EdNext Podcast

The governing arrangements that made New Orleans a darling of education reformers will soon be a thing of the past. Is this the beginning of the end of the nation’s most promising experiment in non-traditional education governance?

Louisiana Superintendent of Education John White sits down with EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West in this episode of the EdNext podcast to discuss why lawmakers in Louisiana voted to dissolve the governing arrangements and what will happen when control over education in New Orleans returns to a local school board.

Education Next's Paul E. Peterson and Martin West talk about what education reforms they expect from President-Elect Donald Trump. Will he move on school choice, the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, Title I portability, charter schools, or something entirely unexpected?

Randomized experiments that send some students to visit art musuems and live theater performances find that these field trips help children develop critical thinking skills and values like empathy.

In this episode of the podcast, Jay Greene talks with Marty West about why he studies field trips, why we shouldn’t focus only on boosting reading and math scores, and why kids learn more from plays than from movies (and what this might mean for online learning).

Greene is the co-author of “The Educational Value of Field Trips,” and “Learning From Live Theater," both available on the Education Next website.

Marty West talks with Michael McShane about the wealth of free resources teachers can access online, They consider questions like.who will produce them, how will they be compensated, and how will educators be able to find the best ones?

Michael McShane is the author of the new article "Open Educational Resources," available at http://educationnext.org/open-educational-resources-digital-textbooks-federal-government/

There's plenty of evidence that students attending "no excuses" charter schools can do extremely well on standardized tests, but do the benefits of this approach to education extend beyond test scores?

In this episode of the Education Next podcast, Marty West talks with Blake Heller of Harvard University, the co-author of a new article, "Raising More Than Test Scores," available at http://educationnext.org/raising-more-than-test-scores-noble-charter-no-excuses/

Minority students are more likely to be suspended or expelled from school. What does the research say about the consequences of exclusionary discipline policies and alternatives to it?

In this episode of the Education Next podcast, Marty West talks with Matthew Steinberg, who is the co-author, with Joanna Lacoe, of "What Do We Know About School Discipline Reform?" available at http://educationnext.org/what-do-we-know-about-school-discipline-reform-suspensions-expulsions/

Under ESSA, states have new freedom to design their own accountability systems for schools. Will they innovate or retreat from real accountability?

In this episode of the podcast, Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush talks with Marty West about how states can make good us of their new autonomy and how likely they are to do so.

Gov. Bush's recent article "Florida's Intuitive Letter Grades Produce Results" is available at http://educationnext.org/floridas-intuitive-letter-grades-produce-results-forum-jeb-bush-accountability/

What voters decide on November 8 will matter for education policy in general and school choice especially. Will federal support for charter schools continue? Will charter schooling remain a bipartisan issue? Who will win the battle over lifting the charter cap in Massachusetts?

In this episode of the EdNext podcast, Marty West talks with Nina Rees of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Rees is the author of "Five Reasons Why School Choice is Important Right Now," available at http://educationnext.org/5-reasons-why-school-choice-is-important-right-now-rees/

In November, voters will have a chance to weigh in directly on the state’s charter school policy. Should they vote to allow more charter schools? Which direction does the evidence point?

In this week’s podcast, EdNext editor-in-chief Marty West talks with Sarah Cohodes of Teachers College. Cohodes and Susan Dysnarski are the authors of “Massachusetts Charter Cap Holds Back Disadvantaged Students," available at http://educationnext.org/massachusetts-charter-cap-holds-back-disadvantaged-students/

When Mayor Bill de Blasio took office in 2014, he launched several new programs to boost student achievement in New York City schools. Has he succeeded in crafting a progressive alternative to predecessor Michael Bloomberg’s “education reform” agenda?

In this episode of the Ed Next podcast, Marty West talks with Steven Eide, author of “Ed Reform Rollback in New York City,” about what de Blasio has accomplished and the constraints he has faced.

You can read Eide's article here: http://educationnext.org/ed-reform-rollback-new-york-city-de-blasio-charter-school-choice/