The Education Gadfly Show

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Aaron Churchill, Fordham’s Ohio research director, joins David to discuss how the Buckeye State’s latest omnibus bill benefits education. Then, on Research minutes, Amber examines a study on whether attending high-performing charter schools reduces risky behaviors like drug use.Recommended content: “Ohio lawmakers pass historic policies on charter schools, private school choice, governance, and literacy” —Aaron Churchill “More dollars follow Ohio students” —Wall Street JournalRebecca N. Dudovitz et al., “Assessment of Exposure to High-Performing Schools and Risk of Adolescent Substance Use: A Natural Experiment,” JAMA Pediatrics (2018).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, Tom Loveless, a former senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, joins Mike to discuss the problematic practices and research in California’s new mathematics framework. Then, on Research minutes, Amber discusses a depressing new report that finds a degradation in instructional quality that’s making it difficult to recover pandemic-era learning loss.Recommended content: “California’s new math framework doesn’t add up” —Tom Loveless “California adopts controversial new math framework. Here’s what’s in it.” —Education WeekLydia Rainey, Paul Hill, and Robin Lake, “Teach recovery? Three years in, school system leaders report that the pandemic weakened instruction,” Center for Reinventing Public Education (July 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, Perpetual Baffour, the research director at the Learning Agency Lab, joins Mike to discuss her creation of an AI Chatbot designed to give teachers and school leaders research-based advice. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a study covering the negative impacts on teacher pay of a Texas policy to expand alternative teacher certification.Recommended content: “Creating a custom Chabot to give evidence-based education advice”—Learning Agency Lab“The promise of personalized learning never delivered. Today’s AI is different.”—John Bailey“AI won’t replace teachers, but it can make them more effective.” —Nathaniel GrossmanSarah Guthery and Lauren Bailes, “Unintended Consequences of Expanding Teacher Preparation Pathways: Does Alternative Licensure Attenuate New Teacher Pay?” American Education Research Association (March 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, Fordham’s Adam Tyner joins Mike to discuss his latest report on the inequalities or lack thereof in education funding. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reviews an evaluation of a teacher-led course for college advising.Recommended content:“Think Again: Is Education Funding in America Still Unequal?”—Adam Tyner“Another Nail in the Money Doesn’t Matter Coffin”—Adam TynerThe study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Joshua Hyman, “College Counseling in the Classroom: Randomized Evaluation of a Teacher-Based Approach to College Advising,” Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University (June 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, former Massachusetts Secretary of Education Jim Peyser joins Mike to discuss education reform’s tendency to overpromise, and how we can avoid that in the fight against learning loss. Then, on the Research Minute, Adam discusses a study on how the pandemic affected the academic growth of high- and low-achieving students.Recommended content:“Settle for better”— James Peyser“Education reform is alive and well, even if the Washington Consensus is dead for now”—Michael Petrilli“Let’s forge a new K–12 political coalition—without political extremists” —Bruno MannoThe study that Adam reviewed on the Research Minute: Scott J. Peters et al., “Unequal Learning Loss: How the COVID-19 Pandemic Influenced the Academic Growth of Learners at the Tails of the Achievement Distribution,” Annenberg Institute at Brown University (June 2023) Feedback Welcome:Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Jeanette Luna at jluna@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Alia Wong of USA Today joins Mike and David to discuss what’s causing chronic absenteeism and ways to fix it. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a California study that investigates the extent to which a small group of teachers exacerbates racial gaps in school discipline.Recommended content:“Showing up to school was hard amid COVID. Why aren’t kids (or teachers) returning to class?” — Alia Wong“When students feel unsafe, absenteeism grows” —Amber M. Northern, Ph.D. and Christian Eggers“Imperfect Attendance: Toward a fairer measure of student absenteeism” —Jing Liu“3 years since the pandemic wrecked attendance, kids still aren't showing up to school” —NPR The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Jing Liu, Emily K. Penner and Wenjing Gao, Troublemakers? The Role of Frequent Teacher Referrers in Expanding Racial Disciplinary Disproportionalities, American Educational Research Association (June 2023)Feedback Welcome:Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Jeanette Luna at jluna@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Kevin Teasley, of the Greater Educational Opportunities Foundation, joins Mike Petrilli to discuss his charter high schools where students take dual-enrollment courses at local colleges and earn associate degrees. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a study that investigates how states’  early literacy policies affect reading and math achievement.Recommended content:“Case Study: Delivering K-16 Outcomes with K-12 Dollars” — The 74“Attend These Charter Schools. Leave With College Credentials”—Rick Hess Straight UpThe study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: John Westall and Amy Cummings, “The Effects of Early Literacy Policies on Student Achievement,” Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (June 2023)Feedback Welcome:Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Jeanette Luna at jluna@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Nick Colangelo of the University of Iowa joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the recommendations in the new report from the National Working Group on Advanced Education. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a California study that investigates how within-school differences in school quality contribute to educational achievement gaps.Recommended content:The National Working Group on Advanced Education’s new report: “Building a Wider, More Diverse Pipeline of Advanced Learners”“The case for gifted education” —Brandon L. Wright“Research Deep Dive: What we know about gifted education”—Michael J. Petrilli, Jonathan Plucker, and Amber M. Northern, Ph.D. “Because equity” is not a good reason to lower standards” —Michael J. PetrilliThe study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Matthew Naven, Within-School Heterogeneity in Quality: Do Schools Provide Equal Value Added to All Students?, Annenberg Institute at Brown University (May 2023)Feedback Welcome:Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Jeanette Luna at jluna@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Paul DiPerna of EdChoice joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the results from the EdChoice survey on teacher satisfaction and wellness across the district, charter, and private school sectors. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a study that investigates the negative long-term effects of Reading Recovery.Recommended content:“Where are teachers thriving?”—Mike McShane“Teacher job satisfaction rebounds from last year’s low. But there’s still a ways to go” —Education WeekThe study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Henry May et al., Long-Term Impacts of Reading Recovery through 3rd and 4th Grade: A Regression Discontinuity Study, Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness (May 2023) Feedback Welcome:Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Jeanette Luna at jluna@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Kathleen Porter-Magee of Partnership Schools—a network of Catholic schools in New York City and Cleveland—joins Mike Petrilli to discuss the debate over religious charter schools. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a Virginia study that compares labor market outcomes between community college students from higher and lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Recommended content:“3 reasons why religious charter schools should give us pause” —Kathleen Porter Magee“Proposal for first religious charter school in US shot down by Oklahoma education board” —USA Today“Supreme Court opens a path to religious charter schools: But the trail ahead holds twists and turns” —Education NextThe study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Brian Heseung Kim et al., Crossing the Finish Line but Losing the Race? Socioeconomic Inequalities in the Labor Market Trajectories of Community College Graduates , Education Finance & Policy (April 2023) Feedback Welcome:Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Jeanette Luna at jluna@fordhaminstitute.org.