The Education Gadfly Show

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Devon Nir, a research assistant at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, joins Mike and David to discuss the complexities of ensuring accountability for education savings accounts. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a study exploring the financial returns of various non-degree credentials and degree programs.

Recommended content: 

• “The ‘à la carte education’ accountability conundrum”—Michael J. Petrilli and Devon Nir
• “Finding the sweet spot on accountability”—Dale Chu
• " When Only Some Kids Can Afford Summer Camp — Why We Must Close the ‘Enrichment Gap’” —Michael J. Petrilli 
• Jason Jabbari, Yung Chun, Xueying Mei, Stephen Roll, More Money for Less Time? Examining the Relative and Heterogenous Financial Returns to Non-Degree Credentials and Degree Programs, Annenberg Institute at Brown University (2024)

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at [email protected].

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Sofoklis Goulas, a fellow at the Brookings Institution and the Hamilton Project, joins Mike and David to discuss the Fordham report he just authored, Underachieving and Underenrolled: Chronically Low-Performing Schools in the Post-Pandemic Era. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber shares a study on the effects of Zearn Math on third through fifth grade math performance in Louisiana.

Recommended content: 

• Sofoklis Goulas, Underachieving and Underenrolled: Chronically Low-Performing Schools in the Post-Pandemic Era, Thomas B. Fordham Institute (September 2024)
• “The case for closing underenrolled, low-performing schools” —Michael J. Petrilli
• “We need to prepare now for the school closures that are coming” —Tim Daly
• Shirin Hashim, Measuring the Efficacy of Zearn Math in Louisiana, AERA Open (2024)

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at [email protected].

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Michael Goldstein, co-founder of the Math Learning Lab in Boston, joins Mike and David to discuss the track record of high-dosage tutoring in mitigating pandemic learning loss. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber shares a study on the long-term effects of the METCO program, which aims to increase diversity and reduce racial isolation by busing students from Boston to surrounding suburbs.

Recommended content: 

• Mike Goldstein and Bowen Paulle, The narrow path to do it right: Lessons from vaccine making for high-dosage tutoring, Thomas B. Fordham Institute (March 2021)
• “Students aren’t benefiting much from tutoring, one new study shows” —JillBarshay
• Matthew A. Kraft, Danielle Sanderson Edwards, and Marisa Cannata, The Scaling Dynamics and Causal Effects of a District-Operated Tutoring Program, Annenberg Institute at Brown University (August 2024)
• Elizabeth Setren, Busing to Opportunity? The Impacts of the METCO Voluntary School Desegregation Program on Urban Students of Color, NBER (2024)

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at [email protected].

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Paul Bruno, an assistant professor of education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, joins Mike and David to discuss the pros and cons of universal free lunch. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber explores how mandating Advanced Placement course offerings and waiving AP exam fees impact student participation.

Recommended content: 

• “Should All School Meals Be Free?”—Tim Daly
• “Make School Lunches Great Again”—Max Eden
• Ian Callen and Christiana Stoddard, “Putting the ‘A’ in AP: The effect of advanced placement state policies on student participation and performance,” Economics of Education Review (2024)

Feedback Welcome: This week, we're trying something new on the Education Gadfly Podcast! After nearly 20 years of keeping our episodes short and snappy, we're experimenting with a longer format to explore topics in greater depth. We’d love to hear your thoughts on this change—whether you love it or hate it. If you enjoy the podcast, please share it with your friends and colleagues; your support helps us reach more listeners! 

Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at [email protected].

#936: How socioeconomic factors explain achievement gaps, with Eric Hengyu Hu and Paul L. Morgan

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, SUNY Albany’s Eric Hengyu Hu and Paul L. Morgan, authors of Fordham’s recently released report Explaining Achievement Gaps: The Role of Socioeconomic Factors, joins Mike and David to discuss their findings. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a study of differences in grading practices between international and domestic instructors at U.S. public universities.

Recommended content: 

• Eric Hengyu Hu and Paul L. Morgan, Explaining Achievement Gaps: The Role of Socioeconomic Factors, Fordham Institute (August 2024)
• “America’s highest-achieving students are disproportionately Asian. Let’s not be afraid to investigate why.”—Michael J. Petrilli and Amber M. Northern
• Meredith Coffey and Adam Tyner, Excellence Gaps by Race and Socioeconomic Status, Fordham Institute (August 2023)
• Trang Pham and Stephanie Potochnick, Undergraduate Grading Practices of International and Domestic Faculty: Evidence From Three Large U.S. Public Universities, AERA Open (2024)

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at [email protected].

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Starlee Coleman, newly named President and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, joins Mike and David to discuss how the charter sector can find success with a Trump or Harris presidency. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a study of how nearby charter schools impact Catholic school enrollment.

Recommended content: 

• “How Kamala Harris can move to the center on education”— Michael J. Petrilli 
• “What could a Vice President Vance do to advance rural and small town education?”—Aaron Churchill
• “Will next month’s Harris-Trump debate even mention education?”— Dale Chu
• Shaun M. Dougherty, Andrew Miller, and Yerin Yoon, “Charter School Expansion, Catholic School Enrollment, & the Equity Implications of School Choice,” EdWorkingPaper 24-1027, Annenberg Institute at Brown University (2024)

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at [email protected].

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Kelly James, a partner at Education First Consulting and Fordham’s 2024 Wonkathon winner, joins Mike and David to discuss how policymakers and practitioners can reduce chronic absenteeism in schools. Then, on the Research Minute, Adam reports on a study about the fiscal effects of states paying districts for the costs of students they no longer serve.  

Recommended content: 

• “‘Everything, everywhere, all at once’ solutions to chronic absenteeism”—Kelly James and Brad Bernatek 
• “To fix chronic absenteeism, we must ask why kids don’t want to go to school” —Leslie Colwell
• “How does teacher experience impact student absenteeism in early elementary school?” —Heena Kuwayama
• Aaron Garth Smith and Christian Barnard, “Billions: The Cost of State Hold Harmless Policies in K-12 Education,” Reason Foundation, (June 2024)

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at [email protected].

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Othiniel Mahone, the principal at GEO Academies 21st Century School in Gary, Indiana, joins Mike and David to discuss effective strategies for implementing and enforcing an “away for the day” school cellphone policy. Then, on the Research Minute, Adam reports on a study about the impact of middle school principals on various long-term outcomes for students.

Recommended content: 

• “How to implement a cellphone ban in schools” —Amber M. Northern, Ph.D., Fordham Institute
• “LAUSD approves cellphone ban as Newsom calls for statewide action” —Howard Blume and Defne Karabatur, Los Angeles Times
• “New York City Schools Should Be Next to Ban Mobile Phones” —Michael R. Bloomberg, Bloomberg
• Eric A. Hanushek, Andrew J. Morgan, Steven G. Rivkin, Jeffrey C. Schiman, Ayman Shakeel, and Lauren Sartain, “The Lasting Impacts of Middle School Principals,” NBER Working Paper No. 32642 (July 2024) 

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at [email protected].

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Fordham’s Checker Finn joins Mike and David to discuss the changes in how the College Board is scoring Advanced Placement exams. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a meta-analysis examining the effectiveness of robot-assisted foreign language learning.

Recommended content: 

•  “Are AP exams getting easier?” —Chester E. Finn, Jr.
•  “The Great Recalibration of AP exams” —John Moscatiello
• “The College Board’s new method for raising AP scores” —John Moscatiello
• Ali Derakhshan, Timothy Teo, Esmaeel Saeedy Robat, Mostafa Janebi Enayat, and Akbar A. Jahanbakhsh, “Robot-Assisted Language Learning: A Meta-Analysis,” Review of Educational Research (May 2024).

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at [email protected].

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Vlad Kogan, a professor at Ohio State University, joins Mike and David to discuss what role race, achievement, and enrollment play in a district’s decision to close a school. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a new report that investigates the staffing difficulties and potential academic effects of class size reduction policies in New York City.

Recommended content: 

• “Flawed work to close city schools will hurt Columbus for years to come. It must be fixed.” —Vlad Kogan, The Columbus Dispatch
• “Schools Will Have to Start Closing Again” —Michael Petrilli, Wall Street Journal
• “Enrollment down. Achievement lackluster. Should this school close?” —Francis Pearman, Education Week
• Matthew Chingos, Ariella Meltzer, and Jay Carter, “Will implementing class size caps exacerbate hiring challenges in New York City’s highest-poverty schools?,” Urban Institute (July 2024).

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at [email protected].