Commentary
Abraham Lincoln schools his peers: American presidents ranked by school names
By Michael J. Petrilli
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Commentary
"Knowledge map" your ELA curriculum
In an essay in The Washington Post last summer, Sonja Santelises, the courageous chief executive of Baltimore City Public Schools, described a problem commonly overlooked in school districts like hers: a “disjointed” curriculum that’s not simply lacking in rigor, but fails even to “connect [students’] experiences to other people’s histories and the larger world.” More than 80 percent of her district’s pupils are black, but according to Santelises, the world they saw....
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Podcast
School Finance
The Education Gadfly Show: The profit motive and education
On this week’s podcast, Neal McCluskey, director of Cato's Center for Educational Freedom, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the appropriate role of for-profit entities in education. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the effects tracking, instructional practices, and text complexity have on students who are struggling with reading in middle school.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction
Instructional coaches: The heroes of the Golden Age of Educational Practice
Shifting ed reform’s focus to improving practice is an acknowledgment that underperformance is not a failure of will, but a lack of capacity. It’s a talent-development and human capital-strategy, not an accountability play. Forcing changes in behavior, whether through lawmaking or lawsuit, may win compliance, but it doesn’t advance understanding and sophistication. Teachers need to understand the “why” behind evidence-based practice to implement it well and effectively.
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Advanced Education
Rampant grade inflation is harming vulnerable high schoolers
By Brandon L. Wright
Event
Curriculum & Instruction
Education 20/20: Eliot Cohen and Yuval Levin
The second half of our Education 20/20 speaker series begins on February 12th as we bring you another double header. Eliot Cohen will argue for civic education that promotes patriotic history, one that not only educates and informs but also inspires. Yuval Levin will make the case for reasserting the role of education in character formation.
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Podcast
The Education Gadfly Show: Millennial parents and education reform
On this week’s podcast, Kristen Soltis Anderson, pollster and co-founder of Echelon Insights, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss what millennial parents think about education. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how Florida’s tax credit scholarship program has affected participants’ college enrollment and degree attainment.
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Here's where the education reform devilish details on classroom practice should start
By Kalman R. Hettleman
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Podcast
The Education Gadfly Show: Teacher strikes, Democrats, and ed reform
On this week’s podcast, Shavar Jeffries, President of Democrats for Education Reform, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss what teacher strikes and Democratic presidential candidates’ support for them mean for education reform. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines whether efforts to boost academic achievement in kindergarten hinder the development of social-emotional skills.
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Seeking a culture of improvement
If this era is to become a Golden Age of Educational Practice, we need successful, evidence-based practices—to the extent that they actually exist—to spread far and wide.
Commentary
Standards, Teachers & School Leaders
Grade inflation is rampant, but accreditors can help
By Jeremy Noonan
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction
Thinking about classroom practice: Five ideas for ed reformers
By Robert Pondiscio
Podcast
The Education Gadfly Show: The state of choice during National School Choice Week
On this week’s podcast, Mike Magee, CEO of Chiefs for Change, and Nina Rees, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, join Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss National School Choice Week and the many hopeful developments on the charter schools front nationwide. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines whether schools of choice (both traditional and charter) “skim” students they perceive to be easier to educate or avoid those perceived harder to educate.