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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.

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.

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.

What classical charters offer the school choice movement

By all accounts, urban charter schools are an uncontested victory of the bipartisan education reform movement.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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

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

Reaching Their Full Potential: Plugging the Leaky Pipeline for High-Achieving, Low-Income (HALO) Students

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

From slogans to scores: What has to happen next for the science of reading to actually work

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

The science of reading is not about policies, it’s about practices

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

Give reading teachers better systems

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

Sex, drugs, and screens: Why schools can’t win the dopamine Olympics

The ubiquity, pervasiveness, and personalization of smartphones are reshaping behavior at a scale and speed never before seen. The classroom cannot compete with the attention economy on its terms. The smarter approach is to change the rules of the game entirely so that students spend less time swiping and more time solving for x.

The slippery slope of relaxed high school graduation standards

A few weeks ago, Mike Petrilli asked readers of his SCHOOLED Substack: “Are high school graduation standards too low?” The initial responses from Dan Goldhaber, Checker Finn, and Matt Gandal were a consisten

Trump’s education tax credit has a quality control problem. Is there a private sector solution?

The education tax credit included in the “One Big Beautiful” act has the potential to drive tens of billions of dollars toward private school scholarships, as well as tutoring programs in public and

What do longitudinal cognitive skills tests reveal about human capital development?

A new study published in The Economic Journal in the United Kingdom attempts to untangle the intertwined influences of cognitive skills and human capital development on adult wages over a person’s lifetime.

Are teachers penalized for working the jobs their peers don’t even want?

Much has been said about teacher pay: It’s adequate or it’s definitely not enough, it impacts teacher