What we're reading this week: January 11, 2024
The Education GadflyThousands of schools across the country, including schools in Mississippi, Baltimore, Boston, and other jurisdictions, are at risk of closing because of declining enrollment.
#902: Reforming New York’s Regents Exams, with Ray Domanico
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Ray Domanico, the director of education policy at the Manhattan institute, joins Mi
Remembering Linda Brown
Chester E. Finn, Jr.The education world lost a true reformer on Christmas Day—and the charter-school world lost one of its true heroes—when Linda Brown passed away at eighty-one at her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
3 rules for doing educational equity right
Michael J. Petrilli“Suitcase words” have different meanings for different people. They’re everywhere in our political conversations and in K–12 education, and they include “social justice,” “parental rights,” and “accountability.” But the granddaddy of them all is surely “educational equity.” In coming weeks, this series will aim to unpack this phrase, and discuss what it would mean to do educational equity right.
When school becomes optional
Chester E. Finn, Jr.“Truancy” may no longer be the right word for it, maybe not even “absenteeism,” for both imply being missing from a place where one is supposed to be. “Truancy,” with its overtone of misbehavior and illegality, suggests willfulness, i.e., that one is intentionally missing, while “absenteeism” is a more neutral term with no suggestion of motive.
How centralized enrollment systems enhance school choice
Jeff MurrayA new report from the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice adds to the robust literature on school choice in New Orleans, shedding light on the ways in which the centralized enrollment system in the Crescent City has grown and evolved, as well a
How pandemic-era emergency teaching licenses diversified the teaching profession
Kate KerinThe Covid-19 pandemic created innumerable disruptions to the education system. Among them were challenges faced by teacher candidates trying to complete licensure requirements. In response, those requirements got waived in many places.
What we're reading this week: January 4, 2024
The Education GadflyAfter a year spent campaigning for the issue, deal cutting, and threats of primary challenges, Greg Abbott failed to pass school choice legislation.
#901: Charter schools just keep winning, with Debbie Veney
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Debbie Veney, a senior vice president at the National Alliance for Public
Disappointment and hope: K–12’s biggest stories from 2023
Dale ChuThis year marked the fortieth anniversary of “A Nation at Risk,” the seminal report that did so much to reshape America’s modern education landscape.
The best and worst of education reform in 2023
Michael J. PetrilliEvery week in the Education Gadfly, we flag a handful of news items for our “Cheers and Jeers” section. Here are the ten most fantastic or horrendous developments of the year that was, presented in chronological order. Best
15 of the best opinion pieces on education reform that we read in 2023
Michael J. PetrilliEvery week in the Education Gadfly, we flag a handful of articles in our “What We’re Reading” section. Mostly these are opinion pieces, usually from leading newspapers and magazines, or occasionally high-profile Substacks. Here’s our list of our favorites for the year, presented in chronological order.
Fordham’s top 5 podcasts of 2023
Daniel BuckThe venerable hosts of the Education Gadfly show have been winging it for seventeen years.
What we're reading this week: December 21, 2023
The Education GadflyA new Rand Corporation survey finds that roughly three in ten teachers thinks that their school’s curriculum is too difficult for students. —Education Week
#900: The best and worst of ed reform in 2023, with Checker Finn
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Checker Finn, Fordham’s president emeritus—and the original Education Gadfly—joi
How an early college program in Arizona’s poorest city changes lives: An interview with Homero Chavez
Brandon L. WrightSince the Spring of 2022, I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with Homero Chavez as part of the National Working Group on Advanced Education.
3 lessons in transformational leadership
Kathleen Porter-MageeEarlier this year, Jill Kafka, the tireless Executive Director of Partnership Schools, announced that she is stepping down after twenty-seven years of dedicated service.
What do parents need to know about the science of reading?
Robert PondiscioThe welcome rise of the science of reading has been a sober reckoning for teachers and administrators. It also raises uncomfortable questions, seldom asked: How much faith should parents have that their child’s school and teachers understand good literacy instruction? And how much do parents need to know to advocate for their children and raise strong readers?
In defense of the traditional classroom
Daniel BuckMany futuristic reformers love to hate the classroom.
What we're reading this week: December 14, 2023
The Education GadflyPeer effects and social pressure are major factors in the success of high-performing schools like Stuyvesant High School in New York City.
#899: The District of Columbia’s voucher program turns twenty, with Kara Arundel
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Kara Arundel, a senior reporter at K-12 Dive, joins Mike to disc
4 takeaways from the PISA results
Daniel BuckThe results from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) are in—an international standardized test of fifteen-year-olds and the first look at how countries compare post-pandemic—and the picture they paint of American education is disheartening. Here are four trends that you need to know: 1. U.S. math scores collapsed and reading stagnated.
Should schools ban cellphones?
Tim DalyEditor’s note: This was first published on the author’s Substack, The Education Daly. They’re coming for the kids’ phones. Who is “they”?
Which large school districts provide fertile terrain for charter growth?
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D., Michael J. PetrilliDespite the amount of attention that school choice receives in the media and among policy wonks, politicians, and adult interest groups, the extent of actual competition in major school districts is not well understood. We were curious: Which education markets in America are the most competitive? And which markets have education reformers and choice-encouragers neglected or failed to penetrate?
What would another Trump term mean for education?
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Nothing about Donald Trump is predictable except unpredictability, so it may be folly to speculate on what his return to the Oval Office would mean for American education. It also needs to be said up front that, faced with all the challenges and risks of another Trump term, K–12 education policy will not likely be the top concern on many minds.