If you told me Andrew Tate invented this policy to kneecap women, I would believe you. Among the Worst Ideas Ever And the competition is fierce

On education reform, Andy Beshear appears to be a Joe Biden Democrat. That's not good!

"National commentators often miss something important: There are more reform-minded Democrats than they realize...D.C.—bluer than any state—has built one of the country’s most ambitious and under-recognized reform ecosystems...w/real gains to show for it." www.educationnext.org/how-democrat...

How to Teach What It Means to Be American (Opinion): As America turns 250, Richard Kahlenberg discusses how schools can cultivate a common identity.

This is why we need automatic enrollment!

In Ohio, "high-achieving low-income and minority students are more likely than their peers to miss out on advanced math. Less than 50% of Black, Hispanic, and AI/AN students who scored in the top two levels took algebra in eighth grade, while 56% of their White peers did so."

Hey Bluesky peeps (is that the right term?), anyone wanna defend neighborhood public schools and school boundaries? schooledbymikepetrilli.substack.com/p/eliminate-...

Terrific Kevin Mahnken piece on our new paper on which teacher applicants are making it through the hiring pipeline. We were surprised by the demographic differences, especially for Asian applicants. Here's the paper: caldercenter.org/publications... www.the74million.org/article/scho...

My oldest son--a high school senior--found it funny that this is "news." "More middle and high schoolers are leaning on AI for homework" www.k12dive.com/news/more-mi...

According to Claude, there are 84 schools named after Cesar Chavez in the U.S.

Obvious self-interest in promoting my own research aside, The Education Gadfly and @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social's Substack are great spaces for discussion about education policy that I strongly recommend, especially for grad students trying to understand some of these issues. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

The White House promises to limit "civil immigration enforcement activities" at sensitive locations, including schools. Does this go far enough? Or does DHS need to promise not to nab people near schools, bus stops, etc. too? www.politico.com/live-updates...

In defense of teacher diversity, with contributions from @drconstance.bsky.social @mpolikoff.bsky.social @conorlambpa.bsky.social and many more schooledbymikepetrilli.substack.com/p/in-defense...

ADE is once again, intentionally or unwittingly, misrepresenting ESA, but the unallowable rate is a distraction. - excursions in 50 states & DC & in 17 countries: allowable. -7.2M in Lego: allowable. -Huge expenditures on sports: allowable. The real problem is what's allowed. 9

🧵 Arizona Ed said it analyzed a random sample of 3K ESA transactions & concluded 1.9% of ESA $ unallowable. TLDR: 🫠They did not draw a random sample 🫠Either ADE lied or made a very basic error 🫠Focusing on unallowed misses big picture; too many low-ROI for human capital items are allowed 1/10

Hey @jenjennings.bsky.social what say you? informedchoice1996.substack.com/p/misspendin...

Please don't call my local public school a "government school" fordhaminstitute.org/national/com...

Thank you @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social for discussing our work studying the effects of AR LEARNS base salary raises 👇

I would love a public elementary school to go device-free (other than to teach basic keyboarding).

I highlight this in my upcoming book as one of the few K-12 ed issues that might be able to escape the partisan whirlwind (fingers crossed // it might just be wish-casting // I'm so annoyed at the amount of screen time in my son's kindergarten class)

2 great takes on the rise of screens in schools--and the growing pushback--via @hechingerreport.org and @educationnext.bsky.social

IPads in kindergarten, YouTube videos at snack time: Parents are pushing back on screens in the early grades Tech use in school ballooned during the pandemic and is now embedded throughout the school day hechingerreport.org/ipads-in-kin... @hechingerreport.org @jackiemader.bsky.social

So good when researchers take the time to create a shorter version of long technical reports. It's often hard to do (balancing pithiness against nuance/caveats, at least for me) but important if you want your research to matter!

James Talarico, education reformer schooledbymikepetrilli.substack.com/p/james-tala... @sethrau.bsky.social @danagoldstein.bsky.social @alexanderrusso.bsky.social @cedr.bsky.social @marcportermagee.bsky.social @jenjennings.bsky.social

All schools should hire at least a few teachers with life experiences similar to their student populations. Critically, though, we shouldn’t equate life experience simply with race. www.aei.org/research-pro...

Future of IES? Amber Northern's report makes a strong case that we need IES, but there are still a lot of uncertainties... DOGE tore down the Education Department's research and statistical agency. Now some in the Trump administration are pushing to rebuild it hechingerreport.org/proof-points...

A good example that you never know when a study will get attention! A now old study on limited cross-state teacher mobility was just featured in @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social's Schooled: schooledbymikepetrilli.substack.com/p/should-the... (and apparently in @mattyglesias.bsky.social's Substack). 👇

I didn't know until I read this @natesilver538x.bsky.social post that @jamestalarico.bsky.social is a former middle school teacher AND led the fight against Texas's voucher program. www.natesilver.net/p/can-talari...

Overall, Amber Northern's report seems to underscore the important role of #IES in providing the baseline data and research infrastructure that supports so much of what we know about improvement in #education #eddata ies.ed.gov/learn/blog/r...

The Department of Education has released recommendations to reform the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), which is the research and statistics arm of the Department.

Worth a read - many potentially promising ideas in here, worth serious discussion.

Congratulations to my Fordham Institute colleague Amber Northern on the publication of her FANTASTIC report to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, Reimagining the Institute of Education Sciences. Read it now! www.ed.gov/about/news/p...

Over at SCHOOLED, our discussion about grade inflation continues, with great suggestions on how to tamp it down from Bibb Hubbard, Mike Goldstein, Dale Chu, Thibaut Delloue, @davidbnitkin.bsky.social, and Kevin Teasley, among others. Check it out! schooledbymikepetrilli.substack.com/p/fixing-gra...

Makes me sick to my stomach. Ronald Reagan weeps. Heritage Foundation Targets Undocumented Students’ Access to Free Education (Paper here: www.heritage.org/border-secur...) www.edweek.org/leadership/p...

Can states do anything about grade inflation? I've got a few ideas, but none of them are slam dunks. Do you have thoughts? schooledbymikepetrilli.substack.com/p/can-states...

TODAY'S MUST READ What American Education Reformers Can Learn from England, via Helen Baxendale & @educationnext.bsky.social www.educationnext.org/what-america...

The end of affirmative action helped mostly white women, not white men: "Among 71 private, highly selective colleges, only 72 more white male students enrolled in 2024 than in the previous fall. (White women increased by 479 students at those colleges.)" hechingerreport.org/after-affirm...

I don’t represent an education reform organization, but I would sign this letter penned by @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social fordhaminstitute.org/national/com...

A way forward on ICE for ed reformers, with perspectives from @deniseforte.bsky.social @conorpwilliams.bsky.social @karenvaites.bsky.social & @radiokeri.bsky.social. A narrow focus on reinstating schools as safe zones can attract broad support. Demanding everyone join the ICE #resistance will not.

At minimum I'd like to see reformers acknowledge that ICE is compromising schools' ability to operate in accordance with Plyler v. Doe. It would also be great to see attention to the evidence on this issue www.nber.org/papers/w34452

Anyone who believes in the rule of law should oppose stopping people based on their assumed race/ethnicity, attempting to change established asylum law by force rather than through legislation, targeting children, and creating an environment of state terror.

Should education reformers join the resistance against ICE? schooledbymikepetrilli.substack.com/p/should-edu...

I'm with the teachers unions on this one, which is not something I say often. Schools are for learning, not immigration enforcement.

Minnesota teachers sue to keep ICE off school property Two school districts and a teachers union allege that the immigration crackdown has spilled onto campuses and interrupted the functioning of schools across the state. www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

All of this via Boston College's John Reyes via @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social: "More expansive approaches to parental choice that de-prioritize serving populations most in need...in favor of universal access is hard to square with the Church’s teaching on the preferential option for the poor."

This is a @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social appreciation post. Everyone should read his newsletter today, which dissects what's going on with private vs. charter choice w great clarity.

For National School Choice Week, supporters keep moving the goal posts Their latest demand: Funding parity for private schools, even though they exclude all manner of kids and aren't held accountable for results. schooledbymikepetrilli.substack.com/p/for-nation...

Should tutoring play a big role in America’s schools going forward? That's the question we've been debating over at SCHOOLED for the past two weeks, with @lizcohen12.bsky.social @kevinhuffman.bsky.social @mattbarnum.bsky.social @matthewakraft.com @cedr.bsky.social and many more.

Here's hoping that more Democrats--and more presidential aspirants--embrace education reform like Rahm has. www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

“It is a very strange phenomenon, but the fact that you have states left, right and center adopting mandates that children learn cursive is not something I could have predicted,” Mr. Polikoff added. “Who hand-writes hardly anything?” www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/n...