The Education Gadfly Show

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Tom Kane of Harvard University joins Mike Petrilli to discuss his findings from The Education Recovery Scorecard Project. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a New York City study that investigates how external principal hires and internal principal promotions affect various measures of school quality. Recommended content:“Parents don’t understand how far behind their kids are in school” —Tom Kane and Sean Reardon “Pandemic learning loss: The role remote education played” —New York Times“American schools would rather not tell parents just how badly behind their children are after the pandemic” —FortuneThe study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Marcus Winters et al., The Impact of Principal Attrition and Replacement on Indicators of School Quality, Education Finance & Policy (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, Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss his new book, The Great School Rethink. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a Massachusetts study that found a connection between teachers’ scores on CTE licensure exams and the long-term earnings of their students.Recommended content:“How can we liberate students from drudgery? It’s time for a Great Rethink” —Rick Hess“Education commentary is dominated by optimism bias” —Freddie deBoerThe study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Bingjie Chien et al., “CTE teacher licensure and long-term student outcomes,” Education Finance & Policy (March 2023) Feedback Welcome:Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to our producer Nathaniel Grossman at ngrossman@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Deven Carlson of Oklahoma University joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss his new Fordham study on the outcomes of English learners who attend charter schools in Texas. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses the prevalence of stackable credentials in Ohio and Colorado.Recommended content:Fordham’s new report: “Charter Schools and English Learners in the Lone Star State” —Deven Carlson and David Griffith“Thousands of families opt to join Texas’ growing charter school system” —Spectrum News 1 [South Texas]“San Antonio charter schools lifted student achievement prior to pandemic” —Greg ToppoThe study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Lindsay Daugherty et al., “Stackable Credential Pipelines and Equity for Low-Income Individuals,” RAND (2023) Feedback Welcome:Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to our producer Nathaniel Grossman at ngrossman@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Bellwether co-founder and Virginia Board of Education member Andy Rotherham joins Mike Petrilli, David Griffith, and Amber Northern to discuss Virginia’s newly-approved history and social science standards. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines how test-based and non-test-based measures of teacher quality affect student outcomes.Recommended content:Virginia’s new standards: “Standards of learning for history & social science” —Virginia Department of EducationAndy’s blog on education policy: Eduwonk“After months of controversy, Virginia approves new school history standards” —Washington PostFordham’s most recent report on history and civics standards: “The State of State Standards for Civics and U.S. History in 2021,” by Jeremy A. Stern, Ph.D., Alison E. Brody, José A. Gregory, Stephen Griffith, and Jonathan PulversThe study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Benjamin Backes et al., “How to measure a teacher: The influence of test and nontest value-added on long-run student outcomes,” CALDER Working Paper (April 2023)Feedback Welcome:Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to our producer Nathaniel Grossman at ngrossman@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Robert Pondiscio joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss a new study that shows that a curriculum rich in content knowledge can boost reading comprehension, especially for students from low-income backgrounds. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber looks at the impact of charter schools on private tutoring prevalence.Recommended content:The study on Core Knowledge Charter Schools discussed in this episode: David Grissmer et al., “A kindergarten lottery evaluation of Core Knowledge Charter Schools: Should building general knowledge have a central role in educational and social science research and policy?” Annenberg Institute Ed Working Paper No. 23-755 (April 2023)“At long last, E.D. Hirsch, Jr. gets his due: New research shows big benefits from Core Knowledge” —Robert Pondiscio“Using a curriculum rich in arts, history, and science led to big reading improvements” —Education WeekThe study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Edward J. Kim and Luke W. Miratrix, “The causal impact of charter schools on private tutoring prevalence,” Annenberg Institute Ed Working Paper No. 23-756 (April 2023) Feedback Welcome:Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to our producer Nathaniel Grossman at ngrossman@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Scott Marion of the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the challenges of implementing through-course assessments, which would roll up two or three tests during the school year into a final score for accountability purposes. Then, on the Research Minute, Adam Tyner tells us about a new meta-analysis that finds how schools spend money is more important than how much they spend.Recommended content:Through-year assessment: Ten key considerations —Nathan Dadey, Carla Evans, and Will Lorié“Through-year assessment: Are we asking too much?” —Catherine Gewertz“Through-year assessment: A unified solution to measure grade-level achievement and growth” —NWEAThe study that Adam reviewed on the Research Minute: Danielle Handel and Eric Hanushek, “U.S. School Finance: Resources and Outcomes,” NBER Working Paper (December 2022) Feedback Welcome:Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to our producer Nathaniel Grossman at ngrossman@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Gail Post joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss how parents can support their gifted children and advocate for their educational needs. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber looks at a Dallas program that used salary bonuses to attract and retain highly effective teachers at hard-to-staff schools.Recommended content:Gail’s new book: The Gifted Parenting Journey: A Guide to Self-discovery and Support for Families of Gifted ChildrenFordham’s Substack newsletter on gifted education: Advance“The wonderful but weighty challenges of parenting a gifted child” —Victoria McDougald“A formula for creating more equitable gifted and talented programs” —Wall Street JournalThe study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Andrew Morgan et al., “Attracting and retaining highly effective educators in hard-to-staff schools,” NBER Working Paper (March 2023)Feedback Welcome:Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to our producer Nathaniel Grossman at ngrossman@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Carole Basile and Brent Maddin from Arizona State University join Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss how a new team-based staffing model could be good for students and teachers. Then, on the Research Minute, Adam Tyner discusses how selective high school admissions could change if schools looked at more than just test scores.  Recommended content:Carole and Brent’s team-based teaching project at Arizona State University: Next Education WorkforceThe Next Education Workforce: Team-based staffing models can make schools work better for both learners and educators —Carole Basile and Brent Maddin“To improve student outcomes, ask teachers to do fewer things better” —Robert Pondiscio and Jessica Schurz“In one giant classroom, four teachers manage 135 kids—and love it” —Hechinger ReportThe study that Adam reviewed on the Research Minute: Marco Pariguana and Maria Elena Ortega-Hesles, “School Choice, Mismatch, and Graduation,” University of Western Ontario (November 2022)Feedback Welcome:Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to our producer Nathaniel Grossman at ngrossman@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, David Griffith and Paul Bruno join Mike Petrilli to discuss David’s new Think Again brief on whether charter schools drain resources from traditional public schools. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses how academic mobility differs across student groups. Recommended content:Think Again: Do charter schools drain resources from traditional public schools? —David Griffith“Charter school growth increases resources in district-run schools” —Patrick WolfRobbers or Victims? Charter Schools and District Finances —Mark WeberThe study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Wes Austin et al., “Academic Mobility in U.S. Public Schools: Evidence from Nearly 3 Million Students,” CALDER Working Paper (March 2023) Feedback Welcome:Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to our producer Nathaniel Grossman at ngrossman@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Natalie Neris and Hal Woods of Kids First Chicago join Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss what Chicago’s mayoral run-off election between Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas means for the city’s schools. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber looks at the effects of mindfulness-based programs on student mental health and resilience. Recommended content:“Chicago mayoral candidates offer divergent paths on declining enrollment and small schools” —Chalkbeat Chicago“In Chicago mayor’s race, two hopefuls reflect Democrats’ split” —AP News“The Chicago Teachers Union power play” —Wall Street Journal“A shifting mood on crime propelled Chicago’s leading candidate for mayor” —New York Times“Chicago school enrollment declines for eleventh year” —Illinois Policy InstituteThe study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Jessica Mettler et al., “Mindfulness-based programs and school adjustment: A systematic review and meta-analysis,” Journal of School Psychology (April 2023)Feedback Welcome:Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to our producer Nathaniel Grossman at ngrossman@fordhaminstitute.org.