What will happen to the school voucher program in Washington, D.C., the only voucher program to receive federal funds? In the Washington Post, Emma Brown and Perry Stein consider the likelihood that Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos will attempt to expand the program. They note A 2010 report from the Education Department that examined the D.C. program found that graduation rates wer...

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In some states, charter schools can design their own retirement plans for teachers. In this episode, Michael Podgursky, professor of economics at the University of Missouri–Columbia, joins Marty West to discuss what we can learn from charter innovation in this area. Podgursky, Susan Aud Pendergrass and Kevin Hesla, are the authors of “Pensions Under Pressure: Charter inno...

Are most teachers aware of the latest findings on how children think and learn? Research is limited, but a 2006 study by Arthur Levine indicated that teachers were confident in their knowledge: 81 percent said they understood how students learn “moderately well” or “very well.” But just 54 percent of school principals rated the understanding of their teachers that high. Though...

In the 74, Matt Barnum examines the reactions of different groups to Donald Trump’s nomination of Betsy DeVos as education secretary. The tepid reaction to DeVos’s selection among liberal and moderate education-reform groups such as Democrats for Education Reform and Education Trust may indicate new and deepened fault lines within the ed-reform coalition.  Barnum lays out...

I am an education policy researcher who’s taken a few detours into policy jobs—once in the Office of Data and Accountability of DC Public Schools, and once as the Deputy of Educator Preparation for the State of Delaware under its Race-to-the-Top efforts. Both of those experiences profoundly shaped how I think about my research, particularly the role of teacher diversity ...

On Thursday, March 29 at 5:30 pm, the Harvard Graduate School of Education will host an Askwith Debate on whether charter schools enahnce or undermine equity. EdNext’s Marty West will moderate the debate. The speakers are: •Derek Black, professor of law, School of Law, University of South Carolina •Cornell William Brooks, former president and CEO, NAACP (National Associa...

Charters are making a rebound—at least among Republicans and African Americans. Last fall, the 2017 Poll administered by Education Next (EdNext) reported a steep drop in support for the formation of charter schools. Only 39 percent of the public supported charters, a remarkable change from the 51 percent level of support registered in 2016. With 36 percent of the public opposin...

In 2015, 14 percent of U.S. college students were enrolled in online-only programs. This raises a question: who takes online classes? Does online education simply substitute for in-person education, or does it serve students who would not otherwise enroll in an educational program? A study of Georgia Tech’s online computer-science master’s degree by Joshua Goodman, Julia Melke...