About one month ago, the House passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a massive bill aimed at advancing President Trump’s domestic policy agenda. Now, the bill is with the Senate.

Included in the bill are huge changes to student lending. In particular, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would make drastic changes to loan limits, repayment plans, and the rules for which programs are eligible to participate in the student loan program.

What is the rationale behind these changes? How would these changes affect students and schools? And will the One Big Beautiful Bill Act become law?

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus discusses these questions, and more, with Preston Cooper.

Preston Cooper is a senior fellow at AEI, where he studies higher education policy. He also serves on the Board of Visitors for George Mason University.

Show Notes:

Senate Embraces “Do No Harm” for Higher Education

The Senate’s Higher Education Reforms Are Strong (But Could Be Stronger)

How The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” Would Hold Colleges Accountable For Outcomes

When schools went remote during the pandemic, internet access became essential, but not all students had access to a high-quality connection. So, in the summer of 2020, Chicago launched Chicago Connected to provide free broadband for students in the city who needed it most. But, according to a recent paper, Chicago Connected did not help all students equally.

In Heterogeneous Effects of Closing the Digital Divide During COVID-19 on Student Engagement and Achievement, authors Jared N. Schachner, Nicole P. Marwell, Marisa de la Torre, Julia A. Gwynne, and Elaine Allensworth find that participation in Chicago Connected actually “reduced engagement and achievement for low-performing pupils.”

What might be going on here? Should this finding influence how schools approach technology more generally? And how can schools ensure that technology use doesn't increase inequality?

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus discusses these questions, and more, with one of the paper's authors, Jared N. Schachner.

Jared N. Schachner is a research scientist at the USC Price School of Public Policy and an affiliated researcher with the UChicago Consortium on School Research and the Los Angeles Education Research Institute.

A lot has happened over the past couple of weeks. The Trump administration announced that it would go after Harvard’s ability to enroll international students. A judge ordered the Department of Education to rehire the employees it had fired. And the Supreme Court split 4–4 on Oklahoma’s religious charter school. —And all of that was just on May 22.

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus discusses these developments, and more, with Andy Rotherham and Rick Hess. Nat, Andy, and Rick discuss the advantages and potential drawbacks of universities enrolling large numbers of international students; what the Trump administration stands to gain by going after Harvard; what we can expect at the Department of Education moving forward; whether religious charter schools will make their way back to the Supreme Court; TACO; pushback against equitable grading in San Francisco; and the Education Writers Association.

Andrew J. Rotherham is a co-founder and senior partner at Bellwether and the author of the Eduwonk blog.

Frederick M. Hess is a senior fellow and the director of education policy studies at AEI.

Show Notes:

A Bit of Context on Trump v. Harvard

“Equitable Grading” Deserves an F

Kids spend hours a day on their phones scrolling through social media. Many have debated whether all this social media use is bad for mental health, but there’s a more basic question that needs to be asked: Does all this social media use promote healthy development?

Does it help kids develop into well-formed adults? Does it help kids become resilient to the challenges they will face in their lives? And does it help kids learn how to interact constructively with their peers?

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus discusses these questions and more with Jonathan Haidt. Nat and Jon discuss the importance of imaginative and unstructured play; why parents are so restrictive when it comes to what their children can do in the real world yet so permissive when it comes to what they can do online; what the ideal playground looks like; why a little danger in play is important; whether technology use can explain recent test score trends; whether the social feedback kids get online helps them mature; and what parents and schools can do to push back against the encroachment of technology into kids’ lives.

Jonathan Haidt is the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University’s Stern School of Business and the author of The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.

Show Notes:

After Babel

Let Grow

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus, Andy Rotherham, and Rick Hess break down the latest on the education policy landscape. Nat, Andy, and Rick discuss budget reconciliation, what the creation of a national tax credit scholarship program would mean for school choice, how potential changes to student lending would affect borrowers and schools, why Republicans are interested in increasing the endowment tax, whether DOGE is done for, and why the education research establishment is struggling to adapt to a changed political landscape.

Andrew J. Rotherham is a co-founder and senior partner at Bellwether and the author of the Eduwonk blog.

Frederick M. Hess is a senior fellow and the director of education policy studies at AEI.

Show Notes:

All the President’s Ivy League Presidents

And You Thought AERA Couldn’t Get Any More Vacuous?

Why Medicaid Matters for Schools

Massive Changes Are Coming for Student Loans

Five years ago, schools shut down for the COVID-19 pandemic. Schooling was remote for the rest of the year, and many schools would remain remote for much of the following year.

Europe took a different approach.

In many European countries, schools reopened that first pandemic spring, only weeks after closing. Schools, officials determined, were safe to reopen.

So: Why did American schools stay closed so long? Why did America not follow Europe’s lead? And why did Europe and the US respond so differently to the same evidence?

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus discusses these questions, and more, with David Zweig.

David Zweig is a journalist and the author of An Abundance of Caution: American Schools, the Virus, and a Story of Bad Decisions.

It’s day 107 of the second Trump administration, and a lot has happened over the last two weeks. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases that sit at the intersection of schooling and religious liberty. Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a massive ESA bill into law. President Trump signed a raft of executive orders on education. And the Trump administration continued its fight with Harvard.

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus discusses these developments, and more, with Andy Rotherham and Rick Hess.

Andrew J. Rotherham is a co-founder and senior partner at Bellwether and the author of the Eduwonk blog.

Frederick M. Hess is a senior fellow and the director of education policy studies at AEI.

Show Notes:

Should Democrats Become Pro-Voucher/ESA? Plus Pro-(school) choice Fish.

Caffeine Headache

Trump’s 100 Days: The Good, the Bad, and the Confounding

My Uber Driver Doesn’t Get Trump’s Approach to Education

Drunken Sailors in Our Schools

On April 30, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond, in which a virtual school in Oklahoma is attempting to become the nation’s first religious charter school.

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus and four experts discuss and debate the case and the many questions it raises: Can religious charter schools be constitutional? What would religious charter schooling mean for American education? Are religious charter schools good for school choice? And what might Oklahoma’s religious charter school mean for the future of religious education?

Derek Black is a professor of law and the Ernest F. Hollings Chair in Constitutional Law at the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Joshua Dunn is the Executive Director of the Institute of American Civics at the Howard H. Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Kathleen Porter-Magee is an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute and the managing partner of the Leadership Roundtable, a Catholic nonprofit.

Andy Smarick is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, where he focuses on education, civil society, and the principles of American conservatism.

Note: This episode is adapted from the most recent installment of the American Enterprise Institute’s Education Policy Debate Series, which was held at AEI on April 16. A video recording of the debate can be found here.

It’s day 93 of the Trump administration, and the education landscape hasn’t yet calmed down. The Trump administration has gone after Harvard, and Harvard is fighting back. The Trump administration has revoked the visas of hundreds of international students. NAEP is being scaled back. Iowa requested a waiver from the Department of Education to exercise more flexibility in how it spends federal funds. And two Supreme Court cases might alter the relationship between religion and public education.

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus discusses these developments, and more, with Andy Rotherham and Rick Hess.

Andrew J. Rotherham is a co-founder and senior partner at Bellwether and the author of the Eduwonk blog.

Frederick M. Hess is a senior fellow and the director of education policy studies at AEI.

Show Notes:

The Department of Ed Meets Office Space

Trump’s Tariffs Complicate His Ambitious Education Agenda

These Things Happen In Threes, Plus SCOTUS Incoming For Schools.

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus speaks with Eva Moskowitz, the founder and CEO of Success Academy. Nat and Eva discuss why COVID learning loss is a misnomer; whether chronically absent students should face consequences for their poor attendance; why, despite its strong academic performance, Success Academy decided to overhaul its curriculum; what Success Academy looks for when hiring new teachers; Success Academy’s potential expansion into Florida and Texas; the challenges Success Academy faced in expanding into high school; whether charter schools have lived up to their original promise; and what’s next for Success Academy.

Eva Moskowitz is the founder and CEO of Success Academy Charter Schools, a network of 57 schools in New York City educating 22,000 students. Despite 72% of its students being economically disadvantaged, Success Academy ranked first on the 2024 New York State Grade 3–8 math exam.