The impact of IMPACT

In recent months, so many reformers have come down with a case of the shakes, fretting about everything under the sun.

It’s a bad idea to use a lottery system for varsity football…and for varsity courses

Lottery systems are too common in education. And while it’s the fairest way to allocate a limited number of seats at, say, an oversubscribed, high-performing charter school, it’s not the way forward when it comes to Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Unfortunately, that’s the direction some California school districts may be heading.

The licensure trap

Over at Education Week’s Bridging Differences blog, our own Mike Petrilli and educator Deborah Meier have been engaged in a spirited back and forth about the role that poverty plays in education.

The especially deserving poor

Dear Deborah, A healthy debate we've started indeed! I'm not sure we've bridged many differences, though; maybe we should change the blog's name to Bigging Differences.

Rethinking high school

As waves of reforms and would-be reforms have washed over American public education these past three decades, high schools have mostly stayed dry. Although test scores have risen slightly in the early grades, especially in math, National Assessment results for twelfth-graders have been flat or down a bit. SAT scores are also flat, and ACT averages much the same.

The conversation

Over the past several weeks, Fordham’s Mike Petrilli has been debating Deborah Meier on her Bridging Differences blog about the relationship between poverty and education. One topic that’s come up is the impact of family breakdown.

Showtime's over, the hard work continues

Last Wednesday, the House Education Committee heard sponsor testimony on House Bill 237, legislation that would repeal the Common Core State Standards in Ohio. For those unaware, the Common Core is a set of academic standards that the State Board of Education voluntarily adopted for English and math in June 2010.

Netflix Academy: The best streaming videos on Christopher Columbus and the Age of Discovery

Note: This post is part of our series, "Netflix Academy: The best educational videos available for streaming." Be sure to check out our previous Netflix Academy posts on 

Simple Choices: Thoughts on choosing environments that support who your child is meant to be

Not without a fight

Bill de Blasio, the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City, is no friend of charter schools.

The record on vouchers is not mixed

It’s no exaggeration to say that private school choice has been a success. Every serious study into the efficacy of vouchers and tax-credit scholarships has shown either positive or neutral benefits for students, and virtually no significant research has found any signs of academic harm to children.

Two speeches

On September 30, U.S. education secretary Arne Duncan spoke at the National Press Club. The following day, Louisiana state superintendent John White spoke at AEI.

Khan Academy's forays into competency-based learning continue to impress

Like many, I first became aware of Sal Khan and his Khan Academy when I watched his 2011 TED Talk and was blown away. I immediately jumped onto the site to begin trying practice problems and watching videos in mathematics, the financial crisis, and history.

Common Core has nationalized our curriculum & these local decisions prove it!

The latest in a series of anti–Common Core scare tactics came from Michelle Malkin yesterday, when she implored,

By the Company It Keeps: J.B. Schramm

Can Rating Pre-K Programs Predict Children’s Learning?

Review of recent study attempting to connect quality pre-K program ratings to quality outcomes for children.

Columbus school reform shouldn’t forget the whiz kids

High-ability low-income students could get lost in the shuffle in Columbus

Change and opportunity for Ohio’s urban districts

The downsizing of urban districts presents an opportunity for change in Ohio's Big 8.

Implementing the Common Core: Notes from a rural Ohio school

Continuing our From the Frontlines series on Common Core implementation in schools across Ohio.

CCSSO gives the feds a way out

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) recently issued a set of principles for the new Common Core–aligned tests. The document sent a pointed message to the Department of Education: “Dear Mr. Secretary: We got this.”

The record on vouchers is not mixed

It’s not a radical statement to say that private school choice has been a success. Every serious study into the efficacy of vouchers and tax-credit scholarships has shown either positive or neutral benefits for students. Virtually no significant research has found that they have academically harmed children.

Into the lion’s den: Defending the Common Core at Cato

Last week, Chester Finn and Michael Petrilli—Fordham’s dynamic duo—joined a Cato Institute debate on Common Core, going up against Neal McCluskey of Cato and Emmett McGroaty of the American Principles Project.Here are the key arguments that Checker and Mike made in defense of the Common Core:

Event Recap: Re-imagining Teaching

Last week, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute was lucky to co-host "Re-Imagining Teaching: Five Structures to Transform the Profession" with the National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY).

Common Core & Curriculum Controversies

Does three times four equal eleven? Will “fuzzy math” leave our students two years behind other countries? Will literature vanish from the English class? Is gifted-and-talented education dying? A barrel of rumors and myths about curriculum has made its way into discussions of the Common Core State Standards for math and English language arts.

Has the left lost faith in upward mobility?

Dear Deborah,

Netflix Academy: The 10 best streaming videos on Native American cultures

Note: This post is part of our series, "Netflix Academy: The best educational videos available for streaming." Be sure to check out our previous Netflix Academy posts on

Andres Alonso would be a great choice to lead NYC schools

By Kalman R. Hettleman

Learning gains and race

In a prior post, I looked at the relationship between the Buckeye State’s value-added index scores and the state’s measure of poverty.

Why the Gap? Special Education and New York City Charter Schools

The University of Washington’s Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) has emerged as the leading voice of reason on the vexing overlap between charter school policy and special education policy.