Commentary
When schools fail refugee and immigrant students
For my first four years in the classroom, I taught English as a second language to Somali refugees and Latin American immigrants in a small city in Wisconsin.
Topics
Commentary
Evidence-Based Learning, Charter Schools, Governance
School choice and earnings: Insights from Sweden
In the 1990s, Sweden overhauled its public education system. Previously run almost entirely by local governments, public schools could now be operated either by districts or by private providers—similar to U.S. charter schools.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
The decline of human flourishing and what schools can do about it
Our society is failing its most important task: fostering human flourishing. And schools aren’t helping. Far too many students graduate unprepared to think critically, navigate community, or develop the resilience needed to face life’s challenges.
Commentary
Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
Better schools start with better school board elections
Like the other elections that took place last month, the one that decided who would serve on the Albuquerque Public Schools Board was characterized by record turnout.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing, Career & Technical Education
Do short-term noncredit programs boost earnings?
Students in short-term workforce education programs will soon get some help covering tuition costs. The recently-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act expands Pell Grants to workforce programs as short as eight weeks or 150 clock hours in duration.
Commentary
Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
Remembering Rod Paige, a great American
Rod Paige passed away this week. A former United States Secretary of Education, he was also a visionary, a leader, a passionate and compassionate educator, and so much more. We miss you, Rod. We will continue to miss you. We thank you for your service—to us and to the children and educators of America—and for your friendship. May you rest in peace.
Commentary
Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
Moving K–12 programs to the Department of Labor is neither smart nor conservative
The Trump administration recently proposed shifting Department of Education programs to other agencies, mostly the Labor Department. A few of the ideas makes sense. But overall, the proposal is nuts—and betrays conservative values, says a longtime GOP staffer.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction, Teachers & School Leaders
Helping students flourish, not just achieve: An interview with Mike Goldstein
Editor’s note: To read more about this topic from Mike Goldstein and Sean Geraghty, co-founders of the Center For Teen Flourishing, see “What are students doing between 6 p
Commentary
Evidence-Based Learning, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Advanced Education, Teachers & School Leaders
We’re losing too many high-achieving low-income students
Across the country, tens of thousands of high-achieving children are sitting at their desks, waiting for the challenge they deserve. But for many—and above all for those from low-income families—that wait won’t end.
Commentary
Evidence-Based Learning, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
Assessing students’ academic mobility via test-based and non-test-based outcomes
There is a widely-held belief that the foremost mission of American public education is to provide a pathway to success for every student, including those who face considerable life obstacles. However, persistent achievement gaps along dimensions of race, income, family education level, and other factors challenge the truth—or at least the practicality—of this conviction.
Commentary
Evidence-Based Learning, Teachers & School Leaders
Why are students missing school?
As states continue to confront abysmal post-pandemic attendance patterns, understanding why students miss school has become increasingly impo
Commentary
Evidence-Based Learning, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
50 years of special education in the U.S.: Key components for special education 2.0
Editor’s note: This is the third in a three-part series in which Miriam Kurtzig Freedman reflects back on a half-century of special education law in the United States.
Commentary
Evidence-Based Learning, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
50 years of special education in the U.S.: Why we need a new law built on the science of learning, not the adversarial legal system
Editor’s note: This is the second in a three-part series in which Miriam Kurtzig Freedman reflects back on a half-century of special education law in the United States.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
How transparency in national education statistics can improve learning options
Recent national test scores show historic declines in American students’ academic achievement in reading and mathematics.
Commentary
Charter Schools, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
What classical charters offer the school choice movement
By all accounts, urban charter schools are an uncontested victory of the bipartisan education reform movement.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Private School Choice
In the era of ESAs, who’s watching homeschooling?
In recent years, homeschooling has quietly become one of the fastest-growing corners of the school choice movement.
Commentary
School Finance, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
Why teacher salaries are stagnant
Bold teacher pay reforms are needed. But to maximize the long-term impact of such policies, it’s important to address the root causes of stagnant salaries. Examining data both before and after the pandemic reveals structural problems in K–12 finance that keep dollars out of teacher paychecks.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
A “zero-based budgeting” approach for course requirements in the age of AI
For better or worse, AI, and especially chatbots associated with large language models, are already changing the daily rhythms of education here and around the world.
Commentary
Governance
Going back to Obama’s education policies would be a mistake
Over at Slow Boring, Matthew Yglesias has been writing a series on immigration and arguing that Democrats can’t just “go back” to Obama-era policies. Yglesias makes the convincing case that the world has changed, and immigration policies need to change with it.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
50 years of special education in the U.S.: Where we are now—the good, the bad, and the need for a new law
Editor’s note: This is the first in a three-part series in which Miriam Kurtzig Freedman reflects back on a half-century of special education law in the United States.
Commentary
Evidence-Based Learning, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
If we want the science of reading to work, we have to start before kindergarten
The science of reading (SoR) movement has driven states and districts to improve teacher preparation, adopt evidence-based materials, and clarify for K‒3 instruction. Yet one critical tier remains missing: early childhood education (ECE).
Commentary
Evidence-Based Learning, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
Connecting intervention and core curriculum: Why coherence matters and how to achieve it
Editor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2025 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to answer this question: “What needs to happen next—at the state, district, and school levels—for the science of reading revolution to fulfill its promise and ensure that fa
Commentary
Evidence-Based Learning, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
Reading laws aren’t enough: How states can turn policy into progress
Editor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2025 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to answer this question: “What needs to happen next—at the state, district, and school levels—for the science of reading revolution to fulfill its promise and ensure that far more
Commentary
Evidence-Based Learning, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
Knowing what to do isn’t knowing how to do it: The missing discipline of systemic strategy
Editor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2025 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to answer this question: “What needs to happen next—at the state, district, and school levels—for the science of reading revolution to fulfill its promise and ensure that far more
Commentary
Evidence-Based Learning, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
Strengthening literacy systems: Embedding school–home partnerships to improve outcomes for all kids
Editor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2025 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to answer this question: “What needs to happen next—at the state, district, and school levels—for the science of reading revolution to fulfill its promise and ensure that far more
Commentary
Evidence-Based Learning, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
Still missing: Educators’ knowledge of language
Editor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2025 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to answer this question: “What needs to happen next—at the state, district, and school levels—for the science of reading revolution to fulfill its promise and ensure that far more
Commentary
Charter Schools, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
Denver ed reform took a big blow. Here’s why.
Last week’s Denver school board election made clear that 2030 will likely be the next real opportunity for Denver Public Schools (DPS) to chart a new course.
Commentary
Evidence-Based Learning, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
Don’t forget to write
Editor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2025 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to answer this question: “What needs to happen next—at the state, district, and school levels—for the science of reading revolution to fulfill its promise and ensure that far more
Commentary
Evidence-Based Learning, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
Using family partnerships to help fulfill the science-of-reading promise
Editor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2025 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to answer this question: “What needs to happen next—at the state, district, and school levels—for the science of reading revolution to fulfill its promise and ensure that far more
Commentary
Evidence-Based Learning, Curriculum & Instruction, Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
Science of reading 2.0: Assessment in the service of learning as the backbone of science-powered reading improvement
Editor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2025 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to answer this question: “What needs to happen next—at the state, district, and school levels—for the science of reading revolution to fulfill its promise and ensure that far more
