The Education Gadfly Show

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Debbie Veney, a senior vice president at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, joins Mike to discuss the growth in the charter sector since 2019. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reviews a new study investigating the effects of mock instruction and coaching on pre-service teacher performance.Recommended content:“Believing in public education: A demographic and state-level analysis of public charter school and district public school enrollment trends” —Drew Jacobs and Debbie Veney, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools“Which large school districts provide fertile terrain for charter growth?” —Amber M. Northern and Michael J. Petrilli, Thomas B. Fordham Institute Julie Cohen, Anandita Krishnamachari, Vivian C. Wong, and Steffen Erickson, “Experimental Evidence on the Robustness of Coaching Supports in Teacher Education,” 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, Checker Finn, Fordham’s president emeritus—and the original Education Gadfly—joins Mike and David to discuss the best and worst developments in education reform in 2023. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reviews the best education research of the year.Recommended content:“Standards-based reform | A Nation At Risk +40” —Michael Petrilli, Hoover Institution“What would another Trump term mean for education?” —Chester E. Finn, Jr., Fordham InstitutePreeya Mbekeani, John Papay, Ann Mantil, and Richard J. Murnane, “Understanding High Schools’ Effects on Longer-Term Outcomes,” Annenberg Institute at Brown University (February 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, Kara Arundel, a senior reporter at K-12 Dive, joins Mike to discuss two decades of private school choice in D.C. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a new study investigating the success of science-of-reading interventions in California.Recommended content:“‘Opportunity’ knocked—and stayed: Two decades of private school vouchers in the nation’s capital” —Kara Arundel, K–12 Dive“‘Opportunity’ knocked—and stayed: Successes and flaws of D.C.’s private school voucher program” —Kara Arundel, K–12 DiveSarah Novicoff and Thomas S. Dee, “The Achievement Effects of Scaling Early Literacy Reforms,” Annenberg Institute at Brown University (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, Jeanette Luna, a production and research associate at the Fordham Institute, joins Mike to discuss the competitive pressures facing America’s largest school districts. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a new study investigating whether post-Covid grade inflation has begun to recede.Recommended content:“The education competition index: Quantifying competitive pressure in America’s 125 largest school districts” —David Griffith and Jeanette Luna, The Fordham Institute“School choice isn’t killing traditional public schools. It’s making them better.” —Michael Petrilli, The Fordham InstituteDan Goldhaber and Maia Goodman Young, “Course Grades as a Signal of Student Achievement: Evidence on Grade Inflation Before and After COVID-19,” Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (November 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, Tim Daly, the CEO of Ed Navigator, joins Mike to discuss the causes and harms of grade inflation—and how to fix it. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a new study that investigates whether exposure to certain peers and teachers explains achievement gains resulting from enrollment in early algebra.Recommended content:“Grade inflation is locking in learning loss, part one” —Tim Daly, The Education Daly“How to fix grade inflation” —Tim Daly, The Education Daly Quentin Brummet et al., “Early Algebra Affects Peer Composition,” Annenberg Institute at Brown University (November 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, Chad Aldeman, the founder of Read Not Guess and a columnist for The 74, joins Mike to discuss how the end of COVID relief funds could cause a wave of teacher layoffs. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a new study investigating whether schools gamed their academic gains during No Child Left Behind.Recommended content:“Schools could lose 136,000 teaching jobs when federal COVID funds run out” —Chad Aldeman, The 74“Fiscal cliff could force layoffs of the best teachers” —Michael Petrilli, Education NextJohn Gregg and Stéphane Lavertu, “Test-based accountability and educational equity: Breaking through local district politics?” Economics of Education Review (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, Natalie Wexler, host of the Knowledge Matters podcast, joins Mike to discuss the connection between knowledge building and reading comprehension. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber covers a new study on the efficacy of college and workforce partnerships in the P-Tech high school model.Recommended content:“The science of reading isn’t just ‘phonics,’ but what else is it?” —Natalie Wexler, Forbes"Knowledge matters podcast” —Natalie Wexler“Social studies instruction and reading comprehension: Evidence from the early childhood longitudinal study” —Adam Tyner, The Fordham InstituteRachel Rosen, Emma Alterman, Louisa Treskon, Leigh Parise, Michelle Dixon, and Cassie Wuest, “P-TECH 9-14 Pathways to Success,” MDRC (October 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, Tim Donahue, an English teacher at the Greenwich Country Day School, joins Mike to discuss who loses when grades are inflated. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a new study that examines if Tennessee’s new school funding law really is progressive.Recommended content:“If everyone gets an A, no one gets an A” —Tim Donahue, New York Times“Grade inflation is not a victimless crime” —Frederick Hess, The Education GadflyChristopher Candelaria, Ishtiaque Fazlul, Cory Koedel, and Kenneth Shores, “Weighting for Progressivity? An Analysis of Implicit Tradeoffs Associated with Weighted Student Funding in Tennessee,” Annenberg Institute (October 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, Umut Özek and Louis Mariano, researchers at the Rand Corporation, join Mike to discuss whether grade retention helps or harms students. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a new study that examines if cash payouts can improve student attendance.Recommended content:“Think Again: Is grade retention bad for Kids?” — Umut Özek and Louis Mariano, The Thomas B. Fordham Institute “Retaining struggling readers in third grade sounds good–but it’s too little, too late, too often” —Kalman R. Hettleman, The Thomas B. Fordham InstituteDamien de Walque and Christine Valente, “Incentivizing school attendance in the presence of parent-child information frictions,” American Economic Journal (August 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, Kirsten Baesler, the superintendent of North Dakota, joins Mike to discuss her state’s new teacher and principal apprenticeship programs. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a study that examines the accuracy and efficacy of school rating systems.Recommended content:“North Dakota to launch principal apprenticeship program” —The Bismarck Tribune“An overview of Ohio’s new teacher apprenticeship program” —Jessica Poiner, The Fordham Institute“Why states should use student growth, and not proficiency rates, when gauging school effectiveness” —Michael Petrilli and Aaron Churchill, The Fordham InstituteErica Harbatkin and Betsy Wolf, “State accountability decisions under the Every Student Succeeds Act and the validity, stability, and equity of school ratings,” Annenberg Institute at Brown University (October 2023).Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Daniel Buck at dbuck@fordhaminstitute.org.