The Education Gadfly Show - podcast cover

The Education Gadfly Show

Thomas B. Fordham Institutefordhaminstitute.org

For more than 15 years, the Fordham Institute has been hosting a weekly podcast, The Education Gadfly Show. Each week, you’ll get lively, entertaining discussions of recent education news, usually featuring Fordham’s Mike Petrilli and David Griffith. Then the wise Amber Northern will recap a recent research study. For questions or comments on the podcast, contact its producer, Stephanie Distler, at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.

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Episodes

Emily Oster and Noelle Ellerson Ng answer the big question: Will schools reopen this spring? - 12/16/20

On this week’s podcast, Noelle Ellerson Ng, associate executive director at AASA, the School Superintendents Association, and Emily Oster, Professor of Economics at Brown University, join Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss whether the vaccines will allow schools to reopen nationwide this school year. On the Research Minute, Matthew Steinberg discusses the study he and Haisheng Yang just conducted for Fordham on teacher effectiveness and improvement in charter and traditional public scho...

Dec 16, 202031 min

Assessing Joe Biden’s early childhood plans - 12/09/20

On this week’s podcast, Katharine Stevens, visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss President-elect Biden’s childcare and pre-K plans. On the Research Minute, Adam Tyner examines how college instructors’ attractiveness affect their student evaluations.

Dec 09, 202026 min

The legacy of Lamar Alexander - 12/02/20

On this week’s podcast, Mike Petrilli and David Griffith are joined by Checker Finn, who discusses Senator Lamar Alexander’s K–12 education legacy. On the Research Minute, Adam Tyner examines research on why efforts to boost student motivation may be misguided.

Dec 02, 202025 min

State budget cuts and our schools - 11/18/20

On this week’s podcast, ExcelinEd’s Matthew Joseph and The Education Trust’s Zahava Stadler join Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss how states can protect schools and disadvantaged students from budget cuts. On the Research Minute, Victoria McDougald examines the effects of absenteeism on cognitive and social-emotional outcomes.

Nov 18, 202025 min

Why public education may never return to normal - 11/11/20

On this week’s podcast, Paul Hill, founder of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss why, thanks to the pandemic, the politics of public schools will never be the same. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the benefits of out-of-school services for disadvantaged students.

Nov 11, 202021 min

What the election means for education reform - 11/5/20

On this week’s podcast, Charles Barone, VP of K-12 Policy at Democrats for Education Reform, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss what the election means for charter schools, accountability, and other reform issues. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines whether students with disabilities are relegated to classrooms with lower-quality teachers.

Nov 06, 202022 min

Coping with the costs of declining enrollments - 10/28/20

On this week’s podcast, Karen Hawley Miles, CEO and president of Education Resource Strategies, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss her chapter in Getting the Most Bang for the Education Buck on how school districts can cope with budgetary consequences of declining enrollments—a growing problem because of Covid-19. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the academic effects of reclassifying English language learners as English proficient.

Oct 28, 202020 min

The loathsome war on exam schools - 10/21/20

On this week’s podcast, Fordham’s Checker Finn joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the growing, misguided war on selective-admissions high schools. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how community college credentials affect graduates over time.

Oct 21, 202025 min

Lemov and Woolway on teaching like a champion—online - 10/14/20

On this week’s podcast, Mike Petrilli and David Griffith are joined by Doug Lemov and Erica Woolway, co-managing director and chief academic officer, respectively, of the Teach Like a Champion team at Uncommon Schools. They talk about their timely new book, "Teaching in the Online Classroom: Surviving and Thriving in the New Normal." On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines a new RAND survey of teachers about social and emotional learning.

Oct 14, 202033 min

How to open a school safely during a pandemic - 09/30/20

On this week’s podcast, Aaron Daly, COO of Brooklyn Laboratory Charter Schools, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the network’s innovative reopening recommendations. On the Research Minute, Adam Tyner examines the long-term ramifications of the Covid-19 crisis.

Sep 30, 202024 min

How the pandemic could lead to smarter school spending - 09/23/20

On this week’s podcast, Brandon Wright joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss his and Rick Hess’s new edited volume, Getting the Most Bang for the Education Buck . On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines whether community crime monitoring can improve student attendance.

Sep 23, 202027 min

How did those online summer camps go? - 09/16/20

On this week’s podcast, Timothy Daly, co-founder and CEO of EdNavigator, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss Camp Kinda, a free online summer resource that was designed to keep students engaged and curious while they were stuck at home. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the different effects Republican and Democratic legislatures have on education finance and outcomes.

Sep 16, 202023 min

Two years after Janus, why are teachers unions stronger than ever? - 09/09/20

On this week’s podcast, Colin Sharkey, executive director of the Association of American Educators, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the state of teachers unions two years after Janus v. AFSCME , the Supreme Court case that prevents unions from charging agency fees to non-members. On the Research Minute, Olivia Piontek examines how well elementary school test scores predict high school outcomes.

Sep 09, 202032 min

The politics of school reopenings - 09/02/20

On this week’s podcast, Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, joins Mike Petrilli to discuss why politics seems to be a bigger factor in some school reopening decisions than science. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how school finance reforms and test-based accountability have affected student outcomes.

Sep 02, 202026 min

How America’s best charter schools crushed the Covid-19 challenge - 08/26/20

On this week’s podcast, Gregg Vanourek joins Mike Petrilli to discuss Fordham’s new report that Gregg authored, Schooling Covid-19: Lessons from leading charter networks from their transition to remote learning . On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the firmly established benefits of acceleration for gifted children.

Aug 26, 202029 min

On Biden’s education platform - 08/19/20

On this week’s podcast, Tressa Pankovits, associate director of Reinventing America's Schools at the Progressive Policy Institute, joins Mike Petrilli and Olivia Piontek to discuss education platforms in the presidential election campaign. On the Research Minute, Olivia Piontek examines efforts to improve low-performing schools in the U.S.

Aug 19, 202023 min

What about outdoor classes this fall? - 08/12/20

On this week’s podcast, Erin Einhorn, a national reporter for NBC News , joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to talk about her recent piece on outdoor classrooms. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how online classes have affected high schools’ curricular options.

Aug 12, 202021 min

Another reason for more school autonomy - 8/5/20

On this week’s podcast, David Osborne, director of the Reinventing America’s Schools Project at the Progressive Policy Institute, joins Checker Finn and David Griffith to talk about how schools can be given autonomy to adapt to students’ varying needs and to external events. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines whether standardized test feedback to parents can boost students’ math outcomes.

Aug 05, 202028 min

Should districts outsource virtual learning? - 07/29/20

On this week’s podcast, Rob Kremer, director of government relations at Pearson, owner of Connections Academy, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss whether school districts should be trying to build online schools on their own or should outsource the role to companies like his. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how charter school growth has affected local teacher quality and student composition.

Jul 29, 202027 min

NAEP’s flawed reading revamp - 07/22/20

On this week’s podcast, Checker Finn and David Griffith discuss the flawed effort to revamp NAEP’s reading framework. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern and David Griffith examine how inequality has affected families’ engagement with online learning during the pandemic.

Jul 22, 202028 min

What the coronavirus resurgence means for reopening schools - 07/15/20

On this week’s podcast, Mike Petrilli and David Griffith discuss whether and how schools should reopen in the fall. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines whether the least educated population groups experienced the worst mortality trends during the 21st century.

Jul 15, 202023 min

Why fall testing could do more harm than good - 07/08/20

On this week’s podcast, Mora Segal, CEO of Achievement Network, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the organization’s latest guidance on assessments for states and districts when school resumes in the fall. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected college students’ graduation, job offers, and future economic expectations.

Jul 08, 202030 min

How assessment data can drive instruction this fall - 07/01/20

On this week’s podcast, Mike Petrilli, Amber Northern, Tran Le, and David Griffith discuss Fordham’s new case study on data-driven instruction in Washington, D.C. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines little interruptions’ big effect on classroom learning.

Jul 01, 202029 min

The case for good schools as a state constitutional right - 06/24/20

On this week’s podcast, Nina Rees, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss her new AEI paper, “A constitutional right to a high-quality public education.” On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the effect of virtual classes on high schoolers’ access to advanced courses.

Jun 24, 202025 min

Effecting real change in America - 06/17/20

On this week’s podcast, Checker Finn, Mike Petrilli, and David Griffith discuss what it takes for real change to happen in America. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines whether student outcomes improve when college faculty engage with students more often.

Jun 17, 202025 min

School districts failed the remote learning test - 6/10/20

On this week’s podcast, Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, talks with Mike Petrilli and David Griffith about how well school districts handled remote learning this spring. On the Research Minute, Olivia Piontek joins Mike and David to examine data on academic growth affects parents’ perception of school quality.

Jun 10, 202026 min

The crisis’s outsized impacts on Catholic schools - 06/03/20

On this week’s podcast, Michael McShane, the director of national research at EdChoice, joins Mike Petrilli to discuss how Catholic schools are weathering the pandemic and economic downturn and what public policy can do to help. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the effects of a quarter century of school finance reforms.

Jun 03, 202024 min

The link between location and income - 05/27/20

This week’s podcast guest is John V. Winters, Ph.D., associate professor of economics at Iowa State University and author of Fordham’s new report, What You Make Depends on Where You Live. He joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the report’s findings and implications. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines educators’ strong record in detecting and reporting child mistreatment, and how training and support could help them be even more effective.

May 27, 202026 min

Teacher to Chief: Pathways to Education Leadership - 05/20/20

This week we're hosting "Teacher to Chief," a special episode with members of Chiefs for Change on their pathways to education leadership. The discussion is tied to a new multimedia report designed to spark teachers’ interest in the chief role. Elizabeth Green, founder of Chalkbeat , also moderates a candid conversation with aspiring, current, and former chiefs about what the job is really like.

May 19, 20201 hr 7 min
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