Commentary
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction
Off the Clock: Moving Education from Time to Competency
Anytime, anyplace, anyhow, any pace
Commentary
Charter Schools
Housing Costs, Zoning, and Access to High-Scoring Schools
Housing policy is education policy
Commentary
Funding a Better Education: Conclusions From the First Three Years of Student-Based Budgeting in Hartford
Into the weighted-student-funding looking glass
Commentary
Commentary
Meet Mickey Mouse and R2D2, ed reformers
A recent Hewlett Foundation study made the surprising discovery that computers are "capable of producing scores similar to human scores" when grading student essays.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Philadelphia Catholic schools pledge to pull back the curtain
The Philadelphia school district’s plan to lift itself out of financial and academic distress may have overshadowed a profound development this week for Catholic education in the City of Brotherly Love.
Commentary
Education Reform for the Digital Era
Can we be smarter about taking high-quality online and blended schools to scale—and to educational success?
Commentary
Truth in numbers: Student proficiency in Ohio now and under the Common Core
Another change in the works, one not included in the governor’s bill, is equally important when it comes to helping all players in the K-12 arena prepare for the higher expectations and rigor of the Common Core standards.
Commentary
America’s addiction to grade inflation
Grade inflation is a way of life in American education, and campaigns to combat it face political pushback and a long, uphill battle to succeed.
Commentary
State Auditor clamps down, but not quite far enough, on the misuse of public dollars
The Fiscal Integrity Act waits until a school or district is declared unauditable before the treasurer faces suspension. But in fact, a district can be misspending public money and still be “auditable.”
Commentary
Stretching the school-district dollar
Despite some signs of economic recovery, school districts nationwide continue to struggle mightily.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction
Off The Clock: What More Time Can (And Can’t) Do For School Turnarounds
Billions of dollars are being spent to increase learning time in struggling schools through Extended Learning Time (ELT). “ELT,” which the U.S. Department of Education defines as the use of a longer school day, week, or year, is a key component of the School Improvement Grant program aimed at turning around failing public schools.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction
Arts Education In Public Elementary and Secondary Schools: 1999-2000 and 2009-10
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) recently released Arts Education In Public Elementary and Secondary Schools1999-2000 and 2009-10, a report detailing the status of arts education in K-12 schools, the third study of its kind.
Commentary
Education Reform is entering new arenas: comedy television and sports
You know that education reform has reached new levels of awareness when Saturday Night Live has a parody of Geoffrey Canada, the founder and CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone.
Commentary
Join us May 17 for “Digital Learning: The future of schooling?”
Don’t miss this important, nonpartisan event about digital learning and where it will take education in Ohio -- and the nation -- in the years to come.
Commentary
A glimpse into Florida’s ed reform success
The third-grade reading guarantee and A to F school-rating system that are hallmarks of Governor Kasich’s mid-biennium budget aren’t new ideas in education. Florida enacted the changes years ago and has seen student achievement rise as a result.
Commentary
Radical changes in Philadelphia
Philly's School Recovery Committee deserves credit for making smart structural changes to the way Philly will operate in the future.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Upending school choice in the Nutmeg State
The opt-out charter school lottery proposed in Connecticut would only discourage effective charter applicants who will see a burdensome and costly mandate getting in the way of their mission.
Commentary
The Gadfly Daily’s week in review
Looking back at wit and wisdom from the Fordham Institute’s blogs for the week of April 16.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Housing policy is education policy
A new Brookings report argues that zoning regulations are segregating cities by income and race and leaving quality schools available to mostly higher income families.
Commentary
Save money by paying teachers more
The U.S. spends more per capita on education than every other country in the OECD except Switzerland. Yet teacher salaries are relatively low and students underperform their OECD peers on international tests. The solution to all these problems may just be to pay teachers more money, especially in salary rather than expensive fringe benefits.
Commentary
Commentary
Will changing Texas math standards be subtraction by addition?
The Lone Star State needn’t go it alone anymore
Commentary
Commentary
Review of Special Education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
A useful primer on the special ed capital of the world
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction
Choosing Blindly: Instructional Materials, Teacher Effectiveness, and the Common Core
E.D. Hirsch gets a new ally
Commentary
All eyes are on Indiana
The Indianapolis Public Schools struck back this week, countering The Mind Trust’s plan for reforming education in Indy with a school reform report of its own.
Commentary
More high-quality school options needed to give all kids opportunity
Guest blogger David Harris, CEO of The Mind Trust, answers the BIG question: "What's the most important education governance issue?"
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction
Are "just right" books right for the Common Core?
In the 1990s, much of the fireworks in the education policy debate centered around a “reading war” where supporters of whole language squared off against the forces of phonics. Now, in the Common Core era, I predict a similar firestorm is on the horizon.