The Education Gadfly Show

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Rebecca Sibilia, the executive director of EdFund, joins Mike and David to debate whether we’ve fixed school funding in America. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a new study examining the effects of school shootings on survivors’ test scores, attendance, and long-term health.Recommended content: "School finance data 'sucks.' Rebecca Sibilia's new org is offering $ to fix it" —Greg Toppo, The 74“Think Again: Is education funding in America still unequal?” —Adam Tyner, Fordham Institute“The policies promoting school shootings” —Max Eden, Fordham InstituteEdFund WebsitePhillip Levine and Robin McKnight, “The consequences of high-fatality shootings for surviving students,” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management (February, 2024).Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Daniel Buck at dbuck@fordhaminstitute.org. 

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Mike Miles, the superintendent of Houston ISD, joins Mike and David to discuss the reforms he’s implementing in the Lone Star State’s largest district. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a new study of how increased learning time affects reading and math achievement.Recommended content: “Back to the future: Houston takes a page from ed reform’s recent past” —Dale Chu, Fordham Institute“Texas’s controversial takeover of Houston’s schools” —Daniel Buck, Fordham InstituteMatthew Kraft and Sarah Novicoff, “Time in School: A Conceptual Framework, Synthesis of the Causal Research, and Empirical Exploration,” Annenberg Institute at Brown University (February 2024).Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Daniel Buck at dbuck@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Adam Tyner and Meredith Coffey, the national research director and a senior research associate at the Fordham Institute, join Mike and David to discuss their new Think Again report on whether “equitable” grading benefits students. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a new study investigating how extreme temperatures affect student performance on standardized tests.Recommended content: “Think Again: Does ‘equitable’ grading benefit students?” —Adam Tyner and Meredith Coffey, Fordham Institute“Traditional grading may not be as straightforward as it seems” —Rick Hess and Joe Feldman, Education Week"A ‘no zeroes’ grading policy is the worst of all worlds” —Daniel Buck, Fordham InstituteDeven Carlson and Adam Shepardson, “Under the Weather? The Effects of Temperature on Student Test Performance,” Annenberg Institute at Brown University (February 2024).Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Daniel Buck at dbuck@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Chad Aldis, Fordham’s Vice President of Ohio Policy, joins Mike and David to discuss the impending cessation of federal ESSER funds. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a new study investigating the competitive effects of charter schools on traditional public schools in Florida.Recommended content: “ESSER’s sunset: Not a cut, but a return to normalcy” —Chad Aldis, Fordham Institute“The fiscal cliff and teacher layoffs” —Chad Aldeman, Fordham Institute“Federal pandemic funds should not disappear just when we need them most” —Hamlet Michael Hernandez, Hechinger ReportDavid Figlio, Cassandra Hart, and Krzysztof Karbownik, “Competitive Effects of Charter Schools,” Annenberg Institute at Brown University (February 2024).Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Daniel Buck at dbuck@fordhaminstitute.org. 

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Alan Safran, the CEO and co-founder of Saga Education, joins Mike and David to discuss best practices for high-impact tutoring. Then, on the Research Minute, Adam reports on a new study investigating the impacts of computer science education on early career outcomes.Recommended content: “Could tutoring be the best tool for fighting learning loss?” —Anna Nordberg, The New York Times“White house calls for focus on tutoring, summer school, absenteeism as pandemic aid winds down” —ChalkbeatLiu, Jing, Cameron Conrad, and David Blazar, “Computer Science for All? The Impact of High School Computer Science Courses on College Majors and Earnings,” Annenberg Institute at Brown University (January 2024).Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Daniel Buck at dbuck@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Chad Aldeman, the founder of Read Not Guess and a columnist for The 74, joins Mike and David to discuss whether the pandemic-era waiving of teacher licensure rules affected student outcomes. Then, on the Research Minute, Adam Tyner reports on a new paper investigating if school choice can meet the conditions necessary for efficient market functioning.Recommended content:“Emergency-hired teachers do just as well as those who go through normal training” —Chad Aldeman, The 74“The pandemic’s lesson on teacher licensure” —Matthew Yglesias, Slow BoringDouglas Harris, “How free market logic fails in schooling—And what it means for the role of government,” Educational Researcher (December 2023).Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Daniel Buck at dbuck@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Lindsey Burke, the director of the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation, joins Mike and David to discuss what a second Trump term could mean for federal education policy. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a new study investigating the impacts of licensure and certification on CTE teacher retention.Recommended content:“If Trump returns…” —Chester E. Finn, Jr., Fordham Institute“Department of Education” —Lindsey M. Burke, chapter in Mandate for leadership Hannah Kistler, Shaun Dougherty, and S. Colby Woods, “Teacher exit and educational opportunity: Lessons from career and technical education,” Educational Researcher (January 2024).Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Daniel Buck at dbuck@fordhaminstitute.org. 

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Douglas Lauen, a professor of public policy and sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, joins Mike to discuss residential mobility, academic achievement, and charter schools. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reviews a study investigating how school facilities funding impacts test scores and housing prices.Recommended content:“New home, same school: Charter schools and residentially-mobile students” —Doug Lauen“The charter-school movement just keeps on keepin’ on” —Jed Wallace, Education NextBarbara Biasi, Julien M. Lafortune, and David Schönholzer, “What works and for whom: Effectiveness and efficiency of school capital investments across the U.S.,” National Bureau of Economic Research (January 2024).Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Daniel Buck at dbuck@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Angela Rachidi, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Mike to discuss whether a reformed and refundable child tax credit can reduce poverty. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reviews a study investigating a cost-effective high-dosage tutoring intervention.Recommended content:“How to actually triumph over poverty” —Angela Rachidi, National Review“The child tax credit: 25 years later” —Angela Rachidi, Senate Committee on Finance“Congress is about to do something amazing: agree to invest in kids” —Catherine Rampell, Washington PostKalena Cortes, Karen Kortecamp, Susanna Loeb, and Carly D. Robinson, “A Scalable Approach to High-Impact Tutoring for Young Readers: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial,” Annenberg Institute at Brown University (January 2024).Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Daniel Buck at dbuck@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Ray Domanico, the director of education policy at the Manhattan institute, joins Mike to discuss whether New York should eliminate the Regents Exams as high school graduation requirements. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reviews a study investigating the trends in parental school involvement over the past two and a half decades.Recommended content:“Revising graduation requirements could improve academic rigor in New York” —Ray Domanico, Education Next“End-of-course exams and student outcomes” —Adam Tyner and Matthew Larsen“The accountability conundrum” —Chester E. Finn, Jr., Fordham InstituteAriel Kalil, Samantha Steimle, and Rebecca Ryan, “Trends in Parents’ Time Investment at Children’s Schools During a Period of Economic Change,” AERA (April 2023).Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Daniel Buck at dbuck@fordhaminstitute.org.