The Olympian challenges facing America's high schools
On this week's podcast, Mike Petrilli, Alyssa Schwenk,
On this week's podcast, Mike Petrilli, Alyssa Schwenk,
Schools have long failed to cultivate the innate talents of many of their young people, particularly high-ability girls and boys from disadvantaged and minority backgrounds. This failure harms the economy, widens income gaps, arrests upward mobility, and exacerbates civic decay and political division.
On this week's podcast, Mike Magee, CEO of Chiefs for Change, and Nina Rees, CEO and president of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, join Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss where the choice movement stands on the occasion of National School Choice Week. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines a study on school discipline reform in Philadelphia, complete with a jaw-dropping teacher survey.
On this week's podcast, Margaret Horn, an executive at CenterPoint Education Solutions, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss how policymakers and philanthropists can help educators implement high standards. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines public preferences for universal and targeted preschool.
On this week’s podcast, Benjamin Boer, deputy director at Advance Illinois, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss how a coalition of advocates succeeded in getting the Land of Lincoln to overhaul its inequitable school funding formula. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the relationship between high school value added and students’ college success.
On this week's podcast, special guest Chris Minnich, who is stepping down after five years at the helm of the Council of Chief State School Officers, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss the future of state education policymaking in the ESSA era. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern highlights the best research studies of 2017.
On this week’s podcast, special guest Chad Aldeman, a principal at Bellwether Education Partners, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to compare Fordham’s ESSA review to that of Bellwether and the Collaborative for Student Success. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines educators’ political persuasions and their potential effects on classrooms.
On this week's podcast, special guest Elisa Villanueva Beard, CEO of Teach For America, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss whether TFA has moved to the left politically and educationally, and why that might be a problem. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the prevalence of good American jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree.
On this week's podcast, special guest Kim Smith—CEO of the National Charter Collaborative—joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss single-site charter school leaders of color. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines Raj Chetty’s new “Lost Einsteins” study, which finds that smart low-income kids are much less likely than their affluent peers to grow up to become inventors.
One important question about school discipline is whether it helps or harms those being disciplined. But a second, equally important question is whether a push to reduce the number of suspensions is harmful to the rule-abiding majority.
On this week's podcast, Mike Petrilli, Alyssa Schwenk, and Brandon Wright discuss why charters enjoy more support in some states than in others. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the impact of administrator and parent support on teacher retention.
On this week's podcast, special guest Marc Porter Magee—founder and CEO of 50CAN—joins Mike Petrilli and Brandon Wright to discuss states’ accountability plans under ESSA. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines an international meta-analysis of how technology is affecting academic outcomes.
On this week's podcast, special guest Kristen Soltis Anderson—co-founder of Echelon Insights—joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss millennials’ views on education. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines Florida’s universal preschool program, and you’ll never guess what happens to its academic benefits over time.
The Every Student Succeeds Act grants states more authority over their accountability systems than did No Child Left Behind, but have they seized the opportunity to develop school ratings that are clearer and fairer than those in the past?
On this week's podcast, special guest Anne Hyslop—education consultant and former Senior Policy Advisor in the Obama Department of Education—joins Alyssa Schwenk and Brandon Wright to discuss staffing and policy issues facing the department under Secretary Betsy DeVos. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how teachers affect students’ attitudes and behaviors.
On this week's podcast, Mike Petrilli, Alyssa Schwenk, and Brandon Wright discuss education reform’s surprisingly good year. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines a rigorous new study of career and technical education and its relationship to higher graduation rates.
On this week's podcast, special guest Andy Smarick, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Mike Petrilli and Brandon Wright to discuss his review of David Osborne’s new book, Reinventing America’s Schools. During the Research Minute, David Griffith examines how heightened parent expectations affect Chinese students born during the Year of the Dragon.
On this week's podcast, special guest Sara Mead, a partner at Bellwether Education, joins Alyssa Schwenk and Brandon Wright to discuss the past, present, and future of early childhood education. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the positive effects of education reform in Newark, New Jersey.
On this week's podcast, special guest Scott Pearson, executive director of the DC Public Charter School Board, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss the pros, cons, and challenges of closing low-performing schools. During the Research Minute, David Griffith explores why unionized charter schools in California perform better.
On this week's podcast, special guest Derrell Bradford, the executive vice president of 50CAN, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss Fordham’s new report on teacher absenteeism. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines what happened to student outcomes when desegregation orders came to an end in the 1990s.
Research confirms what common sense dictates: Students learn less when their teachers aren’t there. According to multiple studies, a ten-day increase in teacher absence results in at least ten fewer days of learning for students.
On this week's podcast, special guest Constance A. Lindsay, a research associate at the Urban Institute, joins Mike Petrilli and Brandon Wright to discuss New York City’s controversial new plan to use its Absent Teacher Reserve Pool to fill its teacher vacancies. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines an imperfect study of classrooms’ use of technology.
On this week's podcast, special guest David Osborne, a director at the Progressive Policy Institute, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss his new book, Reinventing America’s Schools. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines a blockbuster study finding that the over-identification of minority children in special education is a myth.
On this week's podcast, special guest Yamuna Menon, vice president of advocacy and policy at 50CAN, joins Alyssa Schwenk and Brandon Wright to discuss the ins and outs of state education policy and how national organizations can more constructively influence it. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how being among the older children in a grade affects cognitive development.
On this week's podcast, special guest Jessica Sutter, founder and president of EdPro Consulting, joins Alyssa Schwenk and Brandon Wright to discuss Secretary DeVos’s thoughts on accountability for schools of choice. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines student safety in Detroit charter schools.
On this week's podcast, Mike Petrilli, Brandon Wright, and David Griffith discuss Education Next’s new poll and what might be driving the surprising results regarding charter schools and vouchers. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how dual-enrollment affects college degree attainment.
On this week's podcast, special guest Kathleen Porter-Magee, superintendent and chief academic officer of Partnership Schools, joins Brandon Wright and Checker Finn to discuss the state of Catholic schools and what role vouchers might play in their future. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how charter schools affect the performance and spending of nearby district schools in New York City.
On this week's podcast, special guest Paige Kowalski, executive vice president for the Data Quality Campaign, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss how parents and teachers can get access to powerful student data. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines teacher mobility in Florida.
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) grants states more authority over their school accountability systems than did No Child Left Behind (NCLB)—meaning that states now have a greater opportunity to design improved school ratings. Rating the Ratings: Analyzing the First 17 ESSA Accountability Plans examines whether states are making the most of the moment.
On this week's podcast, special guest Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds, vice president of policy at the Foundation for Excellence in Education, joins Alyssa Schwenk and Brandon Wright to discuss whether state ESSA plans have been innovative, and whether they’re cause for optimism. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the effect of mandatory college entrance exams on college enrollment.