The Education Gadfly Show

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Denisha Allen, a senior fellow at the American Federation for Children, joins Mike to discuss if school choice can win a victory in Texas’s special legislative session. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a new study that examines the shrinking wage premium for college degrees.Recommended content:“Advance school choice, because Black minds matter, too” —Denisha Allen“School choice faces special session fight in Texas” —The Hill“What you make depends on where you live: College earnings across states and metropolitan areas” —Fordham InstituteLeila Bengali, Marcus Sander, Robert Valletta, and Cindy Zhao, “Falling college wage premiums by race and ethnicity,” The Federal Research Bank of San Francisco (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, Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute, joins Mike to discuss how zoning policies price poor people out of high quality schools. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses new research that examines how up-front cash payments affect teacher recruitment and retention.Recommended content:“Excluded: How snob zoning, NIMBYism, and class bias build the walls that we don’t see” —Richard Kahlenberg“Liberal suburbs have their own border wall” —Richard Kahlenberg“74 interview: Richard Kahlenberg says liberal ‘elitism’ is hurting school equity” —The 74Lucas C. Coffman, John J. Conlon, Clayton R. Featherstone, Judd B. Kessler, and Jessica Mixon, “Liquidity for teachers: Evidence from Teach For America and LinkedIn,” Economics of Education Review (September 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, Nina Rees, the president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, joins Mike to discuss the state of charters as she plans to step down after eleven years at the helm. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a new study on the power of teacher union endorsements in school board elections.Recommended content:“Gratitude for Nina Rees, our lead CharterFolk who overcame immense challenge to elevate us all” —Jed Wallace“Our next chapter” —Nina ReesMichael Hartney and Vladimir Kogan, “The politics of teachers’ union endorsements,” Annenberg Institute (September 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, Frances Messano, the CEO of NewSchools Venture fund, joins Mike to discuss the Building Bridges Initiative and its call to action, A Generation at Risk. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses new research that finds that attending KIPP middle and high schools dramatically increases students’ rate of college completion.Recommended content:A Generation at Risk: A Call to Action —The Building Bridges Initiative“How to meet students’ social-emotional and academic needs when schools reopen” —Frances Messano“A bridge back to bipartisan education reform” —Michael Petrilli“An expanded definition of student success should guide the pandemic-era learning recovery” —Jason AtwoodAlicia Demers, Ira Nichols-Barrer, Elisa Steele, Maria Bartlett, and Philip Gleason, “Long-term impacts of KIPP middle and high schools on college enrollment, persistence, and attainment,” Mathematica (September 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, joins Mike to discuss why and how to bring accountability back to American schools. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a new study that measures the differences in teacher effectiveness across generations.Recommended content:“The accountability conundrum” —Checker Finn“We can fight learning loss only with accountability and action” —Michael PetrilliNhu Nguyen, Ben Ost, and Javaeria Qureshi, “OK boomer: Generational differences in teacher quality,” Annenberg Institute (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, Adam Tyner, Fordham’s national research director, joins Mike to discuss disparities by race and socioeconomic status among America’s highest achieving students. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a new report from the ACT that analyzes the evidence of grade inflation since 2010.Recommended content:“Excellence gaps by race and socioeconomic status” —Meredith Coffey and Adam Tyner“America’s highest-achieving students are disproportionately Asian. Let’s not be afraid to investigate why.” —Michael Petrilli and Amber M. NorthernEdgar L. Sanchez, “Evidence of grade inflation since 2010 in high school English, mathematics, social studies, and science courses,” ACT (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, Linda Jacobson, a senior writer at The 74, joins Mike to discuss why more students are attending in-person classes with a virtual teacher. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a new study on the minimally positive effect of summer school interventions designed to mitigate pandemic learning loss.Recommended content:“Exclusive data: Fueled by teacher shortages, ‘Zoom-in-a-room’ makes a comeback” —Linda Jacobson“Welcome back to school. Your teacher is 2000 miles away.” —Wall Street JournalIan Callen et al., “Summer school as a learning loss recovery strategy after COVID-19: Evidence from summer 2022,” National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (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, William McKenzie, a senior editorial advisor at the George W. Bush Institute, joins Mike to discuss the state takeover of Houston ISD and its crusading new superintendent. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a study that finds a Los Angeles public school choice policy increased academic achievement. Recommended content:“What Mike Miles can do to transform Houston ISD” —William McKenzie“Texas revamps Houston schools, closing libraries and angering parents” —New York Times“Texas Education Agency will take control of Houston ISD in June” —Texas Tribune“What does Gadfly say?” —Fordham StaffChristopher Campos and Caitlin Kearns, “The impact of public school choice: Evidence from Los Angeles’ Zones of Choice,” National Bureau of Economic Research (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, Daniel Buck, Fordham’s editorial and policy associate, joins Mike and David to discuss the behavioral chaos in American schools post-pandemic. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a new study finding that pandemic-era declines in public school enrollment are likely to persist. Recommended content:“The school discipline disaster” —Daniel Buck“‘There were fists everywhere.’ Violence against teachers is on the rise.” —Wall Street JournalAndrew Backer-Hicks et al., “The stickiness of pandemic-driven disenrollment from public schools,” Annenberg Institute at Brown University (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, Rachel Canter, the executive director of Mississippi First, joins Mike to debunk the allegations that her state fudged its notable gains in reading achievement. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines the failure of a federal student loan forgiveness program for teachers.Recommended content:“The truth about Mississippi’s NAEP gains” —Rachel Canter“Mississippi didn’t cheat. Its reading gains are real.” —Todd CollinsBrian Jacob, Damon Jones, and Benjamin Keys, “The Value of Student Debt Relief and the Role of Administrative Barriers: Evidence from the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program,” National Bureau of Economic Research (June 2023).Feedback Welcome:Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Daniel Buck at dbuck@fordhaminstitute.org.