Commentary
Playing the race card won't save No Child Left Behind
The debate over annual testing is important, but it’s no Brown v. Board of Education. Frederick M. Hess and Michael J. Petrilli
Commentary
When government fails us
Monday afternoon, a Washington, D.C., metro rail train stopped in a tunnel not far from a major station, and the car began filling with smoke. Soon the lights went off and, though many passengers were struggling to breathe, they were told by metro employees to stay put.
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ESSA
ESEA update: More red than green in Lamar Alexander's reauthorization bill
Last week, I explained the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (a.k.a. No Child Left Behind) in a single table:
Commentary
Commentary
Barack Obama's love affair with universality
Free community college diverts resources away from more pressing problems. Chester E. Finn, Jr.
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Commentary
Three thoughts about Secretary Duncan's ESEA speech
Overachieving Andy already beat me to the punch with ten thoughts about the secretary’s speech today.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing
Ten things to know about Secretary Duncan's ESEA reauthorization speech
As I wrote last week, with the ESEA reauthorization process heating up, lots of advocates are now trying to influence the congressional deliberations. Secretary Duncan weighed in this morning.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Vision Talks a better fit for conservatives than ed reformers
In AEI’s latest Vision Talks video, Arthur Brooks, its president and the happiest man in the think-tank world, argues that public-policy advocates need to make a better cas
Commentary
Commentary
Standards
When the standard algorithm is the only algorithm taught
Editor's note: This post originally appeared in a slightly different form on the Tools for the Common Core Standards blog.
Commentary
State chiefs speak on ESEA
The ed-policy world is abuzz: ESEA now probably stands a better chance of being reauthorized than at any time since NCLB’s signing, thirteen years ago yesterday.
Commentary
Is it quality or quantity that counts?
Ah, January is upon us: The wind is howling, the thermometer is plummeting, and we are greeted by the nineteenth consecutive edition of Quality Counts, Education Week
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Commentary
If Congress raises the "Obamacare workweek" to forty hours, many teachers won't qualify
Debate begins today on H.R. 30, a bill to tweak Obamacare so that large employers need not provide insurance for their staff unless they work forty hours per week, versus thirty hours under current law.
Commentary
Commentary
A Better Picture of Poverty: What Chronic Absenteeism and Risk Load Reveal About NYC's Lowest-Income Elementary Schools
One in five Gotham students miss at least 10 percent of the school year. Megan Lail
Commentary
All or Nothing? The Impact of School and Classroom Gender Composition on Effort and Academic Achievement
Boys do better when girls aren’t around. Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.
Commentary
The Educational Attainment of Chicago Public Schools Students: A Focus on Four-Year College Degrees
High-potential students still aren’t being reached. Robert Pondiscio
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Standards, Curriculum & Instruction
2015: The year of curriculum-based reform?
Some of ed reform’s leading lights finally see that what kids learn makes a difference. Robert Pondiscio
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Commentary
ESSA
ESEA reauthorization explained in a single table
ESEA reauthorization explained in a single table
Commentary
Commentary
Standards
Common Core State Standards aren't so easy to replace
Crying “Dump it!” might be good politics. But any high standards will look a lot like Common Core. Michael J. Petrilli and Michael Brickman
Commentary
Charter Schools
Why didn't I think of that?
Perhaps the highest praise you can heap on another writer’s work is to acknowledge a tinge of professional jealousy. You read a blog post, column, or piece of reporting and think, “Damn, I wish I’d written that.” Here are some of the pieces—about Common Core and education at large—I wish I’d written in 2014.
Commentary
Standards, Curriculum & Instruction
The missing link between standards and instruction
Previously, I posted about the perils of applying standards-driven instruction to reading classrooms.
Commentary
Do policymakers cherry-pick research?
Editor's note: This post is the sixth entry of a multi-part series of interviews featuring Fordham's own Andy Smarick and Jack Schneider, an assistant professor of education at Holy Cross.
Commentary
Your favorite (Fordham) things (in 2014)
It’s the end of another great year in education-reform punditry. What was on the mind of Fordham experts and guest bloggers this year? Common Core for sure, from teaching literacy to the coming assessments; but also the fate of unions, no-excuses charters, career and technical education, differentiated instruction, and more.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Exploring Ohio’s Private Education Sector
Some interesting trends and projections emerge from limited private school data