EdNext Podcast: Recent Episodes
Education Next
A weekly podcast from "Education Next," a journal of opinion and research.
Introduction music: "Organic Grunge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
An education columnist for the Washington Post, Jay Mathews, joins Education Next editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss Mathews' new book, "An Optimist’s Guide to American Public Education," and The Challenge Index, Mathews' annual ranking of American high schools.
An excerpt from the book, "What I Learned in 23 Years Ranking America’s Most Challenging High Schools," by Mathews, is available now.
https://www.educationnext.org/what-i-learned-in-23-years-ranking-americas-most-challenging-high-schools/
An assistant professor at American University, Claudia Persico, joins Education Next editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss Persico's new research, which investigates whether students of color are being properly identified for special education.
"Segregation and Racial Gaps in Special Education," written with Todd E. Elder, David Figlio, and Scott Imberman, is available now.
https://www.educationnext.org/segregation-racial-gaps-special-education-new-evidence-on-debate-over-disproportionality/
A professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, Daniel T. Willingham, joins Education Next editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how findings in education research can be better translated to help teachers in a live classroom setting.
Willingham's article, "Making Education Research Relevant: How researchers can give teachers more choices," co-written with David B. Daniel, is available now.
https://www.educationnext.org/making-education-research-relevant-how-researchers-can-give-teachers-more-choices/
The President of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Mike Petrilli, joins Education Next editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how education may remain changed since the Covid-19 pandemic, when teachers might return to schools full time, and why cameras in the classroom may be here to stay.
Petrilli's article, "A Post-Covid Case for Classroom Cameras," is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/post-covid-case-classroom-cameras-pandemic-ends-keep-teachers-cameras-on/
The executive director of the Center for Assessment, Scott Marion, joins Education Next editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the uncertainty surrounding annual math and reading assessments this spring, and what schools can do to maintain instruction and accountability in 2021.
The executive vice president of 50Can, Derrell Bradford, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the ongoing school closures amid to Covid-19, and how this is essentially an extension of teacher union activism of the past few years.
Bradford's blog post, "A Rolling National Teacher Strike Is Why Schools Are Closed," is available now.
https://www.educationnext.org/rolling-national-teacher-strike-is-why-schools-are-closed/
The president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, joins Education Next editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss efforts to reopen public schools, including President Joe Biden's goal to re-open K-8 schools within the administration's first 100 days.
An Associate Professor of Education and Economics at Boston University, Joshua Goodman, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how remote learning during a pandemic affects the snow day calculus.
The Director of the Center for the Study of Government and the Individual at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Joshua Dunn, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how parents have filed lawsuits in efforts to open schools for in-person instruction, and how the Supreme Court might eventually weigh in on these cases.
Dunn's article, "As Unions and Public Officials Push to Keep Schools Closed, Parents Fight Back," is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/unions-public-officials-push-keep-schools-closed-parents-fight-back/
A research scientist for the Collaborative for Student Growth at NWEA, Megan Kuhfeld, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss Kuhfeld's new study, which tracks student reading and math scores during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kuhfeld's blog post, "Reading Suffered Less Than Expected During Pandemic, New Fall 2020 Student Data Show," is available now.
https://www.educationnext.org/reading-suffered-less-than-expected-during-pandemic-new-fall-2020-student-data-show/
An assistant professor of education at the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education, David Quinn, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss Quinn's new research, which investigates how standardized grading rubrics can help combat racial biases in schools.
Quinn's article, "How to Reduce Racial Bias in Grading," is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/how-to-reduce-racial-bias-in-grading-research/
A senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, Beth Akers, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the prospects of student loan forgiveness in a Biden presidential administration.
A Distinguished Senior Fellow and President Emeritus at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Chester E. Finn, Jr., joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss Sen. Lamar Alexander's impact on K-12 education over more than 50 years in government.
Finn's article, "Leadership Makes a Difference: Lamar Alexander and K–12 Education," is available now.
https://www.educationnext.org/leadership-makes-difference-lamar-alexander-and-k-12-education
The director of national research at EdChoice, Michael Q. McShane, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the controversy surrounding for-profit charter schools.
The Director of the Center for the Study of Government and the Individual at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Joshua Dunn, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the lasting impact of the Supreme Court's Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue decision. They also discuss Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation hearing and her potential effect on the court.
A professor at Harvard University and the director of the Democratic Knowledge Project, Danielle S. Allen, and the CEO of Amplify, Larry Berger, join Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss Portrait of a Tyrant, a video game designed for students to learn about the Declaration of Independence.
The game is available for free at portraitofatyrant.com.
Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West is joined by the author of “Teaching in the Online Classroom,” Doug Lemov, and by educators Hilary Lewis and Hannah Solomon, to discuss how teachers and students can best adapt to an online learning environment.
The former executive director of the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board, Scott Pearson, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss what lessons Pearson learned during his time in that role.
A blog post by Pearson, "5 Things We Learned in D.C. About How to Advance Charter Schools," is available now.
https://www.educationnext.org/5-things-we-learned-d-c-how-to-advance-charter-schools/
A professor of economics and education at the University of Virginia, Sarah Turner, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how canceled college admission tests and test-optional policies in the wake of Covid-19 are affecting equity in college admissions.
Two editors of the new book Religious Liberty and Education: A case study of Yeshivas vs. New York, joined Education Next editor in chief Martin West to discuss the book. The guests were the director of policy for EdChoice, Jason Bedrick, and a distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, Jay P. Greene.
The Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Government at Harvard University and the senior editor of Education Next, Paul E. Peterson, joins Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss Peterson's new research, which compares student achievement over time between students in charter schools and traditional district schools.
"Charter Schools Show Steeper Upward Trend in Student Achievement than District Schools," by Peterson and M. Danish Shakeel, is available now.
https://www.educationnext.org/charter-schools-show-steeper-upward-trend-student-achievement-first-nationwide-study
A professor of political science at City College of New York-CUNY and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, Daniel DiSalvo, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the durable clout of teachers unions following the Supreme Court's Janus decision that had been predicted to weaken the unions. He also discusses whether New York City could be on the verge of its first teacher strike since 1975.
"Teachers Unions in the Post-Janus World," by DiSalvo and Michael Hartney, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/teachers-unions-post-janus-world-defying-predictions-still-hold-major-clout/
The authors of Common-Sense Evidence: The Education Leader’s Guide to Using Data and Research, Nora Gordon and Carrie Conaway, join Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how leaders and educators can bridge the divide between academic research and real-time classroom application.
"To Broaden Evidence Use Beyond the Federal Law’s Requirements, Use Common Sense," is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/to-broaden-evidence-use-beyond-the-federal-laws-requirements-use-common-sense/
The Senior Editor of Education Next, Paul E. Peterson, joins Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the results from the 2020 edition of the Education Next survey, including how the Covid-19 pandemic may have shaped public opinion on digital learning.
In a special crossover with The Education Exchange, the Editor in Chief of Education Next, Marty West, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss findings from the 2020 Education Next survey, which reveals what American parents and teachers think of quality of the instruction their children received after schools closed their doors in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"What American Families Experienced When Covid-19 Closed Their Schools," by Michael B. Henderson, David Houston, Paul E. Peterson and Martin R. West, is available now.
https://www.educationnext.org/what-american-families-experienced-when-covid-19-closed-schools-2020-survey
The author of A Fine Line: How Most American Kids Are Kept Out of the Best Public Schools, Tim DeRoche, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss his new book and how low-income children are assigned to failing public schools, rather than closer, high-performing schools, thanks to attendance zones drawn by districts.
DeRoche's article for Education Next, "Public-School Attendance Zones Violate a Civil Rights Law," is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/public-school-attendance-zones-violate-civil-rights-law-equal-educational-opportunities-act-a-fine-line/
The CEO of the Silicon Schools Fund, Brian Greenberg, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how schools have transitioned well to distance learning during the Covid-19 pandemic, and others have struggled.
Greenberg's post, "What We’ve Learned from Distance Learning, and What it Means for the Future," is available now.
https://www.educationnext.org/what-weve-learned-from-distance-learning-what-it-means-for-future-improving-online-education/
Education reporter David Loewenberg joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss Loewenberg's new article, which investigates the declining numbers of teens working during the summer, and how this trend has researchers and educators worried.
Loewenberg's article, "Summer School Is the New Summer Job: Why fewer teens are working—and why it matters," is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/summer-school-new-summer-job-why-fewer-teens-are-working-why-it-matters/
The co-founder and chief executive officer at New Classrooms, Joel Rose, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss Rose's new article, which details the "Iceberg Problem," and how many students can be harmed by grade-level math instruction.
Rose's article, "The Grade-Level Expectations Trap: How lockstep math lessons leave students behind," is available now.
https://www.educationnext.org/grade-level-expectations-trap-how-lockstep-math-lessons-leave-students-behind/
The 43rd Governor of the State of Florida and the President and Chairman of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, Jeb Bush, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West for the 200th episode of the EdNext Podcast. Gov. Bush discusses his experience managing crises, as well as some of the best practices to continue education during the Covid-19 pandemic shutdowns.
Gov. Bush recently wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post, "It’s time to embrace distance learning — and not just because of the coronavirus." https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/03/jeb-bush-its-time-embrace-distance-learning-not-just-because-coronavirus/
A visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, John Bailey, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss Bailey's new study, which details how students and teachers can plan to return to physical school buildings in the 2020-21 academic year amid the Covid-19 pandemic. "It's going to be a lot of creative problem-solving to tackle this.," Bailey says.
The report was developed with the help of "an all-star group" of 19 former education officials.
"A Blueprint for Back to School," by Bailey and Frederick Hess, is available now: https://www.educationnext.org/a-blueprint-for-back-to-school-what-will-it-take-get-schools-ready-coronavirus-covid-19/
The CEO of Chiefs for Change, Mike Magee, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how schools are responding to challenges posed by the novel coronavirus.
"One of our members said to us on a call this past week that this is the earthquake and it's going to be followed by a tsunami when it comes to district budgets," Magee says. "Every district in America is going to have to significantly rethink the roles of adults in all of their school buildings."
The full report, "Schools and Covid-19: How Districts and State Education Systems are Responding to the Pandemic," is available now. https://schoolsandcovid19.org
A former deputy director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lynn Olson, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss her new report from FutureEd. It details how standardized testing has come under bipartisan attack, and what will need for change for testing to survive.
Read "Statewide Standardized Assessments Were in Peril Even Before the Coronavirus. Now They’re Really in Trouble," by Olson, who is a senior fellow at FutureEd, and Craig Jerald. https://www.educationnext.org/statewide-standardized-assessments-were-in-peril-before-coronavirus-bipartisan-backlash/
A senior fellow at Mathematica and director of REL Mid- Atlantic, Brian P. Gill, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss what schools can do to measure what is happening during distance learning.
Read Gill's blog post, "Using Transparency To Create Accountability When School Buildings Are Closed and Tests Are Canceled." https://www.educationnext.org/using-transparency-create-accountability-school-buildings-are-closed-tests-canceled-coronavirus-covid-19/
An executive editor of Education Next and president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Mike Petrilli, joins Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how median SAT scores show that colleges have raised their selectivity standards since 1985.
Read "Yes, It Really Is Harder to Get into Highly Selective Colleges Today," by Petrilli and Pedro Enamorado. https://www.educationnext.org/yes-it-really-is-harder-to-get-into-highly-selective-colleges-today-comparison-sat-scores-over-time/
A Research Professor at Georgetown University and Director of the Edunomics Lab, Marguerite Roza, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discus what how recent financial instability could affect public education.
Roza recently delivered a webinar on this subject, and the slides from it are available here. https://edunomicslab.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Financial-turmoil-Final.pdf
A visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, John Bailey, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how closing schools is a crucial step to mitigating the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read Bailey's blog post, "Closing Schools To Slow a Pandemic." https://www.educationnext.org/closing-schools-to-slow-a-pandemic-coronavirus-covid-19-public-health/
A co-founder of and a distinguished fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, Michael Horn, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West. They discuss how the coronavirus-caused move to online learning could result in poor substitutes for face-to-face classes. That may wind up eventually slowing, rather than accelerating, the progress of online learning.
A senior researcher at Mathematica, Ira Nichols-Barrer, and the executive director of KIPP Massachusetts, Caleb Dolan, join Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss a new study by Mathematica that shows charter middle schools can increase the likelihood of enrolling in college.
A blog post by Nichols-Barrer, Philip Gleason, and Thomas Coen on the study is available here: https://www.educationnext.org/new-research-kipp-charter-middle-schools-can-improve-early-college-outcomes/
A professor of education policy at the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education, Julie A. Marsh, joins Education Next editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss education reform in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Read "Building on Shaky Ground: Reforming a divided school system in Los Angeles," by Marsh and Susan Bush-Mecenas. https://www.educationnext.org/building-shaky-ground-reforming-divided-school-system-los-angeles/
An associate professor of higher education at Boston College, Angela Boatman, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss new research that investigates the effectiveness of two Tennessee policies that offered alternatives to traditional remediation requirements for college math.
Her article, "Is College Remediation a Barrier or Boost?," co-written with Thomas J. Kane, Whitney Kozakowski, Christopher Bennett, Rachel Hitch, and Dana Weisenfeld, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/college-remediation-barrier-boost-evidence-from-tennessee/
The founder of the Charles Sposato Graduate School of Education, Mike Goldstein (pictured), sits down with Education Next editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how "fixed" income share agreements have made the school an attractive destination, reducing risk for students and increasing transparency of outcomes.
Goldstein and Scott McCue wrote the recent Education Next blog post, "How Income Share Agreements Helped our Education School Grow." https://www.educationnext.org/how-income-share-agreements-helped-education-school-grow
An associate professor at the School of Public Affairs at American University, Seth Gershenson, joins Education Next editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss Gershenson's new article, "End the Easy A," which explores how grade inflation affect student success.
The full article is available here: https://www.educationnext.org/end-easy-a-tougher-grading-standards-set-students-up-success/
A group from Excel Academy in Boston joined Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how the charter network works to accommodate students with special needs, including English language learners and those with disabilities, into their program.
Included in the discussion are chief executive officer Owen Stearns, network director of student supports Sarah Kantrowitz, and ELL specialist Lucero Castillo.
Excel Academy was featured in the article "Inclusion in Action" by E. B. Solomont. https://www.educationnext.org/inclusion-action-expectations-for-all-excel-academy-boston/
Robin J. Lake, the director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education at University of Washington Bothell, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how school choice has succeeded in Indianapolis.
Read Lake's full article, "The Hoosier Way: Good choices for all in Indianapolis." https://www.educationnext.org/hoosier-way-good-choices-for-all-indianapolis/
Joshua Dunn, a professor of political science at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the Supreme Court case Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, which challenges Montana’s ban on tax-credit scholarships to religious schools.
Dunn broke down the oral arguments further in "Burying Blaine?," available here: https://www.educationnext.org/espinoza-v-montana-oral-arguments-blaine-supreme-court/
Michael J. Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and an executive editor at Education Next, joins Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the Common Core State Standards Initiative and why there is still time to see positive results from the shift to national standards.
Read his full essay, as well as two alternate stances, in our forum, “A Decade On, Has Common Core Failed?”
https://www.educationnext.org/stay-course-on-national-standards-forum-decade-on-has-common-core-failed/
https://www.educationnext.org/decade-on-has-common-core-failed-impact-national-standards-forum-polikoff-petrilli-loveless/
Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West and Managing Editor Ira Stoll sit down to review the Top 20 articles and Top 10 blog posts of 2019.
https://www.educationnext.org/top-20-education-next-articles-2019/
https://www.educationnext.org/top-10-education-next-blog-entries-2019/
Morgan Polikoff, an Associate Professor at the Rossier School of Education at USC, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss a new report which studies the quality of online curriculum materials available to teachers.
Polikoff recently wrote a blog post "The Supplemental Curriculum Bazaar" for Education Next, and his full report, co-authored with Jennifer Dean, is available.
https://www.educationnext.org/supplemental-curriculum-bazaar-is-whats-online-any-good/
https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/research/supplemental-curriculum-bazaar
Michael B. Horn, the co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, sits down with EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how to juggle the different paths through college, from the options in traditional higher education to certificate first programs.
Horn and co-author Clark G. Gilbert explored this further in an article for Education Next, "A Certificate, Then a Degree." https://www.educationnext.org/certificate-then-degree-programs-help-tackle-college-completion-crisis/
Robert Maranto, the 21st Century Chair in Leadership in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss why school reformers and administrators should try to work with teachers unions in an effort to improve schools.
Read "Strange Bedfellows? Why School Reformers Should Rethink Teachers Unions" here: https://www.educationnext.org/strange-bedfellows-school-reformers-should-rethink-teachers-unions/
Greg Toppo, an education journalist and author of The Game Believes in You, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the continuing calls for making the SAT untimed for everyone.
Toppo explored this topic in a recent article for Education Next, "Support Builds For Making the SAT Untimed For Everyone: A possible solution to the "Gaming the System" problem." https://www.educationnext.org/support-builds-making-sat-untimed-for-everyone-possible-solution-gaming-the-system/
Paul Tough, author of "The Years That Matter Most: How College Makes or Breaks Us," sits down with EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the book, and how the higher education admissions process tends to work to the benefit of affluent students at the expense of those from lower-income backgrounds.
Matthew Chingos recently reviewed the book for Education Next in "Privilege Worth Perpetuating."
https://www.educationnext.org/privilege-worth-perpetuating-book-review-the-years-that-matter-most-tough/
Clare Sealy, the head of curriculum and standards for the States of Guernsey and a primary school teacher of 30 years, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the differences between episodic memory and semantic memory, and the keys to each one in helping children remember their lessons in school.
Read "The Best Way to Help Children Remember Things? Not 'Memorable Experiences'," which is excerpted from "The researchEd Guide to Educational Myths."
https://www.educationnext.org/best-way-to-help-children-remember-things-not-memorable-experiences-excerpt/
Ron Matus, director of policy and public affairs at Step Up For Students and a former state education reporter for the Tampa Bay Times, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the turnaround of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, including the tenure of Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and the prevalence of choice options in the district.
Matus profiled the district for EdNext in "Miami's Choice Tsunami: Carvalho, competition, and transformation in Miami-Dade."
https://www.educationnext.org/miami-choice-tsunami-carvalho-competition-transformation-miami-dade/
Elisa Villanueva Beard, the CEO of Teach For America, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the organization and a new study by Katharine M. Conn, Virginia S. Lovison and Cecilia Hyunjung Mo, which details how the organization impacts the beliefs of its teachers.
Read "How Teach for America Affects Beliefs about Education: Connecting classroom experience to opinions on education reform," here: https://www.educationnext.org/how-teach-for-america-affects-beliefs-education-classroom-experience-opinions/
David Loewenberg joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how online credit recovery has changed the landscape of high school graduations, and what's being done to make sure that credit recovery programs can maintain their legitimacy.
Read the full article, "A Digital Path to a Diploma," here: https://www.educationnext.org/digital-path-to-diploma-online-credit-recovery-classes/
Robert Pondiscio, a senior fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss his new book, "How the Other Half Learns," and his observations of a Success Academy school at work in the Bronx.
Read an excerpt from the book, "Come to Jesus: Effort parties, data walls, reading logs, and “warm/strict” — a look inside Success Academy," here: https://www.educationnext.org/come-to-jesus-look-inside-success-academy-excerpt-how-the-other-half-learns/
Kevin Stange, associate professor of public policy at the University of Michigan, joins Marty West to discuss his article, "Depth Over Breadth: The value of vocational education in U.S. high schools," and how vocational education impacts students and their college and career aspirations.
Read the full article, co-written with Daniel Kreisman, here: https://www.educationnext.org/depth-over-breadth-value-vocational-education-u-s-high-schools/
Patrick J. Wolf, professor at the University of Arkansas, joins EdNext Editor-in-Chief Marty West to discuss the effects of the Louisiana Scholarship Program, the statewide school-voucher initiative, including its impact on student test scores and which schools participated in the program.
Read "What Happened in the Bayou? Examining the Effects of the Louisiana Scholarship Program," here:
https://www.educationnext.org/what-happened-bayou-examing-effects-louisiana-scholarship-program/
Tomas Monarrez, a research associate in the Center on Education Data and Policy at the Urban Institute, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the impact charter schools have had on segregation in U.S. schools.
Monarrez, with Brian Kisida and Matthew M. Chingos, is a co-author of "Do Charter Schools Increase Segregation? First national analysis reveals a modest impact, depending on where you look," from the Fall 2019 issue of Education Next.
https://www.educationnext.org/do-charter-schools-increase-segregation-first-national-analysis-reveals-modest-impact/
Alex Usher, president of Higher Education Strategy Associates, joins Marty West to discuss what may be causing the downturn in international admissions in U.S. universities, and how that's contributing to the revenue drop across higher education institutions.
Usher is the author "Has President Trump Scared Away All the Foreign Students?," appearing in the Fall 2019 issue of EdNext.
https://www.educationnext.org/has-president-trump-scared-away-foreign-students-facts-behind-fears-higher-education-revenue-recession/
Joshua Zucker, a veteran instructor with Art of Problem Solving, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief to discuss how to best teach math to advanced students.
Zucker was featured in Kathryn Baron's piece, "Serving the Math Whiz Kids: Private enrichment programs step up to meet the need."
https://www.educationnext.org/serving-math-whiz-kids-private-enrichment-programs-step-up-meet-need/
The EdNext Podcast returns with Editor-in-chief Marty West and Senior Editor Paul E. Peterson discussing the 2019 Education Next Poll, including results on public opinion on schools, teacher pay, school choice, and more.
Read "Public Support Grows for Higher Teacher Pay and Expanded School Choice: Results from the 2019 Education Next Poll" here:
https://www.educationnext.org/school-choice-trump-era-results-2019-education-next-poll
The claim that all students, and especially disadvantaged students, lose substantial academic ground over summer vacation has long been both an article of faith and a source of anxiety.
But a new look at the data finds no evidence that the average child loses months of learning each summer or that summer learning loss contributes much to the achievement gap.
Paul T. von Hippel, an associate professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss his new article, "Is Summer Learning Loss Real? How I lost faith in one of education research’s classic results."
The article is available at: https://www.educationnext.org/is-summer-learning-loss-real-how-i-lost-faith-education-research-results
Many tech-based interventions have had disappointing results, but maybe these efforts haven't capitalized on what computers do best.
A new study looks at the impact of a blended learning program on students in India who were not making progress in their local public schools because they were starting out so far behind the other students.
Alejandro Ganimian, Assistant Professor of Applied Psychology and Economics at New York University, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss "In Delhi Experiment, Software Sparks Success," which he co-authored with Karthik Muralidharan and Abhijeet Singh.
The article is available at: https://www.educationnext.org/delhi-experiment-software-sparks-success/
A new study finds that later school start times increase achievement on standardized tests.
Marty West talks with Jennifer Heissel, assistant professor at the Graduate School of Business and Public Policy at the Naval Postgraduate School, about the study, "Rise and Shine: How school start times affect academic performance," which she co-authored with Samuel Norris.
The study is available at:
https://www.educationnext.org/rise-shine-how-school-start-times-affect-academic-performance
Many school districts try to address external obstacles to student learning by offering "wraparound services" in schools. These schools try to connect their students with outside groups that can help them deal with challenges from food insecurity to mental health issues.
In a new article, Michael McShane notes that "While integrated supports may help meet students' physical and emotional needs, their ability to improve student learning remains unproven."
https://www.educationnext.org/supporting-students-outside-classroom-can-wraparound-services-improve-academic-performance/
In this replay episode, we revisit Marty West's 2017 discussion with Diane Schanzenbach,about the downsides of academic redshirting.
https://www.educationnext.org/is-your-child-ready-kindergarten-redshirting-may-do-more-harm-than-good/
Can K-12 schools today make a difference when it comes to their students' civic attitudes and behavior?
A new study finds that attending a public charter school operated by Democracy Prep Public Schools nearly doubles students' rates of civic participation as young adults.
This week, on the EdNext Podcast, Marty West speaks with Seth Andrew, founder of Democracy Prep Public Schools.
The study, "A Life Lesson in Civics: How Democracy Prep Charter Schools Boost Student Voting," by Brian P. Gill, Charles Tilley, Emilyn Whitesell, Mariel Finucane, Liz Potamites and Sean P. Corcoran , will appear in the Summer 2019 issue of Education Next and is now available on the website.
https://www.educationnext.org/life-lesson-civics-how-democracy-prep-charter-schools-boost-student-voting/
Russ Whitehurst, nonresident fellow at the Urban Institute and professor emeritus of psychology and pediatrics at Stony Brook University, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss his half of a recent forum on social and emotional learning, "A Prevalence of 'Policy-Based Evidence-Making.'"
https://www.educationnext.org/prevalence-policy-based-evidence-making-forum-should-schools-embrace-social-emotional-learning/
https://www.educationnext.org/should-schools-embrace-social-emotional-learning-debating-merits-costs-forum-balfanz-whitehurst/
Some believe that growing interest in social and emotional learning is just a distraction from the academic mission of schools, but Robert Balfanz argues that only by educating the whole child can schools prepare students for adult success.
Today Marty West talks with Balfanz about why he thinks social and emotional learning is a natural outgrowth of the standards and accountability movement and about the research behind his views.
Balfanz is a research professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education and the author of “An Integrated Approach Fosters Student Success,” which is part of an EdNext forum on the role of social and emotional learning.
https://www.educationnext.org/integrated-approach-fosters-student-success-forum-should-schools-embrace-social-emotional-learning/
https://www.educationnext.org/should-schools-embrace-social-emotional-learning-debating-merits-costs-forum-balfanz-whitehurst/
Last week, Kamala Harris made headlines with an ambitious—and expensive—plan to raise teacher pay, and she's not the only Democratic presidential candidate talking about education.
Marty West discusses what the candidates have been saying with Ira Stoll, EdNext's managing editor, who has been reporting from the campaign trail in New Hampshire and who wrote “Teacher Pay Emerges as Democratic Primary Issue," available at https://www.educationnext.org/teacher-pay-emerges-democratic-primary-issue/
The rise of digital media has made it harder than ever to engage in deep, contemplative reading. As Maryanne Wolf writes in her new book, Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World, skimming is the new normal.
In this episode, Marty West speaks with Doug Lemov, who reviewed Wolf’s book for Education Next. (The review is available at https://www.educationnext.org/forgetting-how-to-read-review-reader-come-home-maryanne-wolf/)
Lemov is managing director of Uncommon Schools and author of Teach Like a Champion and Reading Reconsidered.
The conventional wisdom is that, as income inequality has grown in the United States, inequality in education has increased as well.
A new study finds that gaps in student achievement along lines of socioeconomic status have not grown over the past half-century. But neither have they narrowed; rather, they’ve been strikingly persistent.
One of the authors of the new study, Paul E. Peterson, talks with Marty West about the achievement gap’s persistence.
The study is "The Achievement Gap Fails to Close," co-written by Peterson, Eric Hanushek, Laura M. Talpey and Ludger Woessmann, now available at Education Next.
https://www.educationnext.org/achievement-gap-fails-close-half-century-testing-shows-persistent-divide
New studies find that attendance awards may actually hurt attendance, but that correcting parents' false beliefs about their child's school absences may help.
This week, Marty West speaks with Todd Rogers, professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. Along with Carly Robinson of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Todd is the author of “How to Tackle Student Absenteeism," available at: https://www.educationnext.org/how-to-tackle-student-absenteeism/
Ever since Donald Trump spoke on the campaign trail of a new federal program to promote school choice, the education world has waited to see if and how his administration would follow through.
That question was finally answered last Thursday, when Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, along with Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Bradley Byrne of Alabama, announced a bill to create a nationwide tax credit to provide school choice scholarships.
This week, Marty West talks with Jim Blew, Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development at the U.S. Department of Education, about how the tax credit will work, why the administration looked to the tax code to promote school choice, and what would have to happen for the bill to be enacted.
The cognitive skills of teachers differ widely among nations. A new study investigates whether these differences affect student achievement and how the U.S. might recruit teachers with stronger cognitive skills.
Eric Hanushek of the Hoover Institution joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss his article, "Do Smarter Teachers Make Smarter Students?," co-written with Marc Piopiunik and Simon Wiederhold, available at: https://www.educationnext.org/do-smarter-teachers-make-smarter-students-international-evidence-cognitive-skills-performance/
It may seem like money is tight, but we're actually spending at a relatively high level on schools right now. When state revenues decline, districts will have to make some tough choices.
Marty West talks with Marguerite Roza, the Director of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University, about what's coming and how school districts can prepare.
Roza addresses these topics in "Dear Districts: These Are the Glory Days. Are You Ready for Tomorrow’s Financial Pain?" available at http://educationnext.org/dear-districts-these-glory-days-are-you-ready-tomorrows-financial-pain
As superintendent of Denver Public Schools, Tom Boasberg implemented a wide array of unconventional reforms, building a coalition based on pragmatism and a shared belief that change was a long overdue moral imperative. So write Parker Baxter, Todd L. Ely and Paul Teske in a new article for Education Next, "“Redesigning Denver’s Schools," available at https://www.educationnext.org/redesigning-denver-schools-rise-fall-superintendent-tom-boasberg
In this episode, Boasberg talks with Ed Next editor-in-chief Marty West about his decade-long effort to improve Denver's schools.
Colleges are trying harder to recruit high-achieving students from low-income families. And some organizations are now ranking colleges on the extent to which they provide opportunities to those students. But new research identifies problems with the way these rankings are calculated, and suggests that colleges should be looking at the numbers differently.
Caroline Hoxby, the Scott and Donya Bommer Professor in Economics at Stanford University and a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss her latest research piece, "The Right Way to Capture College "Opportunity", co-written with Sarah Turner.
https://www.educationnext.org/right-way-capture-college-opportunity-popular-measures-can-paint-wrong-picture-low-income-student-enrollment/
The Department of Education's proposed new Title IX regulations have generated over 72,000 comments and a lot of debate, especially the requirement that schools allow students who have filed sexual-assault complaints to be cross-examined.
As the public comment period for the new rules is about to close, Shep Melnick joins Marty West to discuss how federal mandates on sexual harassment have evolved and what happens next.
Melnick wrote about the proposed changes in "New Title IX Rules Require Hearings, Cross-Examinations in Colleges But Not High Schools."
https://www.educationnext.org/new-title-ix-rules-require-hearings-cross-examinations-in-colleges-not-high-schools/
Parents often rely on school shopping websites to find out more about schools they are considering for their children. A new study looks at how the content and layout of these websites influence how parents judge schools.
Ira Nichols-Barrer, a Senior Researcher at Mathematica and one of the authors of the study, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss his findings. The study, "Presenting School Choice Information to Parents: An Evidence-Based Guide," was co-written with Steve Glazerman, Jon Valant, Jesse Chandler and Alyson Burnett.
A blog post summarizing the study is available at: https://www.educationnext.org/design-with-care-school-information-displays-impact-school-choices/
Every year since 2010, Rick Hess and his team at AEI have ranked the university-based researchers who are doing the most to shape the conversation about education policy and practice.
Today Rick Hess talks with EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West about this year's Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings.
Read about the rankings here: https://www.educationnext.org/2019-edu-scholar-public-influence-rankings/
When Magnolia Public Schools, a charter school network based in California, tried to open a new science academy in Anaheim, its proposal was opposed by lobbyists paid by the government of Turkey.
Caprice Young, former CEO of Magnolia Public Schools, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's battles against charter schools across the U.S.
This is the subject of a new article by Menachem Wecker, "Turkey's Fight Against U.S. Charters." https://www.educationnext.org/turkey-fight-against-us-charters-autocrat-declares-war-high-performing-american-schools
EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West sits down with Senior Editor Paul E. Peterson to talk about some of the most popular articles published by Education Next in 2018, articles on inclusion and special education, teacher evaluation, homework, and more.
Check out the Top 20 Education Next articles of 2018 here: https://www.educationnext.org/top-20-education-next-articles-2018/
Chester E. Finn, Jr. joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the life and legacy of President George H.W. Bush. who declared on the campaign trail that he wanted to be "the education president."
In “Remembering Two Education Reformers," Finn wrote about Bush's education reform efforts, as well as those of Harold O. Levy, who also died last month. https://www.educationnext.org/remembering-two-education-reformers/
Charles Barone, the chief policy officer at Democrats for Education Reform and Education Reform Now, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the results of the midterm election and what impact they might have on education policy.
Barone recently wrote “Election 2018: The Voters Have Spoken” for EdNext, available at: https://www.educationnext.org/election-2018-voters-have-spoken-what-did-they-say-about-education/
As college costs rise, some see cause for alarm in rising levels of student loan debt. However, a new study finds that students who take out loans do better in school. Lesley Turner joins Marty West to discuss that new study, "The Benefits of Borrowing: Evidence on student loan debt and community college attainment," which she co-authored with Benjamin M. Marx.
The study is available at: https://www.educationnext.org/benefits-of-borrowing-evidence-student-loan-debt-community-college-attainment/
Research shows that teachers who raise student test scores also improve long-term outcomes for their students. A new study finds that long-term outcomes for students are even more strongly predicted by student behaviors than they are by student test scores. And the teachers who are good at improving student behaviors are not necessarily the same teachers who are good at raising student test scores.
The author of the new study, C. Kirabo Jackson, professor of human development and social policy at Northwestern University, discusses his findings with EdNext editor-in-chief Marty West. The study, "The Full Measure of a Teacher: Using value-added to assess effects on student behavior," will appear in the Winter 2019 issue of Education Next and is now available online at https://www.educationnext.org/full-measure-of-a-teacher-using-value-added-assess-effects-student-behavior/
For four years, Tom Kane ran a project for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which offered to help a set of school districts develop new ways of evaluating teacher effectiveness. He talks with EdNext's Marty West about lessons to be learned from that effort.
Kane, the Walter H. Gale Professor of Education and Economics at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, is the author of "Develop and Validate — Then Scale: Lessons from the Gates Foundation’s Effective Teaching Strategy." The article is available at: https://www.educationnext.org/develop-validate-scale-lessons-gates-foundation-effective-teaching-strategy/
While many parents worry that their children are assigned too much homework, studies show that American students do very little homework, on average. Janine Bempechat, clinical professor of human development and the author of a new article, "The Case for (Quality) Homework." talks with Marty West why homework improves learning and how parents can help.
Read Professor Bempechat's article here: https://www.educationnext.org/case-for-quality-homework-improves-learning-how-parents-can-help/
Does Massachusetts really have the best charter schools in the country? If it does, why is the charter sector growing so slowly in the state?
In this episode, Marty West talks with Cara Stillings Candal, the author of a new book on charter schools in Massachusetts, The Fight for the Best Charter Public Schools in the Nation.
She wrote a blog entry for Education Next based on her new book. You can read it here: https://www.educationnext.org/fight-for-the-best-charter-schools-in-the-country-what-massachusetts-got-right-wrong/
Earlier this year, the Global Teacher Prize was awarded to Andria Zafirakou, an arts educator at an inner city secondary school in London.
Zafirakou joins Marty West to talk about how she uses the arts to inspire the students in her school and and her plan to use the $1 million prize to launch a charity supporting arts education in the UK.
Should data drive decision-making in education policy or should data be used in the service of our values?
Harry Brighouse and Susanna Loeb join Marty West to discuss how the tools of philosophy and social science can help policymakers make better decisions.
Brighouse and Loeb, along with Helen Ladd and Adam Swift, are the authors of Educational Goods: Values, Evidence, and Decision-Making.
David Steiner reviewed the book for EdNext here: https://www.educationnext.org/contemplative-approach-education-policy-book-review-education-goods-brighouse-ladd-loeb-swift/
In many school districts, teachers receive generous health care benefits even after they retire, but states and school districts have not been putting aside sufficient funds to pay for those promises.
In many school districts, teachers receive generous health care benefits even after they retire, but states and school districts have not been putting aside sufficient funds to pay for those promises.
Chad Aldeman joins EdNext editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss his article, "Health Care for Life: Will teachers' post-retirement benefits break the bank?" available at https://www.educationnext.org/health-care-for-life-will-teachers-post-retirement-benefits-break-bank/
Including students with disabilities in regular classsrooms is a worthy goal, but it may not always be the best way of serving children with disabilities. It can also sometimes have negative consequences for teachers and for students without disabilities.
Allison Gilmour, an assistant professor of special education at Temple University, joins EdNext editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss her article, “Has Inclusion Gone Too Far?”
Read the full article here: https://www.educationnext.org/has-inclusion-gone-too-far-weighing-effects-students-with-disabilities-peers-teachers/
In Oklahoma, teachers walked out for nine days this April to demand better pay and more spending on schools. Eleanor Goetzinger, a special ed teacher and behavior specialist in the Oklahoma City Public Schools, talks with Marty West about what the strike meant for her, for her students, and for schools in Oklahoma.
The Office of the Inspector General from the U.S. Department of Education is widely respected for its efforts to ferret out waste, fraud and abuse, but what happens when the OIG starts making policy recommendations?
Jason Delisle, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the involvement of the OIG in policymaking.
Delisle is the co-author, with Nat Malkus, of "Inspecting the Inspector General: Should Auditors Set the Terms of Debate on Federal Education Policy," available at https://www.educationnext.org/inspecting-inspector-general-should-auditors-set-terms-debate-federal-education-policy/
When teachers open their classroom doors and allow trained coaches to observe them and offer feedback, the teachers' instruction improves.
But can this form of teacher professional development be taken to scale?
Matthew Kraft, an associate professor of education and economics at Brown University, sits down with EdNext editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss his article, “Taking Teacher Coaching To Scale,” co-written with David Blazar.
Read the full article here: https://www.educationnext.org/taking-teacher-coaching-to-scale-can-personalized-training-become-standard-practice/
Private colleges currently enroll 30 percent of students attending four-year colleges, but they face declining enrollment and mounting deficits. Is a crisis on the horizon?
Stephen Eide, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, joins Education Next editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss his article "Private Colleges in Peril."
Read the full article here: https://www.educationnext.org/private-colleges-peril-financial-pressures-declining-enrollment-closures/
What does the public think about teacher strikes, teacher salaries, agency fees, and more? And what do teachers think?
The EdNext Podcast returns from vacation this week so editor-in-chief Marty West and senior editor Paul E. Peterson can discuss the results of the 2018 Education Next poll.
Read the full results here: https://www.educationnext.org/public-support-climbs-teacher-pay-school-expenditures-charter-schools-universal-vouchers-2018-ednext-poll
Later this month, the Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling in Janus v. AFSCME on whether public sector unions should be allowed to collect agency fees from employees who choose not to join the union.
The Court heard a similar case two years ago, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association.
On this week's podcast, Marty West talks with Rebecca Friedrichs, the lead plaintiff in that case, about agency fees, unions, and what to expect after Janus.
In 2011, a Florida law eliminated tenure for teachers hired on or after July 1, 2011. A new study looks at the impact of that change on student achievement in the state.
Celeste Carruthers, an associate professor in the Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the new study, "Did Tenure Reform in Florida Affect Student Test Scores?," which she co-authored with David Figlio and Tim Sass
The study is available here: http://educationnext.org/tenure-reform-florida-affect-student-test-scores/
In the United States, we don’t expect most kids to work very hard, and they don’t. So write Mike Petrilli and Adam Tyner of the Fordham Institute in a new EdNext article about student motivation.
Should we try to make schools more engaging? Use external exams to hold students accountable for their learning?
Adam Tyner sits down with Marty West to discuss some options that he and Mike Petrilli explore in their article, “The Case for Holding Students Accountable," available at http://educationnext.org/case-for-holding-students-accountable-how-extrinsic-motivation-gets-kids-work-harder-learn-more/
For a brief period, states were required to rank their teacher education programs based in part on how much their graduates were boosting student test scores.
But when Paul von Hippel and Laura Bellows took a close look at the evaluations of teacher education programs in six states, they found that the differences between the programs in their graduates' impact on student learning were negligible.
Paul von Hippel joins Marty West to discuss his study, "Rating Teacher-Preparation Programs: Can value-added make useful distinctions?," co-authored with Laura Bellows.
The article is available at: http://educationnext.org/rating-teacher-preperation-programs-value-added-make-useful-distinctions/
In many states, teacher pay has stagnated or even declined in recent years. The rising cost of maintaining teacher retirement systems is part of the problem.
In this episode, Chad Aldeman of Bellwether Education Partners joins Marty West to discuss the increasing cost of teacher benefits, how this affects teacher take-home pay, and what teachers gain and lose under the current system.
Chad Aldeman is the author of "Teachers Have the Nation’s Highest Retirement Costs. But They’ll Never See the Benefits," available at http://educationnext.org/teachers-have-nations-highest-retirement-costs-never-see-benefits/
The cost of college is rising, in part because of declines in state support for higher education. But what explains those declines?
Douglas Webber, associate professor in the Temple University Department of Economics, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss his article, "Higher Ed, Lower Spending: As States Cut Back, Where Has the Money Gone?" available at http://educationnext.org/higher-ed-lower-spending-as-states-cut-back-where-has-money-gone
As the charter school sector grows, there is more emphasis on replicating school models with a track record of success and less emphasis on single-site schools that increase the variety of schooling options. So argues Derrell Bradford in a new article for Education Next, "Strengthening the Roots of the Charter-School Movement."
This week, Derrell Bradford joins EdNext editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss his article, what can be done to support single-site schools, and why it matters.
The article is available at: http://educationnext.org/strengthening-roots-charter-school-movement-how-mom-and-pops-help-sector-diversify-grow/
Do teachers know enough about how students think and what motivates them? Daniel Willingham thinks that ed schools are not giving teachers enough useful information about how children learn. He laid out his argument in an Education Next article, "Unlocking the Science of How Kids Think."
In this episode, Dan Willingham speaks with Marty West about this problem with preservice teacher training and how it could be fixed.
Read the full article here: http://educationnext.org/unlocking-science-how-kids-think-new-proposal-for-reforming-teacher-education/
The results of the 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress have just been released and the news is not good. National trends are mostly flat, and as Mike Petrilli notes, it’s now been almost a decade since we’ve seen strong growth in either reading or math, with the slight exception of eighth grade reading.
Mike Petrilli joins Marty West to take a close look at the results and to consider what lessons we can draw from them.
Education Next has published a series of blog entries analyzing the 2017 NAEP results here: http://educationnext.org/interpreting-2017-naep-reading-math-results/
Georgia Tech already offered a highly regarded master's degree in computer science. In 2014, the school added a fully online version of the degree.
In this episode, Josh Goodman joins Marty West to discuss the impact of the program.
Goodman, an associate professor of public policy at Harvard University, writes about the new degree program in “An Elite Grad-School Degree Goes Online,” co-written with Julia Melkers and Amanda Pallais. http://educationnext.org/elite-grad-school-degree-goes-online-georgia-tech-virtual-masters-increase-access-education/
Michael Podgursky, professor of economics at the University of Missouri–Columbia, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how charter schools are developing their own retirement plans for teachers.
Podgursky, along with Susan Aud Pendergrass and Kevin Hesla, is the author of "Pensions Under Pressure" from the Spring 2018 issue of EdNext. http://educationnext.org/pensions-under-pressure-charter-innovation-teacher-retirement-benefits/
As the use of smart speakers like Google Home and Amazon Echo becomes widespread in homes, some wonder whether voice-activated technology technology could prove useful in the classroom.
Michael Horn joins Marty West to discuss how this might work and what the challenges might be.
Michael Horn is the author of "Hey Alexa, Can You Help Kids Learn More? The next technology that could disrupt the classroom," available at http://educationnext.org/hey-alexa-could-voice-activation-help-kids-learn-technology-disrupt-classroom/
"As public education secretary of New Mexico, Hanna Skandera dug in fast, set an ambitious agenda, and broke a lot of china." So writes Michael McShane in a new article for Education Next about Skandera's seven years of leadership.
Michael McShane joins Marty West to discuss the lessons education reformers can learn from Skandera's successes and challenges.
Read the full article, "The New Mexico Reform Story: Will Hanna Skandera's legacy last?" from the Spring 2018 issue of EdNext, here: http://educationnext.org/new-mexico-reform-story-hanna-skandera-legacy/
A new meta-analysis documents a half-century of “strong positive results” for Direct Instruction.
In this episode, Robert Pondiscio of the Fordham Institute joins Marty West to talk about Direct Instruction, which he calls "the Rodney Dangerfield of education. It gets no respect."
Pondiscio is the author of "Meta-Analysis Confirms Effectiveness of an Old School Approach: Direct Instruction," available at: http://educationnext.org/meta-analysis-confirms-effectiveness-old-school-approach-direct-instruction
Josh Dunn, an associate professor of political science at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss oral arguments heard by the Supreme Court Monday, February 26, in Janus v. AFSCME. The case “could overturn decades-old precedent and deal a potentially crippling blow to public sector unions.”
The case was brought by Mark Janus, an Illinois government employee. He argues that he should not be required to pay a fee to the public sector union he has chosen not to join. He sees the required agency fee as a violation of his First amendment rights since the union takes positions he opposes, positions which he views as political.
There's been a decline in the number of new charter schools opening and a slowing of growth in overall enrollment in charter schools.
Robin Lake joins Marty West to discuss her research into some possible reasons for the decline, focusing on the San Francisco area.
Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, is co-author of "Why Is Charter Growth Slowing? Lessons from the Bay Area" with Trey Cobb, Roohi Sharma and Alice Opalka, available at http://educationnext.org/why-is-charter-school-growth-slowing-lessons-from-bay-area/
We don't yet know what the long-term effects are of kids spending so many hours in front of screens. Many parents struggle to set reasonable boundaries around screen time, and some seem to have given up the fight.
In this episode, Marty West talks with Naomi Schaefer Riley, the author of a new book, Be the Parent, Please: Stop Banning Seesaws and Start Banning Snapchat, about the challenges of limiting screen time for our kids and why parents might want to try harder.
Read an excerpt of the book here: http://educationnext.org/educating-independent-children-technologically-dependent-world-be-the-parent-please-riley-excerpt/
... And a review of her book here: http://educationnext.org/parenting-in-the-iphone-age-book-review-art-of-screen-time-kaentz-be-the-parent-please-riley/
In many western states, charter schools operate with little regulation or oversight. Matt Ladner joins Marty West on the podcast to defend this approach to charter school policy.
Ladner, a senior research fellow at the Charles Koch Institute, is the author of “In Defense of Education’s ‘Wild West." Read the full article here: http://educationnext.org/in-defense-educations-wild-west-charter-schools-thrive-four-corners-states/
The political debate over charter schools often turns on their impact on students in traditional district schools.
Marty West talks with Sarah Cordes about her new research on this topic: “Charters and the Common Good: The spillover effects of charter schools in New York City”
Read the full article here: http://educationnext.org/charters-and-common-good-spillover-effects-charter-schools-new-york-city/
Charter schools have long fought to get their fair share of per pupil funding. Parker Baxter joins Marty West to discuss how two states have passed breakthrough laws mandating that charters have equitable access to local funds.
Parker Baxter, scholar in residence at the University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs, is co-author, with Todd Ely and Paul Teske, of "A Bigger Slice of the Money Pie," on how charter schools in Colorado and Florida have gained a larger share of local tax dollars.
Read the article here: http://educationnext.org/bigger-slice-of-the-money-pie-charters-colorado-florida-win-share-local-tax-dollars/
James Spillane joins EdNext editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how school administrators can use classroom assignments to promote teacher interaction, which is the subject of his new article, "The Schoolhouse Network."
Read the full article here: http://educationnext.org/schoolhouse-network-how-school-buildings-affect-teacher-collaboration/
EdNext editor in chief Marty West and senior editor Paul E. Peterson discuss the top Education Next articles of 2017.
Read the Top 20 Education Next Articles of 2017 here: http://educationnext.org/top-20-education-next-articles-2017/
In many school districts, parents are fighting for later high school start times so that their teenagers can get the sleep they need. Earlier this month, the Boston School Committee announced that it would start high schools later and elementary schools earlier, but not all parents are happy about the change.
In this episode, we revisit an interview with Finley Edwards, the author of “Do Schools Begin Too Early?” about his findings that later school start times increase student achievement in math and reading and have many other benefits.
Read Edwards' original piece here: http://educationnext.org/do-schools-begin-too-early/
Lenora Chu, an American journalist, decided to send her son to a local public school when she and her family relocated to Shanghai. In this episode of the podcast, she talks with Marty West about what she learned about the Chinese education system, which is also the topic of her new book, Little Soldiers: An American Boy, A Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve.
You can read a print interview of Lenora Chu conducted by Michelle Rhee for Education Next here: http://educationnext.org/american-perspective-on-chinese-schooling-lenora-chu-little-soldiers-michelle-rhee
The expectations teachers have for how far students will go with their education have an impact on how much education those students actually complete. And white teachers have lower expectations for black students than for similarly situated white students.
To better understand these dynamics, Marty West talks with Seth Gershenson about his new study, “The Power of Teacher Expectations: How racial bias hinders student attainment,” co-authored with Nicholas Papageorge.
Read the article here: http://educationnext.org/power-of-teacher-expectations-racial-bias-hinders-student-attainment/
On election day last week, voters in Douglas County, Colorado elected a slate of school board members who want to undo the reforms embraced by the last board.
Max Eden, a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the results of the election, and in particular, what they mean for school choice efforts nationwide.
Read Eden's recap of election night here: http://educationnext.org/reflections-on-election-in-douglas-county-colorado/
How much does summer vacation disrupt student learning and how much does it contribute to achievement gaps?
In this episode, David M. Quinn of the Rossier School of Education at USC joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how researchers analyze summer learning loss and how it varies by student background.
Quinn wrote "Summer Learning Loss: What Is It, and What Can We Do About It?," with Morgan S. Polikoff: http://educationnext.org/summer-learning-loss-what-is-it-what-can-we-do-about-it/
Eva Moskowitz, the founder of Success Academy Charter Network, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss her new memoir, The Education of Eva Moskowitz, and the role of charter schools in New York City.
Read a review of her book here: http://educationnext.org/success-story-review-education-of-eva-moskowitz-memoir-success-academy/
Western Governors University has earned praise for its innovative model of competency-based learning. But the U.S. Department of Education’s Inspector General has called for the government to bar WGU students from federal student aid programs.
In this episode, Michael Horn of the Christensen Institute joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the WGU model and why a government audit found it wanting.
Horn wrote about this in a recent blog post, “Government Accountability Goes Unaccountable: Chilling WGU’s Innovation Engine," available at: http://educationnext.org/government-accountability-goes-unaccountable-chilling-wgus-innovation-engine/
Tom Vander Ark joins EdNext editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the benefits of technology in schools and why it would be a mistake to reject the use of computers in the classroom.
In a new EdNext forum on whether screen time in schools should be limited, Tom wrote “The Problem Is Wasted Time, not Screen Time.” http://educationnext.org/problem-is-wasted-time-not-screen-time-forum-scoggin-vander-ark/
How does the current array of technology in schools fit with the ages-old aspiration of forming thoughtful and reflective young men and women who will strive for a greater good beyond themselves? That’s the question Daniel Scoggin raises in his half of a new Education Next forum, “Should We Limit Screen Time in School?”
Read his article, "Putting Dialogue over Devices Shapes Mind and Character," here: http://educationnext.org/putting-dialogue-over-devices-shapes-mind-and-character-forum-scoggin-vander-ark
In a speech last week at Harvard University, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos noted that a new study from the Urban Institute finds that a Florida program designed to expand access to private schools has helped more low income students enroll in college.
In this episode of the podcast, Matt Chingos, one of the authors of the study, talks with Marty West about how the Florida Tax Credit scholarship program works, how the effects of the program were studied, and how his findings fit in with those of other studies of voucher and tax credit programs.
Matt wrote about the study for EdNext in "Private School Choice Increases College Enrollment in Florida. Could It Work Nationally?" http://educationnext.org/private-school-choice-increases-college-enrollment-florida-work-nationally/
Read Rob's article, "How to Avoid Getting Ripped Off by Ed-Tech Vendors," here: http://educationnext.org/how-to-avoid-getting-ripped-off-ed-tech-vendors-ten-tips/
Brian A. Jacob of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the causes and consequences of chronic absenteeism in schools.
Jacob wrote about this subject with Kelly Lovett here: http://educationnext.org/chronic-absenteeism-old-problem-search-new-answers/
As Ashley Berner explains in a new book, public education does not have to mean that all schools are the same. In earlier days, and in other countries, the government is the regulator of schools and provides quality control but does not directly operate all schools. This version of public education may better reflect American democracy, Berner notes.
Ashley Berner joins Marty West to discuss pluralism and public education in this week's episode of the EdNext podcast.
A blog entry she wrote based on her book appeared earlier this year: http://educationnext.org/to-improve-education-america-look-beyond-traditional-school-model/
Also, Robert Pondiscio reviewed her book for EdNext: http://educationnext.org/pitfalls-of-uniform-state-run-public-education-berner/
Robert Pondiscio joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the curriculum-driven reform efforts led by the Louisiana Department of Education.
Robert is the author of a new article, "Louisiana Threads the Needle on Ed Reform: Launching a coherent curriculum in a local-control state," available at: http://educationnext.org/louisiana-threads-the-needle-ed-reform-launching-coherent-curriculum-local-control/
Susan Payne Carter, assistant professor of economics at the United States Military Academy, joins EdNext editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss her new study which found that students whose professors banned laptops and tablets from class outperformed students whose professors allowed the devices.
Read the full study here: http://educationnext.org/should-professors-ban-laptops-classroom-computer-use-affects-student-learning-study/
In the 2017 EdNext poll on school reform, parents were asked whether they would rather send their child to a two-year college, a four-year college, or neither. When respondents are given information about the costs and benefits of the different options, this changes the decisions of some respondents, but not others.
EdNext editor-in-chief Marty West sits down with senior editor Paul E. Peterson to discuss how different groups respond.
Read the findings of the 2017 EdNext Poll here: http://educationnext.org/2017-ednext-poll-school-reform-public-opinion-school-choice-common-core-higher-ed/
The podcast returns from summer vacation early so that EdNext editor-in-chief Marty West can discuss some key findings from the 2017 EdNext poll with senior editor Paul E. Peterson.
The poll found a sharp decline in support for charter schools. Marty and Paul consider some reasons why support has fallen among both Democrats and Republicans.
See all results from the 2017 Education Next Poll here: http://educationnext.org/2017-ednext-poll-school-reform-public-opinion-school-choice-common-core-higher-ed/
Introducing the Education Exchange with Paul Peterson, an Education Next podcast. On this episode, Prof. Peterson discusses the Trinity Lutheran v. Missouri Supreme Court case with Stanford University professor Michael W. McConnell.
Follow the podcast at: http://www.soundcloud.com/education-exchange-paul-peterson
Researchers know more than ever before about how people learn, but our school systems struggle to translate this knowledge into student success.
In this episode, Ulrich Boser, the author of Learn Better, joins Marty West to discuss this paradox. Is the problem simply a failure of communication? Or is it deeper?
Learn Better is reviewed by Robert Pianta in the new issue of Education Next. http://educationnext.org/learning-from-the-science-learning-book-review-learn-better-ulrich-boser/
From 1994 to 2003, Hugh Price served as president of the National Urban League, where he launched a national campaign to raise the academic achievement of black youth. He has written a new memoir, This African-American Life, in which he tells his own remarkable story.
Hugh Price joins Marty West in this episode of the Education Next podcast.
Read an excerpt of his new book here: http://educationnext.org/school-desegregation-washington-d-c-1950s-hugh-b-price-this-african-american-life-memoir-excerpt/
Jonathan Smith speaks with Marty West about how an effort to recognize high-scoring Hispanic students boosts the chances that those students will enroll in and graduate from four-year institutions.
Smith, an assistant professor of economics at Georgia State University, is the co-author of "Boosting Hispanic College Completion" with Oded Gurantz and Michael Hurwitz, available here:
http://educationnext.org/boosting-hispanic-college-completion-high-school-recruiting-graduate-nhrp-college-board/
Over the past decade, a growing number of urban school districts have responded to the presence of charter schools by providing some of their own schools the same flexibilities that charters enjoy. But few have gone as far as Indianapolis, where the district is now authorizing what it calls innovation network schools: districts schools that are run by outside contractors, with their own independent boards and full charter-style autonomy.
In this episode of the Ed Next podcast, Marty West talks with David Osborne about what is happening in Indianapolis and how it could be a potential model for the reform of large city school districts.
David Osborne's article on this topic can be found at http://educationnext.org/more-options-indianapolis-mayoral-charters-innovation-schools-expand-choice/
One the key advantages charter schools have is the flexibility to start from scratch financially. However, that advantage can quickly erode if charter schools make the same decisions as their district predecessors when it comes to spending on buildings, employees, and retirees.
In this episode, Marty West talks with Robin Lake about pitfalls that charter school entrepreneurs and those who support them need to avoid.
For more on this topic, please read http://educationnext.org/charters-must-avoid-recreating-failed-school-district-financial-model/
EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West recently moderated a debate between Thomas Carroll of Invest in Education and Neal McCluskey of the Cato Institute.
The question was whether the federal government should launch a federal tax credit scholarship program. Is there a role for Uncle Sam here or will the feds inevitably muck this up?
The audio here comes from that event. The video can be found at: http://educationnext.org/20-billion-federal-school-choice-tax-credit-program-yes-no-maybe-how-so-event/
As of December 2018, school districts nationwide will be required to report exactly what they spend on each of their schools. Will that information kick off a new wave of school finance research and reform? Could it become one of the law’s most important legacies? Marty West discusses the change with Marguerite Roza of Georgetown University, author of "With New Data, School Finance is Coming Out of the Dark Ages," available at http://educationnext.org/new-data-school-finance-coming-dark-ages/
Each year, millions of parents nationwide must make a seemingly life-altering decision for their soon-to-be kindergartener: to redshirt or not to redshirt. Many parents believe that so-called “academic redshirting,” or the act of delaying a student’s kindergarten entrance by one year, will give their children a leg up not only when they first enroll in school, but throughout their educational careers and later in life. But is redshirting preschoolers really advantageous? Could it do more harm than good?
In this week’s episode, Marty West talks with Diane Schanzenbach, about the down side of academic redshirting.
Read her article, "Is Your Child Ready for Kindergarten?," co-written with Stephanie Howard Larson, here: http://educationnext.org/is-your-child-ready-kindergarten-redshirting-may-do-more-harm-than-good/
Could Hamilton have an impact on the teaching of U.S. History in American high schools? That’s the vision behind the Hamilton Project, a major new effort to get the musical in the hands of kids, first in New York City, and eventually nationwide.
Marty West talks with Wayne D’Orio, a veteran education journalist and the author of the article “Hamilton Goes to High School,” which is available at: http://educationnext.org/hamilton-goes-high-school-how-students-learn-history-from-broadway-musical-lin-manuel-miranda/
It is hard to think of a more popular education policy proposal than reducing class size, but reducing class size on a large scale can have major unintended consequences.
Marty West talks with Bryan Hassel of Public Impact. Bryan is the co-author of a recent post on the EdNext blog with the provocative title “One More Time Now: Why Lowering Class Sizes Backfires," available at http://educationnext.org/one-time-now-lowering-class-sizes-backfires/
Marty West talks with Shep Melnick about how the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights works and what is likely to change under the Trump administration.
Shep Melnick, the Thomas P. O’Neill Jr. Professor of American Politics at Boston College, is the author of a new post on the EdNext blog entitled “How civil rights enforcement got swept into the culture wars, and what a new administration can do about it.” You can read it at http://educationnext.org/how-civil-rights-enforcement-got-swept-into-the-culture-wars-and-what-a-new-administration-can-do-about-it/
What should schools look like in order to succeed with blended learning? Marty West talks with Larry Kearns about how he and his team designed two charter schools to support their blended learning models.
For more, please read Kearns's article, “New Blueprints for K-12 Schools,” available at http://educationnext.org/new-blueprints-k-12-schools-innovative-design-supports-blended-learning
With a major winter storm closing schools up and down the East Coast this week, it seemed like a good time to revisit this 2016 discussion of snow days.
In this episode, EdNext's Marty West talks with Josh Goodman, the author of “In Defense of Snow Days,” about research showing that declaring a snow day is better for students in the long run.
"In Defense of Snow Days" is available at http://educationnext.org/defense-snow-days/
Can professional development for teachers be personalized?
Michael Horn joins EdNext editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss a new way of doing professional development. Teachers identify the skills they want to acquire, receive specialized training, and are certified as having these new competencies, receiving a micro-credential, something akin to a merit badge.
For more, read "Competency-Based Learning for Teachers," by Michael Horn and Thomas Arnett, here: http://educationnext.org/competency-based-learning-teachers-micro-credentials-professional-development/
Arizona Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick has been poring over Neil Gorsuch’s opinions as a federal judge to learn how he might approach the steady stream of education cases that inevitably make their way before the Supreme Court
Bolick has a new Education Next article on this topic, available here:
http://educationnext.org/gorsuch-the-judicious-judge-supreme-court-education/
The Every Student Succeeds Act, the federal education law passed in 2015, is part of what would seem to be a dying breed: major pieces of domestic policy legislation passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. How did ESSA come to be? And what does it mean for American students?
In this episode of the podcast, Marty West is joined by Rick Hess, co-author of a new book, The Every Student Succeeds Act: What It Means for Schools, Systems, and States.
An excerpt from the book, “The Long Path to ESSA,” is now available at http://educationnext.org/the-long-path-to-essa-every-student-succeeds-act-book-excerpt-hess-eden/
On January 11, 2017 the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the most important special education case in thirty-five years, Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. At issue was the level of services federal law requires school districts to provide students with disabilities.
On this week's episode of the podcast, Marty West talks with Josh Dunn about the case.
His new article on the Endrew F. case is available at http://educationnext.org/special-education-standards-supreme-court-raises-level-benefit-endrew-f-v-douglas-county/
More than half of college freshmen are told they must take remedial classes, most often in math, and these remedial math classes have low pass rates. Do these classes accomplish anything?
A new study finds that allowing students to take a college-level statistics class instead of remedial algebra has long-term benefits, starting with higher student pass rates.
Alexandra W. Logue, a research professor at CUNY’s Center for Advanced Study in Education, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the study.
The study is available at: http://educationnext.org/reforming-remediation-college-students-mainstreamed-success-cuny
Mike Larsson, co-founder and chief operating officer of Match Beyond, talks with Marty West about how his program helps low-income students overcome the obstacles that prevent many from finishing college.
For more about Match Beyond, please read: http://educationnext.org/new-path-to-a-college-degree-match-beyond-low-income-students/
Depending on your news source, you might not realize that charter schools are actually outperforming district schools in Detroit. Max Eden, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss a blog entry he co-authored with Jason Bedrick examining all of the data on Detroit charter school performance. You can read the blog entry here:
http://educationnext.org/the-data-on-detroit/
The efforts by the Obama administration to promote changes in the way teachers are evaluated have paid off in some ways but backfired in others.
Marty West talks about teacher evaluation reform with Chad Aldeman, who worked as a policy adviser at the U.S. Department of Education on ESEA waivers, teacher preparation, and the Teacher Incentive Fund.
He is the author of, "The Teacher Evaluation Revamp, In Hindsight," available here: http://educationnext.org/the-teacher-evaluation-revamp-in-hindsight-obama-administration-reform
With Betsy DeVos's confirmation hearing scheduled for January 17, EdNext's Marty West talks with Mike McShane, the author of a new profile of the Education secretary designee, about what to expect.
McShane's article can be found here: http://educationnext.org/betsy-devos-relatively-mainstream-reformer-education-secretary/
Howard Fuller talks with EdNext editor-in-chief Marty West about his reaction to the election results, his thoughts on Betsy DeVos, and what supporters of school choice can do now.
2016 was a year of surprises. In 100 Must-Read Articles on the Shape of 2016, AEI's Andy Smarick highlights the themes of the past year through a selection articles that best explain the outcome of the election and more.
In this episode of the podcast, he joins EdNext editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss some of the most interesting articles.
You can find Andy's list of articles here:
http://educationnext.org/100-must-read-articles-on-shape-of-2016
Two new studies compare the views of charter school parents to the views of private school and district school parents.
In this episode of the podcast, Marty West talks with Paul E. Peterson about the studies, which they helped conduct.
You can read the two studies here:
What Do Parents Think of Their Children’s Schools? http://educationnext.org/what-do-parents-think-of-childrens-schools-ednext-private-district-charter
How Satisfied are Parents with Their Children’s Schools? http://educationnext.org/how-satisfied-are-parents-with-childrens-schools-us-dept-ed-survey
Students of color are suspended more often than their white peers, but the rates of suspension and expulsion change when students have a teacher of the same race.
That’s what Constance Lindsay and Cassandra Hart found when they analyzed data from North Carolina elementary schools.
In this episode of the EdNext podcast, Marty West interviews Lindsay about the study she and Hart published, “Teacher Race and School Discipline,”
You can read their study at http://educationnext.org/teacher-race-and-school-discipline-suspensions-research/
While the idea of a diverse group of providers has not always been welcome in K-12 education policy, there have always been a wide range of providers for early childhood education.
Now, charter schools in a number of states are expanding to serve kids younger than kindergarten. Why has it taken so long? And what do these schools look like?
In this episode of the EdNext podcast, editor-in-chief Marty West talks with Ashley LiBetti Mitchel, co-author of "The Charter Model Goes to Preschool," available at http://educationnext.org/charter-model-goes-to-preschool/
The governing arrangements that made New Orleans a darling of education reformers will soon be a thing of the past. Is this the beginning of the end of the nation’s most promising experiment in non-traditional education governance?
Louisiana Superintendent of Education John White sits down with EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West in this episode of the EdNext podcast to discuss why lawmakers in Louisiana voted to dissolve the governing arrangements and what will happen when control over education in New Orleans returns to a local school board.
Education Next's Paul E. Peterson and Martin West talk about what education reforms they expect from President-Elect Donald Trump. Will he move on school choice, the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, Title I portability, charter schools, or something entirely unexpected?
Randomized experiments that send some students to visit art musuems and live theater performances find that these field trips help children develop critical thinking skills and values like empathy.
In this episode of the podcast, Jay Greene talks with Marty West about why he studies field trips, why we shouldn’t focus only on boosting reading and math scores, and why kids learn more from plays than from movies (and what this might mean for online learning).
Greene is the co-author of “The Educational Value of Field Trips,” and “Learning From Live Theater," both available on the Education Next website.
Marty West talks with Michael McShane about the wealth of free resources teachers can access online, They consider questions like.who will produce them, how will they be compensated, and how will educators be able to find the best ones?
Michael McShane is the author of the new article "Open Educational Resources," available at http://educationnext.org/open-educational-resources-digital-textbooks-federal-government/
There's plenty of evidence that students attending "no excuses" charter schools can do extremely well on standardized tests, but do the benefits of this approach to education extend beyond test scores?
In this episode of the Education Next podcast, Marty West talks with Blake Heller of Harvard University, the co-author of a new article, "Raising More Than Test Scores," available at http://educationnext.org/raising-more-than-test-scores-noble-charter-no-excuses/
Minority students are more likely to be suspended or expelled from school. What does the research say about the consequences of exclusionary discipline policies and alternatives to it?
In this episode of the Education Next podcast, Marty West talks with Matthew Steinberg, who is the co-author, with Joanna Lacoe, of "What Do We Know About School Discipline Reform?" available at http://educationnext.org/what-do-we-know-about-school-discipline-reform-suspensions-expulsions/
Under ESSA, states have new freedom to design their own accountability systems for schools. Will they innovate or retreat from real accountability?
In this episode of the podcast, Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush talks with Marty West about how states can make good us of their new autonomy and how likely they are to do so.
Gov. Bush's recent article "Florida's Intuitive Letter Grades Produce Results" is available at http://educationnext.org/floridas-intuitive-letter-grades-produce-results-forum-jeb-bush-accountability/
What voters decide on November 8 will matter for education policy in general and school choice especially. Will federal support for charter schools continue? Will charter schooling remain a bipartisan issue? Who will win the battle over lifting the charter cap in Massachusetts?
In this episode of the EdNext podcast, Marty West talks with Nina Rees of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Rees is the author of "Five Reasons Why School Choice is Important Right Now," available at http://educationnext.org/5-reasons-why-school-choice-is-important-right-now-rees/
In November, voters will have a chance to weigh in directly on the state’s charter school policy. Should they vote to allow more charter schools? Which direction does the evidence point?
In this week’s podcast, EdNext editor-in-chief Marty West talks with Sarah Cohodes of Teachers College. Cohodes and Susan Dysnarski are the authors of “Massachusetts Charter Cap Holds Back Disadvantaged Students," available at http://educationnext.org/massachusetts-charter-cap-holds-back-disadvantaged-students/
When Mayor Bill de Blasio took office in 2014, he launched several new programs to boost student achievement in New York City schools. Has he succeeded in crafting a progressive alternative to predecessor Michael Bloomberg’s “education reform” agenda?
In this episode of the Ed Next podcast, Marty West talks with Steven Eide, author of “Ed Reform Rollback in New York City,” about what de Blasio has accomplished and the constraints he has faced.
You can read Eide's article here: http://educationnext.org/ed-reform-rollback-new-york-city-de-blasio-charter-school-choice/
Now that summer vacation is over, American students are trading sleeping in for morning alarms. Are early start times a mistake? Would students perform better in school if classes started later?
In this episode of the EdNext podcast, Marty West talks with Finley Edwards, the author of "Do Schools Begin Too Early?" which can be found at http://educationnext.org/do-schools-begin-too-early/
Should teachers be paid more? Should it be harder for teachers to get tenure? Are teacher evaluation systems working?
In this episode of the EdNext podcast, Paul E. Peterson and Martin West take a close look at the differing views of teachers, parents, and the general public on polices that affect teachers, based on data from 2016 EdNext survey.
You can read about the survey here: http://educationnext.org/ten-year-trends-in-public-opinion-from-ednext-poll-2016-survey/
The just-released 2016 Education Next poll identified changes in public support for the Common Core, testing, opting out, and school choice.
In this episode of the EdNext podcast, Paul Peterson and Marty West discuss what the public says it wants and why these opinions are changing.
Read the full article on the poll here: http://educationnext.org/ten-year-trends-in-public-opinion-from-ednext-poll-2016-survey/
Using inexpensive new technology, students can take virtual reality field trips without leaving their classrooms. What will schools, teachers, and curriculum developers need to do for virtual reality to live up to the hype? In this episode of the EdNext podcast, Marty West talks with Michael Horn, whose article, “Virtual Reality Disruption: Will 3-D technology break through to the educational mainstream?” is available at http://educationnext.org/virtual-reality-disruption-3d-technology-education/
It is widely believed that minority students are overrepresented in special ed programs, possibly due to racial bias. But controlling for other factors that might put students at risk for problems at school, Paul Morgan and George Farkas find that minority students are actually less likely to receive special ed services than similarly situated white students. In this episode, they discuss why there is under-identification and under-treatment of black children with a demonstrated clinical need for special ed services compared to white children with the same need.
They explain the issue in more detail in “The Wrong and Right Ways to Ensure Equity in IDEA” available at http://educationnext.org/the-wrong-and-right-ways-ensure-equity-idea/
The Common Core standards initiative was launched in 2009 but by the time new tests aligned with those standards were rolled out 4 to 5 years later, there was mounting opposition to using those tests to evaluate teachers and schools. To preserve support for the standards, many states began throwing the assessments overboard. Will abandoning the tests in order to save the standards actually work?
In this podcast, EdNext's Marty West talks with Ashley Jochim of the Center for Reinventing Public Education, who is the co-author of "The Politics of the Common Core Assessments: Why states are quitting the PARCC and Smarter Balanced testing consortia."
Read the full article here: http://educationnext.org/the-politics-of-common-core-assessments-parcc-smarter-balanced/
Los Angeles has over 41,000 students on charter school wait lists. But when the school district and teachers union got wind of the Broad Foundation's plan to help launch schools to serve those students, simmering tensions over charter school expansion exploded.
In this week's episode of the EdNext podcast, Richard Whitmire, the author of "Ed Reform Battle in Los Angeles," talks with Marty West about the numerous challenges facing LAUSD and what is likely to happen next on the charter school front.
You can read Richard Whitmire's article here: http://educationnext.org/ed-reform-battle-in-los-angeles-charter-schools/
At least ten percent of students who graduate from high school and plan on going to college never show up on campus in the fall, a phenomenon called "summer melt."
Ben Castleman of the University of Virginia has studied the causes of summer melt and is testing some innovative interventions to help get at-risk students to college. He finds that connecting students with people and resources to help them manage the paperwork for financial aid, student loans, health insurance, and housing can make all the difference in getting from graduation to orientation.
You can read the review of Ben Castleman's book (The 160-Character Solution) discussed in this episode of the podcast here: http://educationnext.org/the-trouble-with-texting/
Ben Castleman responds to the review here: http://educationnext.org/response-to-the-trouble-with-texting/
Stanford University’s Terry M. Moe sits down with EdNext editor Marty West to discuss how political debates over education reform have unfolded around the world, with a focus on the role played by teachers unions.
Leslie Cornfeld, former special advisor to both the Secretary of Education and to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, speaks with Paul E. Peterson about chronic absenteeism and how data can be used to identify kids who are at risk.
Patrick Wolf of the University of Arkansas shares some of his findings on incarceration rates of voucher students vs. public school students with EdNext’s Paul E. Peterson.
Paul Peterson interviews Robert Shapiro, an expert on public opinion, about how the partisan divide in education policy is shifting, as issues of school quality and accountability have produced "conflicted liberals," at the same time that the presidential election is creating "conflicted conservatives."
In this episode of the EdNext podcast, Robert Balfanz talks with EdNext editor-in-chief Paul Peterson about chronic absenteeism and about some successful efforts to identify students who are chronically absent and assign them mentors who work with students individually to reduce absences from school.
Paul E. Peterson discusses his recent article, “The End of the Bush-Obama Regulatory Approach to School Reform,” with host Marty West.
Read the full article here: http://educationnext.org/end-of-bush-obama-regulatory-approach-school-reform-choice-competition/
Journalist Paul Tough talks with Education Next editor Marty West about his new book, “Helping Children Succeed.”
Read a review of the book here: http://educationnext.org/teaching-character-book-review-angela-duckworth-paul-tough/
Randall Reback of Barnard College and Columbia University sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss the kinds of changes in state accountability systems we are likely to see under the Every Student Succeeds Act.
With the prospect of free college tuition attracting many young voters to the candidacy of Bernie Sanders, EdNext’s Paul Peterson talks with Ludger Woessmann of the Ifo Institute in Munich about free higher education in Germany.
Matthew Ladner and Nelson Smith join Marty West to discuss the pros and cons of education savings accounts.
Ladner and Smith both contributed articles to a new Education Next forum, "Should Reformers Support Education Savings Accounts?" which is available here: http://educationnext.org/should-reformers-support-education-savings-accounts-forum-ladner-smith/
Eric Hanushek talks with Paul E. Peterson about the findings of his new study, which calculates the impact we would see on the economy if states improve their schools and students improve their skills.
Read the full article here: http://educationnext.org/pays-improve-school-quality-student-achievement-economic-gain/
Jim Stergios, the Executive Director of the Pioneer Institute, talks with with Paul E. Peterson about the debate over charter schools that is now taking place in the Massachusetts state legislature.
David Osborne talks with Marty West about the education reform strategies being embraced by the elected school board in Denver which have made the school district a leading example of urban reform.
Read the full article here: http://educationnext.org/denver-expands-choice-and-charters/
Andy Smarick talks with Marty West about innovation in the Catholic school sector.
Read the full article here: http://educationnext.org/innovation-in-catholic-education-instruction-governance/
Mike Petrilli and Marty West discuss the role schools can play in putting more low-income children on the path toward success, and what schools need to do differently in order to do a better job.
Marty West talks with Dan Goldhaber about the differences teachers and schools make. Goldhaber is the author of “In Schools, Teacher Quality Matters Most.”
Read the full article here: http://educationnext.org/in-schools-teacher-quality-matters-most-coleman/
Marty West talks with Doug Lemov, Colleen Driggs, and Erica Woolway, authors of the new book Reading Reconsidered: A Practical Guide to Rigorous Literacy Instruction.
Read an excerpt of the book here: http://educationnext.org/background-knowledge-doug-lemov-reading-reconsidered-excerpt/
Marty West talks with Anna Egalite about the Coleman Report's finding that family background explained more about student achievement than factors within the control of the school or other things that education policy can influence.
Read the full article here: http://educationnext.org/how-family-background-influences-student-achievement/
Susan Patrick sits down with EdNext editor Paul E. Peterson to discuss what impact the new Every Student Succeeds Act could have on digital learning.
Tom Kane talks with Marty West about why education research is not having an impact on education policy and what it would take for decisions made by policymakers at the state and local level to be influenced by research.
Amanda Olberg interviews Paul E. Peterson about the results of his new analysis of state academic standards, and in particular, how high states are setting the bar for student proficiency.
Steven Rivkin of the University of Illinois at Chicago sits down with Marty West to discuss how school segregation has changed since the publication of James S. Coleman’s “Equality of Educational Opportunity” report in 1966.
Joshua Goodman sits down with Marty West to discuss the impact of snow days on student achievment.
Marty West of EdNext talks with Greg Toppo about academic games and James Coleman's idea that they could be used to increase motivation and academic performance among teens.
Eric A. Hanushek of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University sits down with EdNext Editor Paul E. Peterson to discuss the lasting impact of James S. Coleman’s report, “Equality of Educational Opportunity.”
Michael Lovenheim of Cornell University sits down with Marty West to discuss his new study on the impact of teacher collective bargaining.
Mike Petrilli of the Fordham Institute joins Ed Next executive editor Marty West to discuss the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act. Who were the real winners and losers in this deal? And what happens next?
William Howell of the University of Chicago talks with Marty West about the Every Student Succeeds Act and federal education policy in the Obama administration.
Deborah McGriff, managing partner of NewSchools Venture Fund, discusses the charter school movement with Marty West.
Ira Nichols-Barrer and Brian Gill of Mathematica Policy Research sit down with Marty West to discuss an important testing decision faced by Massachusetts: whether to keep the MCAS assessment or switch to the PARCC assessment.
Gerard Robinson of the American Enterprise Institute sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss how education is being discussed in the early stages of the presidential race.
David J. Deming sits down with Ed Next’s Marty West to discuss his new study on the effects of a test-based accountability system in Texas.
Al Hubbard sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss the state of school choice and other reforms in his home state of Indiana.
University of Missouri Professor of Economics Michael Podgursky sits down with EdNext editor Paul E. Peterson to discuss the trouble some states are in with their pension systems.
Michael B. Horn and Paul E. Peterson discuss Arne Duncan's decision to resign and what his legacy will be as Secretary of Education.
Michael B. Horn and Paul E. Peterson discuss some of the advances in technology-driven school networks. See more at: http://educationnext.org/moving-edtech-forward-upstart-school-networks-breakthrough/
Paul E. Peterson, Martin R. West and Michael B. Henderson discuss findings from the 2015 Education Next-PEPG Poll.
R. Shep Melnick joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how "Dear Colleague" letters are changing how Title XI is interpreted in school districts.
Doug Harris from Tulane University joins Martin R. West to discuss how New Orleans changed their school system in the decade following Hurricane Katrina.