The Education Gadfly Show

By Thomas B. Fordham Institute

Education

What's The Education Gadfly Show about?

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, Pedro Enamorado, at [email protected].

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LAST EPISODE

#889: The trials and triump...

09.27.2023

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Nina Rees, the president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, joins Mike to discuss the state of charters as she plans to step down after eleven years at the ...

The Education Gadfly Show episodes:

09.27.2023 #889: The trials and triumphs of charter schools over the past decade, with Nina Rees On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Nina Rees, the president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, joins Mike to discuss the state of charters as she plans to step down after eleven years at the ...
09.20.2023 #888: Building bridges in education reform, with Frances Messano On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Frances Messano, the CEO of NewSchools Venture fund, joins Mike to discuss the Building Bridges Initiative and its call to action, A Generation at Risk. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses new ...
09.13.2023 #887: Bringing accountability back to American education, with Checker Finn On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Checker Finn, Fordham’s president emeritus, joins Mike to discuss why and how to bring accountability back to American schools. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a new study that measures the differences ...
09.06.2023 #886: Achievement gaps among advanced students, with Adam Tyner On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Adam Tyner, Fordham’s national research director, joins Mike to discuss disparities by race and socioeconomic status among America’s highest achieving students. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a new report from the ...
08.30.2023 #885: Virtual teachers are back, with Linda Jacobson On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Linda Jacobson, a senior writer at The 74, joins Mike to discuss why more students are attending in-person classes with a virtual teacher. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a new study ...
08.23.2023 #884: Texas takes over Houston’s schools, with William McKenzie On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, William McKenzie, a senior editorial advisor at the George W. Bush Institute, joins Mike to discuss the state takeover of Houston ISD and its crusading new superintendent. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber ...
08.16.2023 #883: The student behavior crisis, with Daniel Buck On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Daniel Buck, Fordham’s editorial and policy associate, joins Mike and David to discuss the behavioral chaos in American schools post-pandemic. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a new study finding that pandemic-era ...
08.09.2023 #882: Defending Mississippi’s literacy gains, with Rachel Canter On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Rachel Canter, the executive director of Mississippi First, joins Mike to debunk the allegations that her state fudged its notable gains in reading achievement. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines the failure ...
08.02.2023 #881: School choice, the science of reading, and other wins in Ohio, with Aaron Churchill On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Aaron Churchill, Fordham’s Ohio research director, joins David to discuss how the Buckeye State’s latest omnibus bill benefits education. Then, on Research minutes, Amber examines a study on whether attending high-performing charter schools ...
07.26.2023 #880: Everything wrong with California’s math framework, with Tom Loveless On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Tom Loveless, a former senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, joins Mike to discuss the problematic practices and research in California’s new mathematics framework. Then, on Research minutes, Amber discusses a depressing new ...
07.19.2023 #879: Chatting about evidence-based chatbots, with Perpetual Baffour On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Perpetual Baffour, the research director at the Learning Agency Lab, joins Mike to discuss her creation of an AI Chatbot designed to give teachers and school leaders research-based advice. Then, on the Research ...
07.12.2023 #878: Our “savage inequalities” are no more, with Adam Tyner On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Fordham’s Adam Tyner joins Mike to discuss his latest report on the inequalities or lack thereof in education funding. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reviews an evaluation of a teacher-led course for ...
07.05.2023 #877: Don’t overpromise on learning loss, with Jim Peyser On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, former Massachusetts Secretary of Education Jim Peyser joins Mike to discuss education reform’s tendency to overpromise, and how we can avoid that in the fight against learning loss. Then, on the Research Minute, ...
06.28.2023 #876: The chronic absenteeism crisis, and what to do about it, with Alia Wong On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Alia Wong of USA Today joins Mike and David to discuss what’s causing chronic absenteeism and ways to fix it. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a California study that investigates the ...
06.21.2023 #875: Charter schools that help students earn college credentials, with Kevin Teasley On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Kevin Teasley, of the Greater Educational Opportunities Foundation, joins Mike Petrilli to discuss his charter high schools where students take dual-enrollment courses at local colleges and earn associate degrees. Then, on the Research ...
06.14.2023 #874: How to build a continuum of advanced learning opportunities, with Nick Colangelo On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Nick Colangelo of the University of Iowa joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the recommendations in the new report from the National Working Group on Advanced Education. Then, on the Research ...
06.07.2023 #873: Private and charter school teachers are thriving, with Paul DiPerna On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Paul DiPerna of EdChoice joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the results from the EdChoice survey on teacher satisfaction and wellness across the district, charter, and private school sectors. Then, on ...
05.31.2023 #872: The religious charter school debate, with Kathleen Porter-Magee On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Kathleen Porter-Magee of Partnership Schools—a network of Catholic schools in New York City and Cleveland—joins Mike Petrilli to discuss the debate over religious charter schools. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a ...
05.24.2023 #871: The severity of pandemic learning loss, with Tom Kane On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Tom Kane of Harvard University joins Mike Petrilli to discuss his findings from The Education Recovery Scorecard Project. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a New York City study that investigates how ...
05.17.2023 #870: The Great School Rethink, with Rick Hess On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss his new book, The Great School Rethink. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a Massachusetts study that ...
05.10.2023 #869: Strong long-term outcomes for English learners in Texas charter schools, with Deven Carlson On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Deven Carlson of Oklahoma University joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss his new Fordham study on the outcomes of English learners who attend charter schools in Texas. Then, on the Research ...
05.03.2023 #868: Virginia’s new history and social science standards, with Andy Rotherham On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Bellwether co-founder and Virginia Board of Education member Andy Rotherham joins Mike Petrilli, David Griffith, and Amber Northern to discuss Virginia’s newly-approved history and social science standards. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber ...
04.26.2023 #867: How Core Knowledge schools boost students’ reading comprehension, with Robert Pondiscio On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Robert Pondiscio joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss a new study that shows that a curriculum rich in content knowledge can boost reading comprehension, especially for ...
04.19.2023 #866: The challenges of implementing through-course assessments, with Scott Marion On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Scott Marion of the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the challenges of implementing through-course assessments, which would roll up two or three ...
04.12.2023 #865: The challenges of parenting gifted children, with Gail Post On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Gail Post joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss how parents can support their gifted children and advocate for their educational needs. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber looks at a Dallas ...
04.05.2023 #864: Using team teaching to improve student outcomes, with Carole Basile and Brent Maddin On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Carole Basile and Brent Maddin from Arizona State University join Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss how a new team-based staffing model could be good for students and teachers. Then, on the ...
03.29.2023 #863: How charter schools affect district resources, with David Griffith and Paul Bruno On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, David Griffith and Paul Bruno join Mike Petrilli to discuss David’s new Think Again brief on whether charter schools drain resources from traditional public schools. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses how ...
03.22.2023 #862: The education implications of Chicago’s mayoral election, with Natalie Neris and Hal Woods On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Natalie Neris and Hal Woods of Kids First Chicago join Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss what Chicago’s mayoral run-off election between Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas means for the city’s schools. ...
03.15.2023 #861: The fight to lift the charter school cap in New York City, with Crystal McQueen-Taylor On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Crystal McQueen-Taylor of StudentsFirstNY joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the battle royale to lift the charter cap in New York City. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber looks at the ...
03.08.2023 #860: Social media and kids’ declining mental health, with Michael Horn On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Michael Horn joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss what schools can do to protect kids’ mental health and whether social media is making it worse. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber ...
03.01.2023 #859: Eliminating honors classes won’t advance equity, with Scott Peters On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Scott Peters of NWEA joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss why eliminating honors classes and other advanced education opportunities in the name of equity is a mistake. Then, on the Research ...
02.22.2023 #858: The Trump and DeSantis culture war fixation, with Dale Chu On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Dale Chu joins Mike Petrilli to discuss whether Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis are focusing too much on divisive culture war issues in their education platforms. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber explains ...
02.15.2023 #857: The states leading the way in literacy, with Kymyona Burk and Tom Greene On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Kymyona Burk and Tom Greene of ExcelinEd join Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss how Ohio, Mississippi, and other states are implementing research-based literacy policies. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines ...
02.08.2023 #856: Why education savings accounts won’t bring educational pluralism, with Ashley Berner On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Ashley Berner of Johns Hopkins University tells us why education savings accounts are unlikely to lead to educational pluralism. Then, on the Research Minute, Adam Tyner discusses a study on remediation for middle ...
02.01.2023 #855: How states are fighting credential inflation, with Rick Hess On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute tells Mike Petrilli and David Griffith why we should be happy that an increasing number of states are eliminating college degree requirements for many jobs. Then, ...
01.25.2023 Education Gadfly Show #854: How districts should prepare for the coming school closures, with Tim Daly On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Tim Daly of EdNavigator tells Mike Petrilli and David Griffith how districts should prepare for looming school closures. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber explains the effect of worker displacement on college enrollment. ...
01.18.2023 Education Gadfly Show #853: The Supreme Court and religious charters schools, with Nicole Garnett On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Mike Petrilli and David Griffith talk with Nicole Garnett, a professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School, about the Supreme Court decisions that could legalize religious charter schools. Then, on the ...
01.11.2023 Education Gadfly Show #852: New Year’s resolutions for America’s schools, with Robert Pondiscio On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Mike Petrilli and David Griffith talk with Robert Pondiscio of the American Enterprise Institute about what schools should resolve to do better—and resolve to do less of—in 2023. Then, on the Research Minute, ...
01.04.2023 Education Gadfly Show #851: The case for teaching writing in the age of ChatGPT, with Checker Finn On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, David Griffith talks with Checker Finn about why we should still teach writing in the age of ChatGPT, a new AI-powered bot that can mimic human prose. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber ...
12.21.2022 Education Gadfly Show #850: 2022’s most important education stories, with Marc Porter Magee On this week’s special, year-end Education Gadfly Show podcast, Mike Petrilli looks back on 2022’s most important education stories with 50CAN founder and CEO Marc Porter Magee. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber counts down the year’s top academic studies ...
12.14.2022 Education Gadfly Show #849: The success of Denver’s “portfolio”-style school reform, with Parker Baxter On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Mike Petrilli and David Griffith talk with the University of Colorado’s Parker Baxter on how Denver’s comprehensive school reform effort led to higher student achievement and graduation rates. Then, on the Research Minute, ...
12.07.2022 Education Gadfly Show #848: Talking about “Unbundling” with Bellwether’s Julie Squire On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Mike Petrilli and David Griffith talk with Juliet Squire, Senior Partner at Bellwether, about a new initiative called Assembly, which is a deep dive into the idea of unbundling education services for all ...
11.30.2022 Education Gadfly Show #847: States, snake-oil, and the science of reading, with Kymyona Burk On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Kymyona Burk, Senior Policy Fellow at ExcelinEd, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss what states are doing to promote the science of reading and crack down on the snake oil salespeople ...
11.16.2022 Education Gadfly Show #846: What do the midterm elections mean for the parents’ rights movement? On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Virginia Gentles, the director of the Education Freedom Center at the Independent Women’s Forum, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the results of the 2022 midterm elections and what they mean ...
11.09.2022 Education Gadfly Show #845: Why schools are wasting millions of dollars on ineffective online tutoring Education Gadfly Show #845: Why schools are wasting millions of dollars on ineffective online tutoring On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Bart Epstein, the president and CEO of EdTech Evidence Exchange, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss ...
11.01.2022 Education Gadfly Show #844: An ode to overly-optimistic teachers, with Seth Gershenson On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Mike Petrilli and David Griffith are joined by Seth Gershenson—professor at the Department of Public Administration and Policy at American University and the author of Fordham’s new report, High Expectations in District and ...
10.25.2022 Education Gadfly Show #843: Halloween a week early with NAEP results in On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Checker Finn joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the 2022 NAEP results. Then on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a study that examines how instructional time differs between countries and ...
10.18.2022 #842: Industry-recognized credentials aren’t living up to their potential On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Quentin Suffren, Senior Advisor of Innovation Policy for ExcelinEd, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss industry-recognized credentials and why their impact has been muted so far. Then, on the Research Minute, ...
10.12.2022 Education Gadfly Show #841: Good news for a change: Most states appear to be spending their ESSER dollars wisely On This week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Carissa Miller, CEO of the Council of Chief State School Officers, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss how state education agencies are spending the 10 percent of ESSER funds set aside ...
10.05.2022 Education Gadfly Show #840: The state of state education reform On this week’s Education Show podcast, Jennifer Alexander, Executive Director of the Policy Innovators in Education (PIE) Network, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss recent state-level education reform victories, including Tennessee’s school funding overhaul and Illinois’s new charter ...

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