On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Francis Pearman, an assistant professor of education at Stanford University, joins Mike and David to debate the impact that budgets, enrollment, and race play in closing schools. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a new study investigating the efficacy of learning-loss-recovery interventions across eight districts. Recommended content: "Enrollment down. Achievement lackluster. Should this school close?” — Francis Pearman, Education Week “Sc...
Jul 17, 2024•31 min•Ep. 929
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Kristen Huff, the vice president of assessment and research at Curriculum Associates, joins Mike and David to discuss the academic performance our youngest students in the wake of the pandemic. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a new study investigating the demographic effects of test-optional policies at selective universities. Recommended content: “The Youngest Pandemic Children Are Now in School, and Struggling” — New York Times Ethan Y...
Jul 10, 2024•28 min•Ep. 928
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Marguerite Roza, the director of the Edunomics Lab and a research professor at Georgetown University, joins Mike and David to discuss how schools and school systems can downsize in response to declining enrollment. Then, on the Research Minute, Adam examines a new study investigating the academic impacts of ESSER funding, the largest one-time federal investment in public schools in history. Recommended content: “The math of school closures: How distr...
Jul 03, 2024•30 min•Ep. 927
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Alina Adams, a New York Times best-selling author, joins Mike and David to discuss the parenting lessons she learned from watching “Young Sheldon.” Then, on the Research Minute, Adam examines a new study investigating the rigor (or lack thereof) of online credit recovery courses. Recommended content: “I watched the parenting on ‘Young Sheldon’… and did the exact opposite” — Alina Adams, Education Next “Fun fact: ‘Young Sheldon’ provides insight into ...
Jun 26, 2024•29 min•Ep. 926
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Robert Pondiscio, a senior fellow at Fordham and the American Enterprise Institute, joins Mike and David to discuss the lack of curriculum oversight in American schools. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a new study of whether aspiring teachers’ professional references predict their later performance. Recommended content: “How public schools became ideological boot camps” — Robert Pondiscio, The Free Press “Taking curriculum implementation...
Jun 19, 2024•25 min•Ep. 925
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, David Houston, an assistant professor at George Mason University, joins Mike and David to discuss how presidents polarize voters when they weigh in on education debates. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a new study investigating whether performance incentives improve teacher skills and so the academic growth of their students. Recommended content: “Polling data: Presidents split the public on schools” — Kevin Mahnken, The 74 “Let’s talk a...
Jun 12, 2024•25 min•Ep. 924
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Alex Spurrier, an associate partner at Bellwether, joins Mike and David to discuss whether schools in low-income neighborhoods receive less funding than their affluent counterparts. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a new study investigating state finance reforms that secure lasting budget increases for districts. Recommended content: Alex Spurrier, Bonnie O’Keefe, and Biko McMillan, “ Leveling the landscape: An analysis of K–12 funding in...
Jun 05, 2024•29 min•Ep. 923
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Dr. Katie Jenner, the Indiana secretary of education, joins Mike and David to discuss a proposed, alternative high school diploma in the Hoosier state. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a new study investigating early indicators for college readiness. Recommended content: “Indiana’s new diplomas emphasize flexibility for older students, but some requirements are controversial” — Chalkbeat “We all agree that college isn’t for everyone. We s...
May 29, 2024•28 min•Ep. 922
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Daniel Buck, Fordham’s policy and editorial associate, joins Mike and David to discuss whether and how elementary schools should teach reading comprehension. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a new study investigating the short- and long-term impacts of school closures in the 1990s. Recommended content: Daniel Buck, “ Think again: Should elementary schools teach reading comprehension? ” Fordham Institute (May 2024). "At long last, E.D. Hir...
May 22, 2024•27 min•Ep. 921
In a special National Charter Schools Week Education Gadfly Show podcast, Brian Kisida, an assistant professor at the University of Missouri, joins Mike and David to discuss whether charters have impeded racial integration in American schools. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a new study investigating if intensive English learner programs benefit students. Recommended content: “70 years after Brown v. Board of Education, new research shows rise in school segregation” — Carrie Spector...
May 15, 2024•26 min•Ep. 920
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Marian Tupy, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the founder and editor of HumanProgress.org, joins Mike and David to discuss the incredible progress that humanity has made over millennia, and what schools might do to better teach kids that our past, present, and future is not all doom and gloom. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a new study investigating if education savings accounts increase tuition costs at private schools. Recomm...
May 08, 2024•30 min•Ep. 919
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Adam Tyner, Fordham’s national research director, joins Mike and David to discuss his latest study on advanced education policies across the country. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines new research on how the decentralization of teacher accountability under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act affected student achievement. Recommended content: The broken pipeline: Advanced education policies at the local level — Adam Tyner, Fordham Instit...
May 01, 2024•29 min•Ep. 918
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Joshua Dunn, Executive Director of the Institute of American Civics at the University of Tennessee, joins Mike and David to discuss how public schools will be affected by the end of the Chevron deference—the judicial doctrine in which courts defer to federal agencies’ reasonable interpretations of ambiguous statutes. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a new paper criticizing the famous STAR class size study. Recommended content: “Fishing fo...
Apr 24, 2024•27 min•Ep. 917
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Robert Pondiscio, a senior fellow at Fordham and the American Enterprise Institute, joins Mike and David to discuss the state of curricular reform. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines new data from the Institute of Education Sciences’ Condition of Education Report. Recommended content: “40 years after ‘A nation at risk,’ could curriculum reform finally move the needle on academic improvement?” — Robert Pondiscio, The 74 “The ‘case for curric...
Apr 17, 2024•27 min•Ep. 916
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Derrell Bradford, the president of 50CAN, joins Mike and David to discuss a new coalition called No More Lines that seeks to end residency requirements for public schools. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a new study examining whether ESSER funding influenced spending on school personnel. Recommended content: “Coalition Challenges Residency Requirements for Public Schools” — Jo Napolitano, The 74 “America’s private public schools” — Mic...
Apr 10, 2024•30 min•Ep. 915
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Rick Hess, the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Mike and David to discuss his new book, Getting Education Right . Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a new study examining how civics educators taught about and framed the 2020 election. Recommended content: "Getting education right: A conservative vision for improving early childhood, K–12, and college” — Frederick Hess and Michael McShane “Fo...
Apr 03, 2024•28 min•Ep. 914
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Lorén Cox, the policy director for the Education and Society program at the Aspen Institute, and Karen Nussle, the founder and CEO of Ripple Communications, join Mike and David to discuss how cross-partisanship—both sides agreeing on the same conclusion for disparate reasons—benefits education. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a new study examining how college achievement and retention is affected by “corequisite” remedial classes—meani...
Mar 27, 2024•29 min•Ep. 913
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Adam Kho, an assistant professor at the Rossier School of Education, and Alex Quigley, the executive director of the Durham Charter School, join Mike and David to discuss whether charter authorizers can determine the quality of prospective charter schools. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a new study examining the effects of including parental preferences in algorithms that assign students to schools in New York City. Recommended conten...
Mar 20, 2024•26 min
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Rebecca Sibilia, the executive director of EdFund, joins Mike and David to debate whether we’ve fixed school funding in America. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a new study examining the effects of school shootings on survivors’ test scores, attendance, and long-term health. Recommended content: "School finance data 'sucks.' Rebecca Sibilia's new org is offering $ to fix it" — Greg Toppo, The 74 “Think Again: Is education funding in Am...
Mar 13, 2024•26 min•Ep. 911
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Mike Miles, the superintendent of Houston ISD, joins Mike and David to discuss the reforms he’s implementing in the Lone Star State’s largest district. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a new study of how increased learning time affects reading and math achievement. Recommended content: “Back to the future: Houston takes a page from ed reform’s recent past” — Dale Chu, Fordham Institute “Texas’s controversial takeover of Houston’s schools”...
Mar 06, 2024•28 min•Ep. 910
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Adam Tyner and Meredith Coffey, the national research director and a senior research associate at the Fordham Institute, join Mike and David to discuss their new Think Again report on whether “equitable” grading benefits students. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a new study investigating how extreme temperatures affect student performance on standardized tests. Recommended content: “Think Again: Does ‘equitable’ grading benefit students?...
Feb 28, 2024•26 min•Ep. 909
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Chad Aldis, Fordham’s Vice President of Ohio Policy, joins Mike and David to discuss the impending cessation of federal ESSER funds. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a new study investigating the competitive effects of charter schools on traditional public schools in Florida. Recommended content: “ESSER’s sunset: Not a cut, but a return to normalcy” — Chad Aldis, Fordham Institute “The fiscal cliff and teacher layoffs” — Chad Aldeman, F...
Feb 21, 2024•25 min•Ep. 908
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Alan Safran, the CEO and co-founder of Saga Education, joins Mike and David to discuss best practices for high-impact tutoring. Then, on the Research Minute, Adam reports on a new study investigating the impacts of computer science education on early career outcomes. Recommended content: “Could tutoring be the best tool for fighting learning loss?” — Anna Nordberg, The New York Times “White house calls for focus on tutoring, summer school, absenteeis...
Feb 14, 2024•25 min•Ep. 907
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Chad Aldeman, the founder of Read Not Guess and a columnist for The 74 , joins Mike and David to discuss whether the pandemic-era waiving of teacher licensure rules affected student outcomes. Then, on the Research Minute, Adam Tyner reports on a new paper investigating if school choice can meet the conditions necessary for efficient market functioning. Recommended content: “Emergency-hired teachers do just as well as those who go through normal train...
Feb 07, 2024•29 min•Ep. 906
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Lindsey Burke, the director of the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation, joins Mike and David to discuss what a second Trump term could mean for federal education policy. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a new study investigating the impacts of licensure and certification on CTE teacher retention. Recommended content: “If Trump returns…” — Chester E. Finn, Jr., Fordham Institute “Department of Education” — Lindsey M. B...
Jan 31, 2024•25 min
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Douglas Lauen, a professor of public policy and sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, joins Mike to discuss residential mobility, academic achievement, and charter schools. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reviews a study investigating how school facilities funding impacts test scores and housing prices. Recommended content: “New home, same school: Charter schools and residentially-mobile students” — Doug Lauen “The charter...
Jan 24, 2024•25 min•Ep. 904
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Angela Rachidi, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Mike to discuss whether a reformed and refundable child tax credit can reduce poverty. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reviews a study investigating a cost-effective high-dosage tutoring intervention. Recommended content: “How to actually triumph over poverty” — Angela Rachidi, National Review “The child tax credit: 25 years later” — Angela Rachidi, Senate Committee on Fi...
Jan 17, 2024•22 min•Ep. 903
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Ray Domanico, the director of education policy at the Manhattan institute, joins Mike to discuss whether New York should eliminate the Regents Exams as high school graduation requirements. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reviews a study investigating the trends in parental school involvement over the past two and a half decades. Recommended content: “Revising graduation requirements could improve academic rigor in New York” — Ray Domanico, Educat...
Jan 10, 2024•24 min•Ep. 902
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Debbie Veney, a senior vice president at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, joins Mike to discuss the growth in the charter sector since 2019. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reviews a new study investigating the effects of mock instruction and coaching on pre-service teacher performance. Recommended content: “Believing in public education: A demographic and state-level analysis of public charter school and district public school e...
Jan 03, 2024•23 min
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Checker Finn, Fordham’s president emeritus—and the original Education Gadfly—joins Mike and David to discuss the best and worst developments in education reform in 2023. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reviews the best education research of the year. Recommended content: “Standards-based reform | A Nation At Risk +40” — Michael Petrilli, Hoover Institution “What would another Trump term mean for education?” — Chester E. Finn, Jr., Fordham Institu...
Dec 20, 2023•29 min•Ep. 900
