The Education Gadfly Show

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast (listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify), Mike Petrilli, David Griffith, and Victoria McDougald discuss Follow the Science to School: Evidence-based Practices for Elementary Education, a new book that Mike edited with Kathleen Carroll and Barbara Davidson. They talk about the promise of evidence-based practices, the importance of elementary education, and the centrality of high-quality instructional materials. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines a study on how employment during high school impacts student outcomes.You can find this and every episode on all major podcast platforms, as well as share it with friends.Recommended content:Mike’s book, co-edited with Kathleen Carroll and Barbara Davidson: Follow the Science to School: Evidence-based Practices for Elementary Education.Mike’s pieces from previous years addressing elementary education and the importance of research-based practices: “An ode to elementary schools” and “Can evidence improve America's schools?”The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Rune Vammen Lesner et al., “The Effect of School-Year Employment on Cognitive Skills, Risky Behavior, and Educational Achievement,” Economics of Education Review (March 2022).Feedback welcome!Have ideas or feedback on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producer Pedro Enamorado at penamorado@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast (listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify), April Wells, Gifted Coordinator in Illinois School District U-46 and author of Achieving Equity in Gifted Programming: Dismantling Barriers and Tapping Potential, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss how her district scouts for talented students early on, and from all backgrounds. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines a survey of district and charter network leaders about staffing challenges they’ve faced this school year.You can find this and every episode on all major podcast platforms, as well as share it with friends.Recommended content:A 2021 Hechinger Report piece on April’s district and how it reformed its approach to gifted education: “An Illinois district proved gifted programs can be racially diverse.”April’s 2019 book: Achieving Equity in Gifted Programming: Dismantling Barriers and Tapping Potential.The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Heather L. Schwartz and Melissa Kay Diliberti, “Flux in the Educator Labor Market: Acute Staff Shortages and Projected Superintendent Departures,” RAND Corporation (2022).Feedback welcome!Have ideas or feedback on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producer Pedro Enamorado at penamorado@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast (listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify), Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds, Vice President of Policy for ExcelinEd, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the pros and cons of the college-for-all movement. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern discusses a study on how winning public-school-choice lotteries affects public school enrollment.You can find this and every episode on all major podcast platforms, as well as share it with friends.Recommended content:Mike’s post on reforming high school for the many students who won’t go to or aren’t prepared for a four-year college: “We all agree that college isn’t for everyone. We should start acting like it.”Arthur Samuels’ concurring piece, which focuses on how principals can support students aiming for entering a career instead of college: “A principal explains how to repair the harm of ‘college for all’.”The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Susha Roy, “Public School Choice, Outside Options, and Public School Enrollment,” retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University (February 2022).Feedback welcome!Have ideas or feedback on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producer Pedro Enamorado at penamorado@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast (listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify), Fordham’s editorial director, Brandon Wright, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to talk about the shifting landscape of highly-selective high schools. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern discusses a study on teacher morale during the pandemic. You can find this and every episode on all major podcast platforms, as well as share it with friends.Recommended content:Brandon’s piece from 2021, which discusses Boston’s exam school policies: “Boston is punishing its Asian American community for its educational success.”A 2020 Chicago study finding that the city’s approach to diversifying selective-high-school admissions had null-to-negative effects on the academic achievement of admitted disadvantaged students: Lisa Barrow, Lauren Sartain, and Marisa de la Torre, “Increasing Access to Selective High Schools through Place-Based Affirmative Action: Unintended Consequences,” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics (October 2020). The federal district court ruling on admissions-policy changes at Thomas Jefferson High School in Fairfax, Virginia: Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board, No. 1:21cv296-CMH-JFA (E.D. VA February 25, 2022).The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Gema Zamarro et al., “Understanding Teacher Turnover Intentions During the COVID-19 Pandemic” retrieved from the Annenberg Institute at Brown University (February 2022).Feedback welcome!Have ideas or feedback on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producer Pedro Enamorado at penamorado@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast (listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify), Daniel Buck, Fordham senior visiting fellow and English teacher at Holy Spirit Middle School in Appleton, Wisconsin, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to argue that the educational harms of face masks now outweigh their benefits. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern discusses a study on whether alternative pathways to graduation benefit students who fail exit exams. You can find this and every episode on all major podcast platforms, as well as share it with friends.Recommended content:Dan’s piece, which cites studies and European and World Health Organization’s policies on masking children to make his case: “End school mask mandates.”A great read in The Atlantic by Emily Oster making a similar case: “Kids-Last COVID Policy Makes No Sense.”The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Jane Arnold Lincove, Catherine Mata, and Kalena E. Cortes, “A Bridge to Graduation: Post-Secondary Effects of an Alternative Pathway for Students Who Fail High School Exit Exams,” retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University (February 2022).Feedback welcome!Have ideas or feedback on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producer Pedro Enamorado at penamorado@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast (listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify), Thomas Toch, director of FutureEd, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the ways schools are spending $123 billion in federal Covid relief. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern discusses a study of how leaders are investing in the teacher workforce, and whether that aligns with the preferences of educators. You can find this and every episode on all major podcast platforms, as well as share it with friends.Recommended content:FutureEd’s analysis of more than two thousand local spending plans: “How Local Educators Plan to Spend Billions in Federal Covid Aid.”Marguerite Roza’s paper that explores tradeoffs in school spending: “The ‘Would You Rather?’ Test,” from the book Getting the most bang for the education buck, eds. Frederick M. Hess and Brandon L. Wright (Teachers College Press, 2020).The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Virginia S. Lovinson and Cecilia H. Mo, “Investing in the Teacher Workforce: Experimental Evidence on Teachers’ Preferences,” retrieved from the Annenberg Institute at Brown University (February 2022).Feedback welcome!Have ideas or feedback on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producer Pedro Enamorado at penamorado@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast (listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify), Robert Pondiscio, Mike Petrilli, and David Griffith discuss a school board’s controversial removal of a holocaust book from its district’s curriculum, and whether states should create a Parents’ Bill of Rights. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines a study of summer employment’s effect on the academic outcomes of low-income, urban high schoolers.You can find this and every episode on all major podcast platforms, as well as share it with friends.Recommended content:Robert’s piece about the school board’s decision: “The Maus that roared: Who do you want to decide what’s best for kids?”Dale Chu’s piece on Parents’ Bill of Rights: “The curriculum transparency trap.”The middle-school English curriculum mentioned during the podcast: EL Education.The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Alicia Sasser Modestino and Richard Paulsen, “School’s Out: How Summer Youth Employment Programs Impact Academic Outcomes,” Education Finance and Policy (January 2022).Feedback welcome!Have ideas or feedback on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producer Pedro Enamorado at penamorado@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast (listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify), Checker Finn, Mike Petrilli, and David Griffith discuss whether American education should stop trying to send every student to college, and what that may mean for high school course requirements. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines a study on how universal school breakfasts affect disadvantaged student’s academic outcomes.Recommended content:Mike’s piece that sparked the conversation: “We all agree that college isn’t for everyone. We should start acting like it.”The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Rahi Abouk and Scott Adams, “Breakfast After the Bell: The Effects of Expanding Access to School Breakfasts on the Weight and Achievement of Elementary School Children,” Economics of Education Review (January 2022).Feedback welcome!Have ideas or feedback on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producer Pedro Enamorado at penamorado@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Andrew Campanella, president of National School Choice Week, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss Fordham’s latest charter school study, Still Rising, and how school choice helps students in traditional public schools, too. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines a study of how pandemic-related school disruptions affect children’s mental health.You can find this and every episode on all major podcast platforms. Recommended content:The report authored by David: Still Rising: Charter School Enrollment and Student Achievement at the Metropolitan Level.The tool for parents that Andrew mentions: “School Choice by State.”The study that Amber reviews on the Research Minute: Anna Gassman-Pines, Elizabeth Ananat, John Fitz-Henley II, and Jane Leer, “Effects of Daily School and Care Disruptions During the COVID-19 Pandemic on Child Mental Health,” NBER Working Paper #29659 (January 2022).Feedback welcome!Have ideas or feedback on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producer Pedro Enamorado at penamorado@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, John Bailey, nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss Omicron’s impact on schools and whether the virus will soon be endemic. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines a study about the most in-demand college majors. Recommended content:John Bailey’s daily Covid-19 policy updates on Substack and his March 2021 review of public health research on schools for AEI, “Is it safe to reopen schools? An extensive review of the research.”The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Steven W. Hemelt et. al., “College Majors and Skills: Evidence from the Universe of Online Jobs Ads,” NBER Working Paper #29605 (December 2021).Feedback welcome!Have ideas or feedback on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producer Pedro Enamorado at penamorado@fordhaminstitute.org.