What we're reading this week: October 19, 2023
The Education GadflyA new study from the Brookings Institution finds that stronger school-to-career pipelines can help young adults develop financial security.
Wonkathon 2023: How can we harness the power but mitigate the risks of artificial intelligence in our schools?
Thomas B. Fordham InstituteAs in years past, we’ll encourage our audience to vote for the “wisest wonk.” If you’re keen to jump in—and we hope you are—please let us know and indicate when we can expect your draft. We will publish submissions on a rolling basis, so send yours as soon as practical but no later than Monday, November 6. Aim for 800 to 1200 words.
Retaining struggling readers in third grade sounds good—but it’s too little, too late, too often
Kalman R. HettlemanEducators have long debated whether to retain students who do not meet grade level standards.
Don’t mess with Texas school reform
Dale ChuTexas legislators returned to Austin earlier this week to try once again to enact a statewide school-choice program in the form of edu
There’s no Republican or Democrat way to teach reading
Robert PondiscioThere are forty-four phonemes that make up every word in the English language. Some of these small units of sound occur more frequently than others, but none can be dispensed with entirely when teaching children to sound out words and read with fluency—not even the phoneme /d/ as in “Democrat” or /r/ as in “Republican.”
How good are teachers at spotting advanced students?
Kate KerinMany school districts use teacher rating scales to identify students for advanced (i.e., gifted) programming, such as supplementary instruction and separate classes or schools.
What we're reading this week: October 12, 2023
The Education GadflyThe yawning gap in life expectancy between high school grads and dropouts is more complicated than some narratives imply.
Think Again: Is grade retention bad for kids?
Umut Özek, Louis T. MarianoThis brief challenges the long-held notion that grade retention is “bad for kids.”
Senator Dianne Feinstein: A champion for giving families more choices of schools
Bruno V. MannoDemocratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California died on September 29. She was ninety years of age and remarkable in many ways, beginning with being the first woman to serve as mayor of San Francisco after her predecessor was assassinated in 1978.
AI is a serious threat to student privacy
Daniel BuckThe bulk of commentary and school district policy relating to AI and education focuses almost exclusively on questions regarding cheating and whether it still makes sense to teach kids to write. But there are other risks of the tech and thorny questions looming on the horizon that are worryingly overlooked. Student privacy is perhaps chief among them.
Remembering Emerson Elliott
Chester E. Finn, Jr.When Emerson Elliott passed away the other day at eighty-nine, surrounded by his loving four-generation family, one might simply say adieu and thanks to a capable and dedicated career federal civil servant—which he surely was.
Can a licensure test accurately assess CTE teacher competency?
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.There is plentiful research suggesting that, among in-school factors, teachers consistently matter the most when it comes to student testing outcomes.
The pipeline from postsecondary education into the manufacturing industry
Jeff MurrayData show that America’s current manufacturing workforce is aging and retiring as the sector is expanding exponentially and its
What we're reading this week: October 5, 2023
The Education GadflyResearch remains inconclusive about the effects of exclusionary practices like suspensions on a disciplined child’s peers.
One cheer for New York City’s efforts on advanced education
Brandon L. Wright, Daniel BuckWhen former mayor Bill de Blasio promised to dismantle New York City’s gifted education programs, then-candidate Eric Adams laudably promised to save, reform and expand them. Since taking the helm, howev
Finding “lost Einsteins” means fixing K–5 science, especially in rural schools
Jeanne McCartyThis nation’s economic security will be won or lost based on the ability of elementary schools to energize science education.
ChatGPT hasn’t killed the academic essay
Daniel BuckAn academic essay is an end in itself. It teaches, among other things, control of language, how to organize thoughts and structure them such that a reader can easily follow them, how to state an argument clearly upfront, how to hook a reader’s interest, and how to conclude in a concise, powerful way. AI will not change this.
Parents and schools need a reset
Ryan HooperTensions between parents and educators are at an all-time high. Differences in opinion about education are not new, and they certainly do not have to lead to a corrosion of trust. Yet that is exactly what has happened, and both groups shoulder blame—as does the media.
Students’ ignorance of U.S. history and civics remains a national embarrassment
Robert PondiscioA new study from a pair of Penn State University researchers finds that passing the U.S. Citizenship Test as a high school graduation requirement does nothing to improve youth voter turnout. Within the last decade, more than a third of U.S.
The ups and downs of Dallas’s pay-for-performance roller coaster
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.History and research make clear that, often, the
Later-life impacts of school accountability
Jeff MurrayThere is no shortage of research into the impacts of school and district accountability systems on education-related student outcomes.
What we're reading this week: September 28, 2023
The Education GadflyHarvard economist Roland Fryer and venture capitalist Bill Helman launched a firm to invest in profitable, socially conscious businesses.
Chronic absenteeism has become a crisis, part 3: Solutions
Tim DalyPart one of this series explored many possible explanations for the rise in absenteeism. They come in all shapes and sizes, some more plausible than others. Part two unpacks how this issue plays out in cities and suburbs—and what stands out most is how kids are missing school everywhere. This final post offers five solutions.
Public charter schools and the Chipotlification of education
Christy WolfeBefore Chipotle ushered in the phenomenon of being able to “have it your way,” the customization of a fast casual meal was relegated to condiments, not the entire entree.
In the wake of the pandemic, time is of the essence for high school students
Victoria McDougaldA new report released last week by the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) explores the pandemic’s impact on America’s oldest students—those in high school and the 13.5 million who recently graduated.