It is widely taken for granted that schools with large numbers of poor students and students of color receive less funding than schools with more white and wealthy students. A recent study digs deeper and, in so doing, shakes up what we think we know.

The study improves upon previous research in multiple ways. First, it taps better data, specifically newly available school-level spending data for 2017–18, cleaned up and housed at the National Education Resource Database on Schools (or NERD$) via the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University. Second, to measure school poverty levels, it uses not only free and reduced-price lunch (FRL) numbers but also data from the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE), which are only available at the district level but are more accurate than FRL numbers. Third, it uses the Consumer Price Index to account for regional differences in costs and other adjustments to ensure that spending and per-pupil amounts are properly reflective of the respective area. Finally, it incorporates analyses at the national, state, and district levels to make more detailed and accurate funding comparisons.

The analysts employ a fixed-effects regression model that is weighted by enrollment. Personnel expenditures, teacher salaries, FTE counts, and novice FTE counts come from the Office for Civil Rights database. In a nutshell, the study compares how funding and teacher resources are distributed to Black and Hispanic versus white students and to poor versus non-poor students to determine whether distributions are progressive (meaning they favor disadvantaged kids) or regressive (meaning they favor advantaged kids).

At the national level, the picture is partly regressive. Black, Hispanic, and poor students—per the FRL measure—receive less K–12 expenditures per pupil than white and economically advantaged students (between $400 to $1,200 less per pupil). When they use SAIPE data, however, the researchers find that poor kids actually receive $325 more per pupil than non-poor kids, so the results are sensitive to the measure. What’s more, there is heterogeneity and complexity across states, with some looking progressive when comparing state-level expenditure gaps between poor and non-poor students, while others look regressive when comparing gaps between Black-white and Hispanic-white students.

Digging deeper, at the state level, Black and poor kids receive more K–12 expenditures per pupil than white and economically advantaged students (between $200 to $400 dollars more), an amount that grows even larger when using the SAIPE poverty measure. The notable exception is Hispanic students, who receive no additional funding per pupil compared with white students (on average at the state level). Capital expenditures are regressive at the state level, consistently favoring advantaged students.

Viewed at the district level, the picture is also progressive, with Black students receiving $416 more per pupil than white students and students on FRL receiving $316 more than non-FRL kids. Here, Hispanic students also see progressive spending as they receive $232 more than white students on average.

In terms of allocating teachers, Black, Hispanic, and FRL students have more full-time teachers per hundred students than do their white peers and those who don’t receive FRL. This gap equates to, on average, disadvantaged kids having about two more FTEs per thousand students than their counterparts. They have smaller class sizes, too, although they also have greater exposure to inexperienced teachers (about one additional novice per thousand students).

Finally, the researchers look into what may be driving district-level spending favoring disadvantaged kids and find no evidence that it can be explained by district size, average total district spending, teacher turnover, or the size of the special education population.

It seems that the conventional wisdom about underspending on disadvantaged students is only true at the national level and only when we use the increasingly problematic FRL measure. At the state and district level, the picture changes for the better. This fiscal progress is notable and calls into question at least one type of structural inequality that we hear so much about. Some of the advancement is likely due to historical involvement from the courts. Regardless, education funding policies have improved in ways that appear to balance the scales. That doesn’t mean that the nature of education looks the same in poor and non-poor schools, nor necessarily that resources are adequate to yield the learning gains and gap reductions that we need, which is why we still need to focus on the quality of teaching and learning, especially in places where it gets shortchanged.

SOURCE: Kenneth Shores, Hojung Lee, and Elinor Williams, “The Distribution of School Resources in The United States: A Comparative Analysis Across Levels of Governance, Student Sub-groups, And Educational Resources,” Social Science Research Network (August 2021).

Cheers

• At UChicago Charter School Woodlawn Campus, educators collaborated with fourteen Black high schoolers to create an initiative that helped them raise their GPA by a full point. —Chalkbeat Chicago
• Maryland Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury vows to do what it takes to keep school open. —Baltimore Sun
• “Long disparaged, education for the skilled trades is slowly coming into fashion.” —Hechinger Report
• In Florida, Pasco County School District is collaborating with charters to keep up with growing enrollment. —Tampa Bay Times

Jeers

• Chicago’s teacher union voted to go virtual, forcing the district to cancel classes suddenly on Wednesday. —CNN
• Several large districts across the country, such as Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Newark, are returning to remote learning. —PBS

• Keller Independent School District, under pressure by the state of Texas, is convening an anonymous committee to ban books they deem questionable. —Dallas Morning News
• “Chicago quietly launches overhaul of schools serving its ‘forgotten students.’” —Chicago Sun-Times
• Education will remain an important issue in politics in the next elections. —Washington Post
• Republicans in many states are pushing to make school board elections partisan. —Politico

1. Remember last year when Red (Taylor’s Version) dropped and everyone was really excited that Taylor Swift had rerecorded her amazing album—making it even better in the process—in order to reclaim ownership of her music? As I read this piece on the finally-filed anti-voucher lawsuit, I kinda feel like this is the Ohio edublob’s lame, eye-roll inducing effort to imitate her. Unfortunately for them, retreading settled case law on the constitutionality of vouchers is a far cry from Swift’s awesome bops. So this is cringe inducing instead of exciting. (Cleveland.com, 1/4/22) Further coverage of the presser that accompanied the filing, including some choice reaction from Fordham’s Chad Aldis, can be found in Gongwer… (Gongwer Ohio, 1/4/22) …the Dayton Daily News… (Dayton Daily News, 1/4/22) …and The Center Square. (The Center Square, 1/4/21)
    
2. An apropos follow up to the foregoing pieces is this purported summary of the Academic Distress Commission saga, now at a turning point more than six years after the passage of HB 70. I say purported because it includes a big whopping revisionist talking point right near the top (“Academic distress commissions…have run school districts in Youngstown since 2016, Lorain since 2017 and East Cleveland since 2018 due to low grades on state report cards. Yet in that time, the districts’ grades never improved.”). There were in fact numerous signs of improvement over the years—covered by Cleveland.com in fact—including Lorain City Schools earning its highest report card grade in more than a decade under CEO David Hardy. But that doesn’t really matter now. While our own Aaron Churchill is quoted, sensibly and realistically, in the piece regarding the aforementioned turning point (“I question whether Youngstown is really challenging the system and producing a sense of urgency.”), the revised reality of the past is quickly solidifying—as I predicted some time ago—and so will the current reality I expect. (Cleveland.com, 1/4/22)
   
   
3. As the calendar prepared to turn, interim state superintendent Stephanie Siddens had some stuff to say in legislative testimony. In publishing their coverage of that testimony earlier this week, the OCJ chose to focus on what they term “grim” student enrollment numbers among her many important points of discussion. (Ohio Capital Journal, 1/3/22)
    
4. On the upside, Ohio teachers union president Scott DiMauro says the teachers are sticking around, despite what you may have heard in the news. Yay. (Ohio Schools Magazine Dec/Jan  edition, 1/3/22)

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We’re back a day early (that’ll teach you!) with a roundup of clips we missed between December 22 and 31, 2021. Back with regular thrice-weekly publication for 2022 starting tomorrow. You have been warned.

1. I have never heard of tiny little Dalton Local Schools (in eastern Ohio, halfway between Wooster and Massillon), and as a first-time intro, this piece feels weird to me. In their year-end brag column (a staple of suburban and exurban news outlets in December), they focus on the fact that their brand new dean of students has seemingly accomplished everything he needed to do in that role—“locker organization” is one of only two exemplars provided—in just a few short months. (In the midst of a global pandemic, that’s what you want to cheer about?) Now the district has changed his title to “success coach” and he seems to be focused mostly on athletes. To wit: “We have student council, we have national honor society…but then we also want to look at our extracurricular activities and how do we help develop leaders that are in those programs as well.” I guess it’s a good thing there’s nothing else pressing. But is there nothing else? Really? (The Daily Record, 12/21/21)
    
2. Speaking of year-end stories, the Vindy tried to encapsulate 2021’s ups and downs in Youngstown City Schools. 2021 ended as it began, with rancor and finger-pointing, and sounding like a Muppet parody of the TV show Succession in between. (Vindy.com, 12/23/21) Both the previous piece and this follow-up note that elected school board president Ronald Shadd is out of that role as 2021 ends. But Youngstown being Youngstown, his tenure did not end quietly. In the last week of the year, the chair of the Academic Distress Commission cut whatever ties existed between the commission and the elected board due to information he received regarding several members’ purported damaging communication to the elected board of Akron City Schools. “At best,” said the chair, “some of that communication was uninformed and comments were made out of ignorance. At worst, it was done with malicious intent and deception.” You will recall from these clips that Youngstown CEO Justin Jennings’ was up for an assistant superintendent position in Akron several weeks ago, but that the planned vote was suddenly delayed without explanation. (Vindy.com, 12/23/21)
   
   

3. Let’s move on to some better news, shall we? School choice is praised extremely highly in this piece. I would tell you that it discusses in detail the difficulties involved in maintaining choice—including families traveling hours each day using their own cars—and that the schools are seen by parents as indispensable future-builders for their children. But you already know about all that, don’t you? I personally am very pleased that one of the state’s largest and most influential news outlets is so positive about school choice. (Columbus Dispatch, 12/23/21)
    
4. Here is a brief but positive look at one of the first Say Yes to Education college scholarship recipients in Cleveland. Given the timing of the program launch and the young man’s entry into college, his getting there is probably not readily attributable to the program (that seems to be all down to him, and he deserves huge kudos for it), but keeping him moving forward to graduation is something that Say Yes can likely hang its hat on. (Spectrum News 1, 12/23/21)
   
   

5. Finally, to put an appropriate pin in 2021 education news, we learned at the end of the year that operationalizing the new school funding formula required far more nerd work than perhaps its creators had planned on. Instead of phasing in the new formula in October, as hoped, “significant changes to the calculation and payment of state foundation funding” necessitated a bunch of “IT development and quality assurance testing” which, it seems, was still not complete at the end of the year, but is intended for rollout with monthly payments to schools in January. Auld acquaintance, indeed. (Gongwer Ohio, 12/27/21)

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Every holiday season, those of us at the Ohio Gadfly try to predict what the new year will bring for education. This year is no exception. With a hectic budget season and a surprising set of local election results in our rearview mirror, as well as an ongoing pandemic riding shotgun, the road through 2022 looks to be pretty eventful. Here are, in no particular order, five predictions about what might be in store for us next year.

1. The pandemic—and its impact on education—will continue to dominate headlines.

It seems like a no-brainer at this point, but it’s worth repeating: The Covid-19 pandemic and its many, many effects will continue to drive the news cycle. It’s still too early to know if and how the Omicron variant will impact schools, but there’s no doubt that district and building leaders will have to continue grappling with health and safety issues like mask mandates and quarantine policies. Staff shortages will likely continue in many places—especially in areas like transportation—and may even be exacerbated as cold and flu season starts in earnest. Perhaps the biggest Covid storyline, though, is how schools will struggle to handle learning loss. The shiny newness of having kids back in person will have worn off come spring, and a harsh reality will fully sink in. Some schools will use summer break to their advantage, but others won’t. And by fall, state and local leaders will have two years’ worth of testing data to pore over. How schools use these data—and how they address learning losses and equity gaps—will likely determine education headlines over the next several years.

2. The state board will select a new state superintendent, but the process won’t be pretty.

After five years at the helm of the Ohio Department of Education, Paolo DeMaria announced in July that he planned to step down. Finding a replacement has already proven to be eventful for the state board, thanks to the unexpected resignation of their first choice for interim superintendent and some increasingly contentious meetings. A nationwide search is underway, which means the possibilities are endless. In practice, though, it’s going to be difficult for the board to agree on someone—they can’t seem to agree on much of anything these days—and it’s unlikely the new superintendent will receive unanimous approval the way DeMaria did. Furthermore, although the state board technically hires the superintendent, other state leaders will be watching and likely offering input. The legislature has taken a renewed interest in the board’s activities, and the governor’s office typically plays a behind-the-scenes role in big decisions like this. Ohio will get a new superintendent in 2022—but the road to get there is going to be rife with drama.

3. Report cards will enjoy a brief honeymoon period.

Next year, after a Covid-caused hiatus, detailed school report cards will return—but this time, they’ll look a little different. In 2021, after years of debate, state legislators finally passed some sensible changes to the report card framework via House Bill 82. The biggest adjustment for parents and taxpayers in 2022 will be saying goodbye to A–F letter grades and hello to a five-star system. Given that the changes passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate, it would be fair to assume that the new report card will have a warmer welcome from the education establishment than its predecessor. But with substantial learning losses still lingering, the new system’s increased emphasis on performance index and value-added scores (both of which are determined by state tests), and a long-standing resistance to accountability always waiting in the wings, it’s likely that the honeymoon will be brief. 

4. Even with a new funding system in place, money for schools will still be a hot topic.

The headline of this year’s budget was a new school funding system that could eventually cost the state an additional $2 billion a year. For now, though, lawmakers only approved paying for a portion of that price tag—and that means funding conversations will continue into the new year as the legislature gears up for another budget cycle in 2023. Whether to fully fund the new system isn’t the only money issue on the table, though. Next year will mark the first full year that school choice programs in Ohio are directly funded by the state. Hopefully the change will cool some of the misleading rhetoric floating around. Meanwhile, districts and schools still have millions in relief funding from the feds to spend. It’s unlikely that we’ll ever get a detailed accounting of this spending, but it’s possible that some schools are opting to use their funds in creative and innovative ways. 2022 could give us a glimpse of those decisions. 

5. The race for governor will be more focused on education than in previous years.

In the fall, Ohioans will once again head to the polls. Several big decisions await them, including a choice for governor. It’s too early to know how primaries will shake out, but right now it seems like the election will be a face-off between incumbent Mike DeWine and either Nan Whaley, the former mayor of Dayton, or John Cranley, the current mayor of Cincinnati. Historically, gubernatorial races haven’t been decided by education policy issues. But the lingering events of 2020—not just the pandemic, but also an increased focus on racial justice and equity issues—are still big talking points in Ohio, especially when it comes to how they impact schools. As a result, the Buckeye State could find itself mimicking Virginia’s most recent election, where voters made education a top priority. Even if education isn’t the deciding factor, though, Ohioans will likely hear far more about it than in years past.

***

And there you have it. Some fresh things are on the horizon—like revised school report cards and new state-level education leadership—but for the most part, many of the familiar faces and issues will be sticking around for another year.

Happy New Year!

As every year does, 2021 began with much optimism. Vaccines were rolling out, businesses were reopening, and the economy was on the mend. But then, as always, reality set in. While most Americans were vaccinated, the pandemic dragged on. The economy continued to pick up, but so did inflation. The year in K–12 education followed a similar pattern. As we’ll see from the compilation below, there was disappointing news—most notably around student achievement—but also some significant policy wins that offer hope for a brighter future.

• School funding. Throughout the first half of the year, Ohio lawmakers were busy crafting the state’s biennial budget. In the realm of K–12 education, the school funding formula took center stage, as House lawmakers put forward an ambitious overhaul. After much debate—and a number of tweaks to the original plan—lawmakers enacted a new funding formula. Among the key shifts is a direct funding model for school choice programs, an important structural reform that should help alleviate cross-sector tensions. Legislators also created a new base cost formula that determines the bulk of the state aid for districts and charter schools. Those calculations create a closer link between educational costs and funding amounts, but they also have the potential to cause runaway spending obligations in future years. Oh, and remember, the new formula is already expensive, calling for increases of $2 billion per year in state education spending—roughly 15 percent more. Considering that price tag, legislators chose to partially fund that increase over the next two years, leaving decisions about full funding to future General Assemblies.
   
• Learning loss. Shortly after schools closed in March 2020, analysts began warning about the effects of remote instruction on student learning. In the following months, various data pointed to serious academic troubles. Students not logging in for online coursework. Lower diagnostic test scores. News reports of schools losing track of students. In fall 2021, we got a more comprehensive and systemwide look at the educational disaster, as Ohio released results from its first round of post-closure state exams. As was the case across the nation, student achievement fell substantially in math and reading. In a detailed and sophisticated analysis of test scores, Ohio State University professors Vlad Kogan and Stéphane Lavertu estimated that, when compared to prior cohorts, students lost about one-third to a full year of learning, depending on grade and subject. On average, low-income and minority children lost more ground, worsening pre-pandemic achievement gaps. There’s no time to despair, as the clock is ticking to get students back on track and ready for life after high school.
  

   

• Critical race theory. In something of a surprise, one of the biggest stories of the past year was CRT. Believing that identity politics and “woke” versions of history were filtering into elementary and secondary schools, conservatives voiced concerns in board meetings and beyond. Progressives pushed back, arguing that the fears were overblown, or that heeding those demands would force teachers to bypass certain topics. The ruckus drew the attention of Statehouse lawmakers who introduced—though didn’t pass—bills that sought to prohibit “divisive concepts.” No matter how you feel about the debate, one hopes that educators are exercising wisdom and appropriately balancing concerns on both sides. When presenting America’s past, for example, schools could start by making sure that students are taught a history that’s both critical and patriotic.
  

   

• Educational choice. To end on a high note, this was a big year for school choice in the Buckeye State and around the nation. Let’s count the ways that lawmakers strengthened choice in Ohio. One, they removed caps on the number of available EdChoice scholarships and raised the private school scholarship amounts. Two, they increased the supplemental funding available to high-performing public charter schools, doubled the state’s charter facility allowance, and removed the geographic restrictions on charters. Three, they provided modest tax relief to parents who either homeschool their children or enroll their children in a non-chartered private school. Four, they launched a tax-credit scholarship program to encourage individual giving that opens more nonpublic school options. And five, they created an educational savings account that helps low- and middle-income parents access afterschool and enrichment programs. All told, these remarkable steps continue to empower more Ohio parents with the quality choices their children deserve.

With that, we at the Ohio Gadfly close the books on 2021. Keep up to date with all that’s happening in the new year by bookmarking our blog, following our Twitter account, and subscribing to our biweekly newsletter. Cheers!

Fordham Ohio’s blogging output this year was varied and prodigious. We value each and every one of our readers, whether you find our pieces by following us on Twitter, regularly checking out Ohio Gadfly Daily, or subscribing to our biweekly email newsletter. (But honestly, if we like each other enough at this point, why not just take the plunge and commit to that free subscription?)

As the year ends, let’s take a look at which of our blogs most grabbed the attention of you, our readers.

First up are two vitally important guest blogs:

• “Ohio’s fall tests reveal how the pandemic has affected student learning” (Vladimir Kogan and Stéphane Lavertu, 2/8/2021).

In February, Ohio State University professors Kogan and Lavertu were among the first to analyze data from the fall 2020 administration of third grade ELA state tests. The results showed huge negative impacts of the Covid pandemic on third graders’ reading achievement. “It is important to recognize,” wrote Kogan and Lavertu, “that school closure is not the only reason student achievement took a hit during the pandemic. In addition to the challenge of adjusting to new and unfamiliar modes of instruction, some children also had loved ones fall seriously ill or even die due to complications from the virus. Many families have also faced financial hardships as unemployment reached record levels.”

• “Ohio’s 2021 spring tests show that achievement suffered during the pandemic and highlight the importance of in-person learning” (Vladimir Kogan and Stéphane Lavertu, 9/7/2021).

Seven months later, Kogan and Lavertu published a sophisticated analysis of spring testing data. Despite a return to in-person learning and learning recovery plans, beefed-up summer school offerings and tutoring, and expanded Wi-Fi access in areas across the state, schools across Ohio still saw steep learning declines among their students.

The researchers pinned much of the negative effects on remote teaching and argued for as much in-person education as common sense safety measures would allow. “But more than simply prioritizing in-person instruction,” they concluded once again, “we must ensure that students, especially those who have suffered the most learning loss, are getting the supports that they need to get back on track.”

*****

In between those two guest pieces was the crunch time of the biennial budget debate in Ohio. Two of our budget analyses captured your attention:

• “The Ohio Senate puts educational choice front and center” (Aaron Churchill, 6/9/2021).

In early June, the Ohio Senate unveiled the education priorities it wished to include in the budget, and they centered strongly on school choice. Some of the initiatives were tweaks of existing programs, such as boosting voucher amounts for thousands of students and providing full funding for Ohio’s quality charter school program.

However, it may have been the new proposals that drew readers’ attention. These included the creation of an ESA program to support afterschool learning, offering tax relief to homeschooling families, and more.

• “Ohio’s budget bill makes major changes to K–12 education policy” (Aaron Churchill, 7/6/2021).

And what education-related changes made the final cut? That was the topic of this, our most-read post published in 2021. The analysis was among the first to dig into the version of HB 110 signed into law by Governor DeWine. It covered charter school and voucher program provisions, tax-related items, and a number of important accountability changes. But the big noise around the Statehouse in 2021 was the school funding formula, and this piece offered a recap of how that debate panned out.

*****

But before all the budget madness, two other issues garnered strong readership early in the year:

• “How will Ohio spend billions in federal relief funds for K–12 education?” (Aaron Churchill, 1/13/2021).

At the end of December 2020, the federal government approved a second round of Covid-relief funding, a significant amount of it aimed at helping hard-hit schools across the country. As the new year dawned, the question of how Ohio might spend the nearly $2 billion in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER II) dollars loomed large. (A third—and even larger—federal relief package for K–12 education would pass in March 2021.)

“Research and common sense suggest that in-person expanded learning time and high-dosage tutoring would probably give students the best chance of catching up,” Aaron wrote. These, he said, “make sense, given the temporary nature of these funds and the hopefully short-term need for remediation.” However, he warned that districts should be wary of “more permanent expenditures such as across-the-board pay raises or hiring additional full-time staff, which could be difficult to sustain when the emergency dollars dry up.” Nearly a year later, we’re still left wondering how exactly schools are spending these funds and whether they’re being used wisely.

•  “A reply to the anti-testers” (Aaron Churchill, 2/18/2021).

Flying in the face of vocal state and national support for testing, several Ohio lawmakers filed bills in late January to cancel the spring administration of state tests. They cited four main objections, to which we responded point by point.

“To ensure that decisions aren’t being made based on false assumptions,” Aaron Churchill concluded, “we need data about where each student stands against state academic standards.” With accountability waived and students safely returning to school, there was no good reason to cancel exams for another year. Ohio needed to begin its return to normalcy as soon as possible, starting with “solid baseline information about student achievement in the midst of much turmoil.”

Gladly, the tests were not cancelled. And unlike in many other states, Ohio’s schools tested almost as many students as usual, quite an accomplishment in the midst of a pandemic.

*****

HONORABLE MENTION

Of course, the calendar is no deterrent for our dedicated readers. Certain blogs from the past keep racking up big readership for years. Thank you, all. We truly appreciate it. Thus it is that the most-read Fordham Ohio blog in all of 2021 actually comes from November of 2020.

• “Here’s how the Biden administration wants to help teachers with student loans” (Jessica Poiner, 11/20/20).

It stands to reason that a piece written shortly after the presidential election didn’t find its full audience until after that elected leader actually took office in January. And the various possibilities for student loan forgiveness floated during the campaign made many people sit up and take notice. While nothing concrete has yet come to pass in regard to the plans described, there’s still a lot of interest in loan forgiveness. If things begin to happen, we can expect this piece to continue to garner attention into 2022.

*****

We will be back on the beat in January, and we look forward to covering the education issues and events that matter to Ohio throughout the next year.

Among the many things that I’ve come to better understand as a new parent is that children’s books are a literary genre of their own. Who knew there’d be board books, peek-a-flaps, and battery-powered books that make sounds? Some books have clever storylines and rhymes. Some have exquisite artwork. They literally come in all shapes and sizes. Child development experts stress the importance of daily reading to infants and toddlers. Good children’s books—ones that both child and parent enjoy—can make reading time all the more fun. With that in mind, here are a few of my favorites from the past year (though they were not necessarily published in 2021). And I’ve learned something else along the way: Our local library is indispensable—because children’s books ain’t cheap!

* * * 

* * *

So there you have it—one dad’s favorites of the year. Of course, there are many other lists of excellent choices in children’s literature. No matter what you pick up, keep on reading!

The past year has brought hope and progress, but also setbacks and new challenges. We made strides toward racial equity, even as some took advantage of the positive momentum and pushed misguided policies. Schools reopened, but then struggled to keep kids in classrooms. And education reform mainstays like testing and accountability continued to be debated, while new issues like masks and student quarantines were added to the mix.

At Fordham we did our best to keep up with new challenges, following our established practice of asking tough questions, conducting rigorous research, debating issues, and proposing workable solutions whenever we could. All of this is evident in Fordham’s 2021 commentary, which comprised around 500 editorials, 120 newsletters, and fifty podcasts, spanning every education issue facing the nation. Here are ten of our best posts, listed in order of publication date.

1. What to do about the Covid kindergarten cohort?, by Michael J. Petrilli, January 28

Everyone has been impacted by the pandemic in some shape or form. One group that has faced especially tough challenges is kindergarteners. Mike explains that, due to a great deal of variation in how parents handled learning during Covid-19, these children are entering “real school” with a very wide spectrum of preparedness. Mike’s solution is to add an additional grade in elementary school. While this would pose logistical challenges for schools, for these kindergarteners, it might be the only way to make up for so much lost learning.

2. I believe “antiracism” is misguided. Can I still teach Black children?, by Robert Pondiscio, April 29

In this piece, Robert wrestles with what antiracism has come to mean in 2021, and does so as a teacher who’s been in the classroom since 2002. When he decided to be an educator, he was driven by “the manifest unfairness of American education to low-income, Black, and Brown children who comprise, without exception, every student I’ve ever taught.” As an educator, he’s come to believe that holding students to high expectations and using high-quality curricula creates a culture that values achievement—and above all, that children don’t fail, but rather adults fail children. He says that “antiracism,” as it’s expressed today, attempts to shift education away from these principles. So, in this piece, he dives deep into a difficult question: “Is a professed commitment to the tenets of antiracism now non-negotiable in our profession?”

3. The common ground on race and education that’s hiding in plain sight, by Michael J. Petrilli, May 27

Following heated debates about diversity and critical race theory, Mike voices his discontent with the polarized nature of education’s “culture wars.” He argues that, in spite of great extremes in opinion, there is common ground on race and education right below our noses. The five ideas presented are straightforward and evidence-based. They provide opportunities for compromise that could improve our current situation.

4. “Public education sucks” is a weak argument for school choice, by Robert Pondiscio, August 5

In a year when public schools have often come under fire, Robert shows us how pro-school-choice arguments have devolved into anti-public-school messaging, framing charters as a superior alternative rather than worthy on their own merits. He views this line of advocacy for charters as unnecessary, unhelpful, and weak. With the new year and even more debates just around the corner, hopefully we can focus on the pros of each opposing side, not just the cons of the other.

5. More dumb things done in the name of educational “equity”, by Dale Chu, August 26

Dale addresses some of the year’s misguided actions that allege to advance equity, such as ditching grades, waving graduation standards, and scrapping standardized tests. Inspired by an episode of the “8 Black Hands” podcast that critiques these trends, Dale shares examples from California, New York, and Oregon to illustrate why these efforts stand to harm the very students they’re designed to help.

6. Blinding ourselves to America’s achievement woes, by Chester E. Finn, Jr., September 16

Grade inflation, easier (or no) tests, and turning a blind eye—oh my! Checker exposes issues that are being tossed under the rug in modern day America, and compares these with what was addressed in the 1980s with A Nation at Risk. He argues not only that we still lag far behind in performance and achievement, we are also in denial that our standards are slipping. He places what he views as our greatest obstacles to progress on the table for all to see.

7. Rigorous courses are a good thing—and good for equity, by Brandon L. Wright, September 23

Brandon responds to an article implying that Advanced Placement courses are failing to distribute their benefits proportionately across socioeconomic and racial lines. This critique is well-meaning but misguided. AP’s rigorous curriculum already benefits millions of Black and Hispanic students who would learn less if the classes were made easier. Instead, we should improve the education of disadvantaged students, and do so from an early age, so more of them are prepared later for advanced courses.

8. The college gender gap begins in kindergarten, by Michael J. Petrilli, October 7

Gender gaps in literacy begin in kindergarten and grow in elementary school, leading to and exacerbating the gender gap seen in higher education. Mike evaluates the implications of the reading gap beginning in kindergarten and discusses ways to address it via higher expectations and more male teachers in grade schools. Narrowing the elementary literacy gap could narrow the college gender gap, killing two birds with one stone.

9. Reconnecting knowledge and virtue, by Jennifer Frey, November 4

Classical education is focused on teaching not only information and skill, but also how virtue is linked with knowledge. In this post, Jennifer pulls from her experience at this year’s Higher Education Summit to explain the ways in which schooling has become disconnected from classical education’s values, as well as how and why we can reverse that. Doing so, she says, would help develop students’ character and help them better understand the world and each other—something that seems especially urgent today.

10. Teacher mental health days demonstrate districts’ priorities—and it’s not the students, by Dale Chu, November 18

What is driving sporadic school cancellations and remote learning days in places that aren’t dealing with Covid-19 outbreaks? Some claim they’re caused by labor shortages in schools, but Dale peels back the layers to expose artificial extensions of weekends and school holidays for the purposes of teacher “self-care,” with scant regard for how it affects students and parents. He calls for a new approach to managing teacher stress, especially as new virus variants emerge, that doesn’t exacerbate students’ already grave learning loss.

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We cannot yet know what 2022 has in store. Facing what will undoubtedly be another challenging trip around the sun, we move forward with hope in our schools, our vaccines, and each other. Whatever comes, the Flypaper blog will cover it, and we invite you back for more quality commentary in the new year.