Fights over books, an exodus from public schools, politically obsessed adolescents, the need for civics education—Horace Mann predicted it all back in 1848. Thankfully, this education luminary also provided wisdom and insight in the common school era for how we can turn down the culture war heat in modern times.
In their FUSION essay “The Past and Future of Education Reform,” drawing heavily on their worthy
A new report from PEN America claims that 1.3 million teachers, roughly a third of full-time classroom staff in the United States, are now forced to work under “educational gag orders.” PEN tallies forty pieces of legislation restricting teacher speech across twenty-two states as of November 1, 2023.
Seemingly positive daily attendance data can mask the realities of chronic absenteeism.
Marginalized students have long lacked access to advanced education programs in the U.S., compared to more advantaged peers, and have been under-identified and therefore underserved when such programs exist.
In recent months, housing programs for school teachers have begun to receive high-profile attention. And with good reason: As costs of living have risen, teacher salaries have not kept pace, thereby decreasing some educators’ ability to live near their workplaces. But are such policies actually a good thing? In short: We really don’t know.
Idaho’s public charter school law turned twenty-five last year. Over that quarter century, the statute has grown warts. It’s also too complicated, burdened by vestigial code and rules, and confusing to schools, authorizers,[1] and state education agencies alike.
Forty-four percent of Gen Z men say they had no romantic relationships as teenagers, compared to 32 percent of Millennial men, 23 percent of Gen X men, and 20 percent of Boomer men.
This essay first appeared in an slightly different form as part of the Center on Reinventing Public Education’s 2023 State of the American Student report.
Shuttering under-enrolled schools is usually seen as a bad thing—for students and for neighborhoods. But that need not be the case. An equitable approach to school closures would commit to placing affected students in higher-performing schools.
It’s been more than two decades since Congress passed and President Bush (43) signed the Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA), giving birth to the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) as we know it.
My students caught me smelling an old book once. While they were silently reading one day, I noticed a tattered book on the shelf. So what did I do? Following deep instincts, I pulled it down, cracked the spine, and breathed deeply. “Mr. Buck, what are you DOING?!” I turned around to find the whole class staring at me.
Many states are overhauling their early literacy policies to align with the science of reading, an evidence-based approach that emphasizes phonics and knowledge building. Effectively implementing these reforms is crucial, as high-quality reading instruction can improve both academic and life outcomes for children.
Cheers With declining enrollment, school closures are coming, and it’s imperative that journalists cover them honestly. —Tim Daly, The Grade
Examination of Covid-era impacts on students, families, and schools continues apace. Getting a full picture of the fallout, who was affected, and how helps education leaders better direct their resources to serve impacted students.
A recent survey found that six in ten Black single mothers plan to vote for leaders who will expand their school choice options. —The 74