Michael Hartney, a fellow at the Hoover Institution and assistant professor of political science at Boston College, Joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how education will factor into the 2024 presidential election.

Paul Carrese, a Professor in the School of Civic & Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how civic education is taught, and improvements that can be made by state and local leadership in education. Carrese's article, "Civic Preparation of American Youth: Reflective Patriotism and Our Constitutional Democracy," is available now. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00027162231192166

Doug Lemov, the author of the international bestseller Teach Like a Champion, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how grade inflation is impacting student achievement. "Your Neighborhood School Is a National Security Risk," by Lemov, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/your-neighborhood-school-national-security-risk-student-achievement-merit-losing-prospects-era-everybody-wins/

Nolan Pope, an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Pope's latest research, which investigates the impact of non-traditional school calendars on student achievement. "Schedule-Driven Productivity: Evidence from Non-Traditional School Calendar," co-written with Taylor J. Landon, is available now. "https://conference.nber.org/conf_papers/f192865.pdf

James Hankins, a professor of history at Harvard University, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss academic honesty and it's importance in research institutions. Hankins' commentary, "Claudine Gay and Why Academic Honesty Matters," is available now at The Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/claudine-gay-and-why-academic-honesty-matters-plagiarism-research-science-98a441c1

Oklahoma Governor J. Kevin Stitt joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Peterson’s latest research, which ranked states by their charter school performance and found that Oklahoma had one of the top-performing charter sectors in the United States. “The Nation’s Charter Report Card: First-ever state ranking of charter student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress,” co-written with M. Danish Shakeel, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/nations-charter-report-card-first-ever-state-ranking-charter-student-performance-naep/

Scott Carrell, a Professor of Economics at the University of Texas at Austin, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Carrell's latest research, which looks at whether high schools have a significant effect in whether or not students go to college. "Do Schools Matter? Measuring the Impact of California HighSchools on Test Scores and Postsecondary Enrollment," co-written with Michal Kurlaender, Paco Martorell, Matthew Naven, and Christina Sun, is available now. https://conference.nber.org/conf_papers/f191771.pdf

Frank Edelblut, the Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Education, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Peterson’s latest research, which ranked states by their charter school performance and found that Alaska had the top-performing charter sector in the United States. "The Nation’s Charter Report Card: First-ever state ranking of charter student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress," co-written with M. Danish Shakeel, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/nations-charter-report-card-first-ever-state-ranking-charter-student-performance-naep/

Deena M. Bishop, the Commissioner of Education for the state of Alaska, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Peterson's latest research, which ranked states by their charter school performance and found that Alaska had the top-performing charter sector in the United States. "The Nation’s Charter Report Card: First-ever state ranking of charter student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress," co-written with M. Danish Shakeel, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/nations-charter-report-card-first-ever-state-ranking-charter-student-performance-naep/

Jim Peyser, the former Massachusetts Secretary of Education, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Peterson's latest research, which for the first time ranks states by their charter school performance, based on student performance in reading and math on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, between 2009 and 2019. "The Nation’s Charter Report Card: First-ever state ranking of charter student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress," co-written with M. Danish Shakeel, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/nations-charter-report-card-first-ever-state-ranking-charter-student-performance-naep/

Michael Hartney, a fellow at the Hoover Institution and assistant professor of political science at Boston College, Joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the influence of teachers-union endorsements on school-board elections.

Nina Rees, the president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the continued growth of the charter school sector in 2023, led by state-level legislation.

Thiru Vignarajah, the former Deputy Attorney General of Maryland and the former Law Clerk to Justice Stephen Breyer, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Breyer's book, "Breaking the Promise of Brown", and Vignarajah's experiences as one of his law clerks and in working on the issue of school segregation. "Breaking the Promise of Brown" is available now from Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/books/breaking-the-promise-of-brown/

The Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, Eric Hanushek, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the the Accelerating Campus Excellence program and efforts to attract and retain effective teachers. "Attracting and Retaining Highly Effective Educators in Hard-to-Staff Schools," co-written with Andrew J. Morgan, Minh Nguyen, Ben Ost and Steven G. Rivkin, is available now from NBER. https://www.nber.org/papers/w31051

Julie Young, the Vice President of Education Outreach and Student Services for Arizona State University, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how concern over virtual schools can mirror similar concerns about artificial intelligence in education.

Jay P. Greene, a Senior Research Fellow in the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Greene's testimony in the New Yorkers for Students’ Educational Rights, et al. v. The State of New York case. Greene's report debunks the claim that increasing education spending generally leads to improved student outcomes. "Expert Report of Jay P. Greene, PhD: New Yorkers for Students’ Educational Rights, et al. v. The State of New York" is available now. https://www.heritage.org/education/report/expert-report-jay-p-greene-phd-new-yorkers-students-educational-rights-et-al-v-the

Ira Nichols-Barrer, a principal researcher at Mathematica, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Nichols-Barrer's latest research, which looks at the long-term impacts of enrolling at a KIPP public school. "Long-Term Impacts of KIPP Middle and High Schools on College Enrollment, Persistence, and Attainment," co-written with Alicia Demers and Elisa Steele, is available now. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/long-term-impacts-of-kipp-middle-and-high-schools-on-college-enrollment-persistence-and-attainment

Vladimir Kogan, a Professor in the Department of Political Science at The Ohio State University, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how reading and math scores in Ohio had changed since the Covid-19 pandemic. Kogan's report, "Student Achievement and Learning Acceleration in Ohio," is available now. https://glenn.osu.edu/research-and-impact/student-achievement-and-learning-acceleration-ohio

Melissa S. Kearney, the Neil Moskowitz Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Kearny's new book, The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind. https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/T/bo205550079.html

Jason Bransford, the Chief Executive Officer for Gem Innovation Schools, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the learning societies microschools in Idaho, and the impact they've had on student achievement.

Lauren May, the Director of Advocacy at Step Up for Students, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss her latest report, which details the growth of Catholic school enrollment in Florida since 2013. "Why Catholic Schools in Florida Are Growing: 5 Things to Know," co-written with Patrick Gibbons and Ron Matus, is available now. https://www.reimaginedonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Why-Catholic-Schools-In-Florida-Are-Growing-Five-Things-to-Know-Final.pdf

Daniel Hamlin, an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the "Emerging School Models" conference, which will be hosted by Harvard's Program on Education Policy and Governance on Sept. 28 and 29, 2023. Learn more about "Emerging School Models: Moving from Alternative to Mainstream," including information on registration. https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/taubman/programs-research/pepg/events/emerging-school-models

Alicia Sasser Modestino, the research director for the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss her latest research, which finds benefits for students selected into a program that matches them with summer jobs. "Year-Round Benefits from Summer Jobs: How work programs impact student outcomes," co-written with Richard Paulsen, is available now at Education Next. https://www.educationnext.org/year-round-benefits-summer-jobs-how-work-programs-impact-student-outcomes

John Bailey, a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss artificial intelligence and what role it could have in the classroom. "AI in Education: The leap into a new era of machine intelligence carries risks and challenges, but also plenty of promise," is available now at Education Next. https://www.educationnext.org/a-i-in-education-leap-into-new-era-machine-intelligence-carries-risks-challenges-promises

Adam Tyner, the national research director at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Tyner's recent research, which questions whether economically disadvantaged students receive less funding than other students. Tyner's research brief, "Think Again: Is education funding in America still unequal?," is available now. https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/research/think-again-education-funding-america-still-unequal

Jane Quinn, the former director of the National Center for Community Schools, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss her new book, "The Community Schools Revolution." "The Community Schools Revolution," co-written with Martin Blank, Ira Harkavy, Lisa Villarreal and David Goodman, is available now. https://www.communityschoolsrevolution.org/

Greg Richmond, the superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Chicago, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how Chicago's Catholic schools reacted to the Covid-19 pandemic and earned gains in student achievement.

The editor-in-chief of Education Next and member of the National Assessment Governing Board, Martin R. West, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the latest release of National Assessment of Educational Progress data.

The executive director of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Institute of American Civics at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, Joshua Dunn, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the Supreme Court's decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, which ends the use of race in college admissions. Dunn's article, "High Court Decision in College Admissions Case Has K-12 Implications," is available now at EducationNext.org. https://www.educationnext.org/harvard-unc-admissions-k-12-effects-supreme-court/

The president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, Heather Peske, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss NCTQ's latest report, which focuses on how to bring effective literacy instruction to scale. "Teacher Prep Review: Strengthening Elementary Reading Instruction," is available now. https://www.nctq.org/dmsView/Teacher_Prep_Review_Strengthening_Elementary_Reading_Instruction

A Distinguished Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution and director of the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University, Macke Raymond, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss CREDO’s latest study, which examines the academic progress of students enrolled in charter schools compared with the progress of students enrolled in traditional public schools. "As a Matter of Fact: The National Charter School Study III," is available now. https://ncss3.stanford.edu/

A Professor of Economics and the Gimelstob-Landry Distinguished Professor of Regional Economic Development at Western Carolina University, Angela K. Dills, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Dills' latest research, which investigates the role of social capital on upward social and economic mobility. The paper, "Are Connections the Way to Get Ahead? Social Capital, Student Achievement, Friendships, and Social Mobility," co-written with Peterson and M. Danish Shakeel, is available now. https://www.hks.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/Taubman/PEPG/research/PEPG23_01.pdf

The President and CEO of EdChoice, Robert Enlow, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the growing popularity of education savings accounts in the United States, and how to best implement this universal choice option.

The department chair and professor of economics in the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, Orgül Öztürk, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Öztürk's latest research, which investigates the outcomes of the South Carolina’s Teacher Advancement Program. “Teacher Performance Pay, Coaching, and Long-Run Student Outcomes,” co-written with Sarah Cohodes and Ozkan Eren, is available now. https://blueprintlabs.mit.edu/research/teacher-performance-pay-coaching-and-long-run-student-outcomes/

An Assistant Professor at Yale SOM and a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance, Barbara Biasi, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the impacts of Wisconsin's Act 10, from student performance to teacher pay. “Wisconsin’s Act 10, Flexible Pay, and the Impact on Teacher Labor Markets” is available now at Education Next. https://www.educationnext.org/wisconsin-act-10-flexible-pay-impact-teacher-labor-markets/

An Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Rochester, John Singleton, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the benefits of and drawbacks to having educators serving on school boards. Singleton and co-author Ying Shi recently published "School Boards and Education Production: Evidence from Randomized Ballot Order." https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/pol.20200435 Singleton was recently a speaker on the third session of “Should School Boards Run Schools? A virtual conference series on school governance,” hosted by Harvard's Program on Education Policy and Governance. https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/taubman/programs-research/pepg/events/school-boards-conference-2023

A Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and a Senior Fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, Chester E. Finn, Jr., joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the latest NAEP results in civics and history, and what might be contributing to the decline in student proficiency in these subjects. “Will Dismal New National Test Results in Civics and History Finally Spark Improvements?” is available now at EducationNext.org. https://www.educationnext.org/will-dismal-new-national-test-results-civics-history-finally-spark-improvements-naep/

An Associate Professor of Public Policy & Political Science at the University of California, Berkley, Sarah F. Anzia, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Anzia's new research, which looks into how city employees were important drivers in the transformation of city governance from patronage to a civil-service system. "The Political Influence of City Employees: Civil Service Adoption in America," co-written with Jessica Trounstine, is available now. https://gspp.berkeley.edu/research-and-impact/working-papers/the-political-influence-of-city-employees-civil-service-adoption-in-america

The Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. Professor of American Politics at Boston College, R. Shep Melnick, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Melnick's latest book, The Crucible of Desegregation: The Uncertain Search for Educational Equality, and the state of racial segregation today. The Crucible of Desegregation: The Uncertain Search for Educational Equality is available now from The University of Chicago Press. https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo194238421.html

A research professor at Georgetown University and director of the Edunomics Lab, Marguerite Roza, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how school districts have spent their federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds, and what impact that has had on learning. “The Massive ESSER Experiment: Here’s what we’re learning,” co-written with Katherine Silberstein, is available now at Education Next.org: https://www.educationnext.org/the-massive-esser-experiment-heres-what-were-learning/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer

A senior fellow at the American Federation for Children, Corey DeAngelis, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how Education Savings Accounts programs have expanded in states, and where that leaves the school choice movement today.

The co-founder of and a distinguished fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, Michael B. Horn, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how AI programs like ChatGPT can be put to productive use in the classroom. "To Teach Better Writing, Don’t Ban Artificial Intelligence. Instead, Embrace it," co-written with Daniel Curtis, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/teach-better-writing-dont-ban-artificial-intelligence-instead-embrace-it-inviting-chatgpt-into-classroom/

A Professor Emerita at University of Hawaii Hilo, Nina Buchanan, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the charter school movement in Hawaii, and how they incorporate the indigenous language and cultures of the islands into learning.

The professor and associate dean for research in the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Paul T. von Hippel, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss year-round academic calendars, and how changing calendars won't undo learning losses accrued during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Busting the Myths About Year-Round School Calendars,” co-written with Jennifer Graves, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/busting-the-myths-about-year-round-school-calendars/

An associate professor at Williams College, Owen Thompson, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Thompson’s latest research, which looks into whether gifted and talented programs are also drivers of racial segregation in schools.

The former Massachusetts Secretary of Education, Jim Peyser, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Peyser's tenure in the Charlie Baker administration, and what could be ahead for education reform in the state.

The Barnett Family Professor at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education, Thomas S. Dee, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how enrollment in K-12 public schools decreased during the Covid-19 pandemic, and where those students who left the public system are now being educated. Dee's report, "Where the Kids Went: Nonpublic Schooling and Demographic Change during the Pandemic Exodus from Public Schools," is available now. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/where-kids-went-nonpublic-schooling-and-demographic-change-during-pandemic

The co-leader of the Eversheds Sutherland Business and Commercial Litigation team, Rocco E. Testani, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the recent decision in the William Penn School District et al. v. Pennsylvania Department of Education case in Pennsylvania, which ruled Pennsylvania’s school funding system unconstitutional.

A former U.S. Senator and Representative from Texas, and Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, Phil Gramm, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Gramm's new book, “The Myth of American Inequality: How Government Biases Policy Debate.” “The Myth of American Inequality,” co-authored with Robert Ekelund and John Early, is available now from Rowman & Littlefield.

An assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma, Daniel Hamlin, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Hamlin's latest research, which presents new evidence on virtual schooling in the state of Oklahoma, and how reading and math scores of virtual charter school students compares to their peers in district-run public schools.

An Adviser to the Office of the Chief Economist for Europe and Central Asia at the World Bank, Harry Patrinos, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how the Covid-19 pandemic impacted learning across the globe, and how the World Bank is working to support learning recovery.

The Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, Eric Hanushek, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Hanushek's latest report, which breaks down the lifetime income students could lose as a result of schooling disruptions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. Hanushek's essay, "The Economic Cost of the Pandemic," is available now. http://hanushek.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/publications/Hanushek%202022%20HESI%20EconomicCost.pdf

A senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, Andy Smarick, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the consolidation of modern school districts, and how the increased size of districts can restrict choice options and responsiveness to families. Smarick's piece, "Too Big to Succeed: It’s time to break up the nation’s largest school districts," is available now at City Journal. https://www.city-journal.org/time-to-break-up-nations-largest-school-districts

The John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame, Nicole Stelle Garnett, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how recent decisions by the Supreme Court in Carson v. Makin and Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue could pave the way for religious charter schools. Garnett's feature, "Supreme Court Opens a Path to Religious Charter Schools: But the trail ahead holds twists and turns," is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/supreme-court-opens-path-to-religious-charter-schools/

An editor at the Harvard Salient, William Brown, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the revival of the Salient and the publication's efforts to bring an undergraduate conservative viewpoint to Harvard University.

A Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, Virginia Lovison, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Lovison's latest research, which investigates what effect teacher turnover and alternative certification programs has on student achievement. Lovison's paper, “The Effects of High-performing, High-turnover Teachers on Long-run Student Achievement: Evidence from Teach For America,” is available now. https://edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai22-675.pdf

A Faculty Research Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Eric S. Taylor, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Taylor's latest research, which demonstrates how evaluation programs that reward teachers for student performance leads to higher performing teachers. The paper, "Employee Evaluation and Skill Investments: Evidence from Public School Teachers," is available at NBER.org. https://www.nber.org/papers/w30687

The senior director of policy, research, and evaluation at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, Drew Jacobs, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Jacobs' latest report, which found that charter school enrollment increased while district school enrollment decreased in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Changing Course: Public School Enrollment Shifts During the Pandemic,” co-written with Debbie Veney, is available now. https://www.publiccharters.org/our-work/publications/changing-course-public-school-enrollment-shifts-during-pandemic

An adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins School of Education and the former superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, Joseph Olchefske, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the history of student-based budgeting, its origins in Seattle, and how parent empowerment following the Covid-19 pandemic could lead to more unbundling of school services.

An Assistant Professor of Education and Public Policy at the University of Virginia, Beth Schueler, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Schueler's latest research, which investigates the impact of state takeovers of failing school districts on learning. The report, "Evaluating Education Governance: Does State Takeover of School Districts Affect Student Achievement?," co-written with Joshua F. Blieberg, is available now. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pam.22338

The president of 50CAN, Derrell Bradford,, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the results of the 2022 midterm elections and its possible ramifications on education in the United States. For more on the election, please see "What the 2022 Midterm Election Results Will Mean for Education Policy," by Frederick Hess. https://www.educationnext.org/what-the-2022-midterm-election-results-will-mean-for-education-policy/

The director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, Robin Lake, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the latest CRPE report, which outlines the path to recovery for students after schools closed during the Covid-19 pandemic. The report, "The State of the American Student: Fall 2022," is available now at CRPE.org. https://crpe.org/the-state-of-the-american-student/

The editor-in-chief of Education Next and member of the National Assessment Governing Board, Martin R. West, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the latest release of National Assessment of Educational Progress data, which shows math and reading scores fell between 2019 and 2022. West breaks down the 2022 NAEP results in “Nation’s Report Card Shows Steep Declines in Student Learning.” https://www.educationnext.org/nations-report-card-shows-steep-declines-in-student-learning/

The co-leader of the Eversheds Sutherland Business and Commercial Litigation team, Rocco E. Testani, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the influx of Covid-19 relief funds into schools, and whether or not the money will lead to improved performance for students.

The founder and chairman of Step Up For Students, John Kirtley, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how choice programs, including tax credits and charter schools, are serving students and families in Florida.

A Senior Advisor at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, George Parker, and the CEO of 7 Ventures, Michelle Rhee, join Paul E. Peterson to discuss how Parker, as president of the Washington Teachers' Union, and Rhee, as Chancellor of District of Columbia Public Schools, were able to implement a performance pay plan for teachers in the district.

The Founder of Propel America, Paymon Rouhanifard, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how to best help students transition from high school to the workforce.

A Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Parag A. Pathak, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Pathak's recent working paper, which investigates the effects of busing on integration, achievement, and college enrollment. “Still Worth the Trip? School Busing Effects in Boston and New York,” co-written with Joshua Angrist, Guthrie Gray-Lobe, and Clemence M. Idoux, is available now. https://www.nber.org/papers/w30308

The director of education reform at Reason Foundation, Aaron Garth Smith, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Smith's latest analysis, which shows per-pupil spending increased in 49 out of 50 states during the 2020 fiscal year, while student enrollment declined in 22 states, plus the district of Columbia. Smith's report, "K-12 Education Spending Spotlight: An in-depth look at school finance data and trends," co-written with Jordan Campbell, is available now at reason.org. https://reason.org/commentary/k-12-education-spending-spotlight/

The editor-in-chief of Education Next and member of the National Assessment Governing Board, Martin R. West, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the latest release of National Assessment of Educational Progress data, which shows test performance dipped for most fourth-grade students in both math and reading since the beginning of the pandemic.

An assistant policy researcher at RAND, Melissa Kay Diliberti, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Diliberti's recent report, which collects survey responses from school districts through the 2021-22 academic year, and how schools are expecting teacher shortages for 2022-23. The report, "Districts Continue to Struggle with Staffing, Political Polarization, and Unfinished Instruction," co-written with Heather L. Schwartz, is available now. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA956-13.html

The director of the Center for School and Student Progress at NWEA, Karyn Lewis, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Lewis' new research brief, which finds signs of student performance in math and reading rebounding during the 2021-22 academic year. The research brief, "Student achievement in 2021–2022: Cause for hope and continued urgency," co-written with Megan Kuhfield, is available now. https://www.nwea.org/content/uploads/2022/07/Student-Achievement-in-2021-22-Cause-for-hope-and-concern.researchbrief-1.pdf

An Assistant Professor at George Mason University, David Houston, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the 2022 Education Next Survey, on which both Houston and Peterson are co-authors. "Partisan Rifts Widen, Perceptions of School Quality Decline: Results of the 2022 Education Next Survey of Public Opinion," by David M. Houston, Paul E. Peterson, and Martin R. West, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/partisan-rifts-widen-perceptions-school-quality-decline-results-2022-education-next-survey-public-opinion

A Post Doctoral Researcher at the Harvard Kennedy School, M. Danish Shakeel, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss their new study, which finds that student achievement has increased since the 1970s. "A Half Century of Student Progress Nationwide" is available now at EducationNext.org. https://www.educationnext.org/half-century-of-student-progress-nationwide-first-comprehensive-analysis-finds-gains-test-scores/

An Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, George Bulman, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how the Covid-19 pandemic affected enrollment and performance in community colleges in California. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Community College Enrollment and Student Success," by Bulman and Robert W. Fairlie, is available now. https://www.edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai22-602.pdf

The founder of Vertex Partnership Academies, a nonprofit charter school network, Ian Rowe, joins Paul Peterson to discuss the opening of Vertex Academies, a new charter high school set to open this month in the Bronx, New York City.

An adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute and superintendent of Partnership Schools, Kathleen Porter-Magee, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how enrollment in Catholic schools increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. Porter-Magee's brief, "Catholic School Enrollment Boomed During Covid. Let’s Make It More Than a One-Time Bump," co-written with Annie Smith and Matt Klausmeier, is available now. https://www.manhattan-institute.org/catholic-school-enrollment-boomed-during-covid

The 11th Secretary of Education of the United States, Betsy DeVos, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss her experience in the U.S. Department of Education, and her new book, Hostages No More: The Fight for Education Freedom and the Future of the American Child. A review of the book by Peterson for Education Next is available now: "In New Book, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Emerges as a Modern Alyosha." https://www.educationnext.org/hostages-no-more-school-choice-advances-farther-than-anticipated/

An assistant professor of political science at Boston College, Michael Hartney, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Hartney's new book, how influential teachers unions are in shaping educational policy, and how parents have fared in their own efforts. Hartney's book, How Policies Make Interest Groups: Governments, Unions, and American Education, will be available in Sept. 2022 by the University of Chicago Press.

A Distinguished Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution and director of the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University, Macke Raymond, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss CREDO's latest study, which shows growth for students attending Innovation Network and charter schools in Indianapolis. The "2022 Indianapolis CREDO Study" is available now. https://www.themindtrust.org/indycredo/

A University Professor in Economics and the College and the Harris School of Public Policy, Director of the Development Innovation Lab, Michael Kremer, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Kremer's latest working paper, which examines the impact of enrolling in Bridge International Academies in Kenya. Kremer's paper, "Can Education be Standardized? Evidence from Kenya," co-written with Guthrie Gray-Lobe, Anthony Keats, Isaac Mbiti, and Owen Ozier, is available now. https://bfi.uchicago.edu/working-paper/2022-68/

A senior writer and national correspondent at The 74, Beth Hawkins, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the ramifications of the Minneapolis teacher strike, which ended in March 2022. "Minneapolis Teacher Strike Lasted 3 Weeks. The Fallout Will Be Felt for Years," by Hawkins is available now at The 74. https://www.the74million.org/article/minneapolis-teacher-strike-lasted-3-weeks-the-fallout-will-be-felt-for-years/

An Assistant Professor at Temple University, Sarah Cordes, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Cordes' latest study, which measures the effect of charter schools on the diversity of nearby district schools. "Choice and Change: The Implications of Charter School Expansion for School and Neighborhood Diversity in NYC," co-written with Agustina Laurito, is available now. https://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai22-556

The lead research scientist in Applied Research at ACT, Edgar Sanchez, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Sanchez's latest report, which investigates how grade inflation has grown since 2010, and how inflation increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. The report, “Grade Inflation Continues to Grow in the Past Decade,” co-written with Raeal Moore, is available now. https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/secured/documents/pdfs/Grade-Inflation-Continues-to-Grow-in-the-Past-Decade-Final-Accessible.pdf

An assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma, Daniel Hamlin, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Hamlin's research on gun ownership in America, and its relationship to school shootings over 40 years. Hamlin's paper, "Are gun ownership rates and regulations associated with firearm incidents in American schools? A forty-year analysis (1980–2019)", is available now. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047235221000672

A Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and a Senior Fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, Chester E. Finn, Jr., joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Finn's new book, Assessing the Nation’s Report Card: Challenges and Choices for NAEP. Finn's latest piece for Education Next, “It Felt Like Guerrilla Warfare” — Student achievement levels in the Nation’s Report Card: a brief history of “basic,” “proficient,” and “advanced,” is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/it-felt-like-guerrilla-warfare-student-achievement-levels-nations-report-card-brief-history-basic-proficient-advanced/

The Walter H. Gale Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and faculty director of the Center for Education Policy Research, Thomas Kane, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Kane's latest study, which looks into how remote and hybrid instruction impacted students' learning in the 2020-21 academic year. "The Consequences of Remote and Hybrid Instruction During the Pandemic" is available now at the Center for Education Policy Research: https://cepr.harvard.edu/files/cepr/files/5-4.pdf?m=1651690491

The Executive Director of the Pioneer Institute, Jim Stergios, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the current state of Boston Public Schools, and whether control of the district should be taken over by the state. "Time for Receivership in Boston," a report by Stergios, is available now. https://pioneerinstitute.org/opeds/education-oped/time-for-receivership-in-boston/

A professor of economics at Duke University, Peter Arcidiacono, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Arcidiacono new study, which examines how racial preferences for under-represented minorities affected admissions to Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The report, "What the Students for Fair Admissions Cases Reveal About Racial Preferences," co-written with Josh Kinsler and Tyler Ransom, is available now. http://public.econ.duke.edu/~psarcidi/racialpref.pdf

The Executive Director at North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Michael Maher, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the state's preliminary report on student learning loss in North Carolina during the pandemic. "Report to the North Carolina General Assembly: An Impact Analysis of Student Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic," is available now. https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/meetings/TempFolder/Meetings/202203_SLA%208_OLR%20HB196%20JLEOC%20Report%20HB196.%20Impact%20on%20Lost%20Instructional%20Time%20for%20SBE%20March_316248ogtvtibjvhu5at0tf5k5cokq.pdf

The National Director of the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH), Douglas N. Harris, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Harris' new study, which analyzes data from 1995 to 2016 for the nation's publicly funded school systems, and finds that charter schools increased average graduation rates, as well as math and reading test scores. "The Bigger Picture of Charter School Results: A National Analysis of System-Level Effects on Test Scores and Graduation Rates," co-written with Feng Chen, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/bigger-picture-charter-school-results-national-analysis-system-level-effects-test-scores-graduation-rates

The Chief Executive Officer for ExcelinEd, Patricia Levesque, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the Biden Administration’s recent policies that could limit the ability to open new charter schools. Levesque's op-ed, "A Case of Charter School Sabotage," is available now at The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/charter-school-sabotage-biden-teachers-union-public-school-achievement-gap-hispanic-black-students-charter-schools-program-rules-11648224610?mod=opinion_lead_pos2

An Associate Professor of Education at Ursinus College, John P. Spencer, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Spencer's new book, which traces the life and work of educator Marcus Foster, who became the first black superintendent of a large school district in the United States in 1970. "In the Crossfire: Marcus Foster and the Troubled History of American School Reform" is available now from University of Pennsylvania Press. https://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/15030.html

A Professor of Military Theory and Strategy at the US Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, Kevin Weddle, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Weddle's new book, The Compleat Victory: Saratoga and the American Revolution, and how the battle of Saratoga parallels Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

A professor in the College of Business at Western Carolina University, Angela Dills, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a report co-written by Dills, which works to dispel common myths about charter schools and their funding, spending and management. The report, “Charter School Funding: Dispelling Myths about EMOs, Expenditure Patterns, & Nonpublic Dollars,” is available now. https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/wordpressua.uark.edu/dist/9/544/files/2018/10/21-1018-charter-school-funding-dispelling-myths-002.pdf

A Senior Fellow with the Pioneer Institute, Cara Candal, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the state of Boston Public Schools, including the resignation of Superintendent Brenda Cassellius and more than a decade of declining test scores.

The chief academic officer of elementary humanities at Amplify, Susan Lambert, and a research director at Amplify, Paul Gazzerro, join Paul E. Peterson to discuss Amplify's research brief, which looks at students in grades K-2, and how they are at greater risk for not learning to read due to the pandemic school shutdowns.

A longtime reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Maureen Downey, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the efforts of Atlanta neighborhood Buckhead to break away and form its own city, how it failed and what it could have meant for Atlanta Public Schools and its students.

Joanne Jacobs, an education reporter and former San Jose Mercury News editorial writer and columnist, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the recent recall of three members of the San Francisco Unified School Board. Jacobs wrote about the effort to recall the board members for Education Next, in "Behind a School Board Recall in San Francisco, a Diverse Coalition." https://www.educationnext.org/behind-school-board-recall-san-francisco-diverse-coalition/

An assistant professor at Tulane University, Ilana Horwitz, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Horwitz's new book, God, Grades, and Graduation: Religion's Surprising Impact on Academic Success.

The founder of Common Good and author of "Try Common Sense: Replacing the Failed Ideologies of Right and Left," Philip K. Howard, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Howard's latest report, "Accountability on Trial," which contends that accountability is being undercut by public union contracts.

The Director of Education Policy at the Goldwater Institute, Matt Beienburg, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how Arizona's allocations of money to education savings accounts could result in a pullback of federal coronavirus relief funds in the state.

A resident fellow at the Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization, Mary Grabar, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Grabar's new book, "Debunking The 1619 Project: Exposing the Plan to Divide America."

A professor of political science at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Joshua Dunn, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in the Carson v. Makin case, and what could be in store for religious education and state Blaine amendments. Read Dunn's blog post, "Supreme Court Oral Argument in Carson v. Makin Sends Hopeful Signal for Religious School Aid." https://www.educationnext.org/carson-v-makin-supreme-court/

An an economics professor at Brown University, Emily Oster, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Oster's latest research, which finds that pass rates on standardized tests declined in district schools during the Covid-19 pandemic, and that those rates were lower in schools with less in-person instruction. Oster's paper, "Pandemic Schooling Mode and Student Test Scores: Evidence from US States," co-written with Clare Halloran, Rebecca Jack and James C. Okun, is available now. https://www.nber.org/papers/w29497

The Will Skillman Fellow in Education at The Heritage Foundation, Jonathan Butcher, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the growing controversy over critical race theory and its place in the classroom. Butcher's report, "Critical Race Theory, the New Intolerance, and Its Grip on America," co-written with Mike Gonzalez, is available now. https://www.heritage.org/civil-rights/report/critical-race-theory-the-new-intolerance-and-its-grip-america

The Superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District, Michael Hinojosa, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how Dallas handles school safety, the recent lifting of the mask mandate in schools, and how the district has rewarded their best-performing teachers while limiting turnover.

A senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Naomi Schaefer Riley, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Schaefer Riley's new book, "No Way to Treat a Child: How the Foster Care System, Family Courts, and Racial Activists Are Wrecking Young Lives."

The director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, Rick Hess, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the critical race theory debate, and how the media has covered the subject. "Misleading Media Coverage Has Made Critical Race Theory Debate Angrier and Less Honest," a report by Hess, is available now. https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/medias-misleading-portrayal-of-the-fight-over-critical-race-theory/

The president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, Nina Rees, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a recent report by the National Alliance which shows an increase in enrollment in charter schools across the country in the 2020-21 academic year. The report, "Voting with Their Feet: A State-level Analysis of Public Charter School and District Public School Enrollment Trends," is available now. https://www.publiccharters.org/our-work/publications/voting-their-feet-state-level-analysis-public-charter-school-and-district

The president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Mike Petrilli, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the results of the 2021 Virginia Governor race, and what the election of Glenn Youngkin could signal for school choice moving forward.

A junior economist and doctoral student at the Ifo Center for the Economics of Education, Benjamin Arold, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Arold's research, which looks at the impact of the Common Core on subjects outside of math and reading. The paper, "The Unintended Effects of the Common Core State Standards on Non-Targeted Subjects," by Arold and M. Danish Shakeel, is available here: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/Taubman/PEPG/research/PEPG21_03.pdf

Investor and Chairman of the Board for the American Federation for Children, Bill Oberndorf, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how progress in the school choice movement has been made in the states, with private school choice programs in 32 states, and charter programs in 48. Oberndorf was recently awarded the 2021 Simon-DeVos Prize for Philanthropic Leadership by Philanthropy Roundtable.

A senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, columnist for the Wall Street Journal, and author of Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell, Jason Riley, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss some of Riley's reservations with adoption of critical race theory into school curriculum.

The Superintendent of Detroit Public Schools Community District, Dr. Nikolai Vitti, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how he has helped Detroit schools rebound from financial strains to its current renaissance.

The Managing Attorney at the Liberty Justice Center, Daniel Suhr, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the Bishop of Charleston v. Adams case, which challenges South Carolina state officials from using the Blaine Amendment to block Covid-19 funds from going to non-public schools and historically black colleges and universities.

The Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, Eric Hanushek, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Hanushek being awarded the $3.9 million Yidan Prize, which honors individuals or teams that have significantly contributed to the theory and practice of education.

The superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Alberto Carvalho, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how the district has supported school choice, which includes spreading choice options to communities and creating new programs that meet the needs of students and demands of parents.

A senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, Michael Bindas, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the Carson v. Makin, which challenges Maine's exclusion of religions options from the state's tuition assistance program for residents outside of public school districts who send their children to private schools.

A professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Dr. Marty Makary, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the arguments against mandating mask use by children in schools. Dr. Makary is co-author of a recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, "The Case Against Masks for Children." https://www.wsj.com/articles/masks-children-parenting-schools-mandates-covid-19-coronavirus-pandemic-biden-administration-cdc-11628432716

An Assistant Professor at George Mason University, David Houston, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the 2021 Education Next Poll, on which both Houston and Peterson are co-authors.

An education researcher and former senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Tom Loveless, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new book by Loveless, "Between the State and the Schoolhouse: Understanding the Failure of the Common Core." https://www.hepg.org/hep-home/books/between-the-state-and-the-schoolhouse

The Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, Eric Hanushek, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss two new reports by Hanushek, which focus on incentives for schools to improve learning after the Covid-19 pandemic. The reports, "Budgeting During And For Recovery" and "Does The World Change For Teachers?," are available as part of the Hoover Education Success Initiative. https://www.hoover.org/research/budgeting-during-and-for-recovery https://www.hoover.org/research/does-world-change-for-teachers

The president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, Kate Walsh, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new study by the NCTQ, which looks at how licensure tests can help improve teacher quality, and whether teachers should be required to take such tests at all. The report, "Driven by Data: Using licensure tests to build a strong, diverse teacher workforce," is available now. https://www.nctq.org/publications/Driven-by-Data:-Using-Licensure-Tests-to-Build-a-Strong,-Diverse-Teacher-Workforce/

A Senior Knowledge Expert at McKinsey & Company, Emma Dorn, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Dorn's new report, which investigates the effects of learning loss from Covid-19 school shutdowns. Dorn's report, "COVID-19 and education: The lingering effects of unfinished learning," co-written with Bryan Hancock and Jimmy Sarakatsannis, is available now. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/covid-19-and-education-the-lingering-effects-of-unfinished-learning

A Professor of Education at Stanford University, William Damon, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Damon's new book, "A Round of Golf with My Father: The New Psychology of Exploring Your Past to Make Peace with Your Present."

The 44th Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, Clint Bolick, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Justice Bolick’s book new book, "Unshackled: Freeing America’s K–12 Education System," co-written with Kate J. Hardiman.

The Commissioner the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, Johnny Key, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how Arkansas has adjusted amid the ongoing challenges of Covid-19, and how the school choice landscape has shifted over the past year.

The Chief Executive Officer for ExcelinEd, Patricia Levesque, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss recent legislative changes to school choice in Florida, as well as advances in options around the country.

The Director of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education, Ludger Woessmann, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Woessmann's new research, which investigates the long-term economic effects of student learning loss during the Covid-19 pandemic. Woessmann's paper, "The Economic Impacts of Learning Losses," co-written with Eric A. Hanushek, is available now. http://hanushek.stanford.edu/publications/economic-impacts-learning-losses

An assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma, Daniel Hamlin, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the Conference on the Post-Pandemic Future of Homeschooling, which was recently hosted over seven weeks by the Program on Education Policy and Governance at the Harvard Kennedy School. Video and presentations from the conference can be found here: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/taubman/programs-research/pepg/events/future-homeschooling

A Professor of Education and Social Policy and of Economics at the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University, David Figlio, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Figlio's latest research, which explores how Florida's private school choice program affected students in public schools.

The State Representative for House District 91 in Indiana, Robert Behning, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Indiana's expanded scholarship program, and current trends in school choice across the country.

A Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institute, Macke Raymond, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Raymond's research on the structural imperfections of high schools, how the Covid-19 pandemic laid bare these problems, and how the high school experience can be improved. Raymond's research is available as part of the Hoover Education Success Initiative. https://www.hoover.org/research/introduction-how-improve-our-schools-post-covid-era

A Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education, Williamson M. Evers, Ph.D., joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a proposed mathematics curriculum framework in California which, if passed, could stunt student progress in math and halt gifted-and-talented programs

A senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, Jason Riley, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Riley's new biography on Thomas Sowell, which chronicles the life of the long-time senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. "Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell" will be available on May 25, 2021.

A research fellow at the Hoover Institution, David R. Henderson, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the long-term costs of the pandemic response on young people. Henderson's op-ed, "Youth Pay a High Price for Covid Protection," was co-written with Charles L. Hooper and is available in the Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/youth-pay-a-high-price-for-covid-protection-11620078943?mod=searchresults_pos1&page=1

A Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, Jay Bhattacharya, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the the importance of reopening schools during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the subsequent risks to students being kept out of in-person classrooms.

The Superintendent of the Catholic Schools Office of the Archdiocese of Boston, Thomas Carroll, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how Catholic schools in Massachusetts have responded and adapted to the Covid-19 pandemic, and how they've remained open while many public schools operated remotely.

A professor of political science at Boston College, Peter Skerry, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Skerry's latest piece in National Affairs, which looks at the Black Lives Matter movement, and how the Black experience in America differs from the immigrant experience of those groups originating from Latin America. "Why 'Black Lives Matter' Matters" is available now at National Affairs. https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/why-black-lives-matter-matters

A senior fellow at the Pioneer Institute, Charles D. Chieppo, join's Paul E. Peterson to discuss Pioneer's latest poll, which finds mixed views on Massachusetts schools' response to the pandemic, including opinions on individual teachers, school districts and teachers unions. The full poll, "Massachusetts Residents' Perceptions of K-12 Education During the Covid-19 Pandemic," is available now. https://pioneerinstitute.org/academic-standards/poll-finds-mixed-views-about-schools-pandemic-performance/

The National Director of Research at the American Federation for Children, Corey DeAngelis, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss DeAngelis' new report, which investigates the likelihood of school reopenings amid the pandemic against funding in each district. DeAngelis' report, "Are School Reopening Decisions Related to Funding? Evidence from Over 12,000 Districts During the COVID-19 Pandemic," co-written with Christos Makridis, is available now. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3799694

A professor at the University of Buckingham, James Tooley, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Tooley's new book, Really Good Schools: Global Lessons for High-Caliber, Low-Cost Education, and the success of some low-cost, effective private schools in the developing world. Peterson reviewed Really Good Schools for Education Next, in "To Critics of The Beautiful Tree, a Pearl of a Reply." https://www.educationnext.org/to-critics-of-the-beautiful-tree-pearl-of-reply-review-really-good-schools-tooley/ Tooley profiled low-cost private schools in the Fall 2005 issue of Education Next, in "Private Schools for the Poor." https://www.educationnext.org/privateschoolsforthepoor/

A visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, John Bailey, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Bailey's latest report, which reviews more than 130 studies on whether schools can reopen safely amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Bailey's report, "Is it safe to reopen schools? An extensive review of the research," is available now from AEI. https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/is-it-safe-to-reopen-schools-an-extensive-review-of-the-research/

The director of the Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research at Saint Louis University, Michael Podgursky, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the resignation of the members of the Oakley Union Elementary School District Board, who were caught on a live Zoom meeting discussing parents, including a comment that, "it's very unfortunate that they want to pick on us because they want their babysitters back."

The President of the John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy, Brett Healy, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the effects on collective bargaining and the long-term tax savings of Wisconsin's Act 10 budget repair bill, which was passed 10 years ago. The MacIver Institute's report, "Act 10 at 10: Total Taxpayer Savings Hits $13.9 Billion," is available now. https://www.maciverinstitute.com/2021/02/act-10-at-10-total-taxpayer-savings-hits-13-9-billion/

A professor of Education Policy at the University of Arkansas, Patrick J. Wolf, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Wolf’s new research, which finds that charter schools in seven U.S. cities are more cost effective than their traditional public school counterparts, according to test results. The study, "Making it Count: The Productivity of Public Charter Schools in Seven U.S. Cities," co-written with Corey A. DeAngelis, Cassidy Syftestad, Larry D. Maloney and Jay F. May, is available now. https://scdp.uark.edu/making-it-count-the-productivity-of-public-charter-schools-in-seven-u-s-cities/

The president of the National Education Association, Becky Pringle, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how to best open schools, and debate the safety protocols needed to get teachers back into classrooms, including the prioritization of teachers receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.

The Dean Fellow and head of the Teacher Preparation Program at the Relay Graduate School of Education in Memphis, Lequite Manning, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Relay's teacher training and placement techniques, and how they have been adapted amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

A Distinguished Doctoral Fellow and Graduate Assistant at the University of Arkansas' Department of Education Reform, Martha Bradley-Dorsey, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Bradley-Dorsey's thesis on how traditional school bureaucracies are limiting access to school choice.

The President and CEO of EdChoice, Robert Enlow, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how the majority of public schools are holding classes online only, more than 60 percent of private schools are serving students in person, and the implications of that stark difference.

The associate director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington Bothell, Betheny Gross, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Gross's new research, which illustrates that the surge in Covid-19 cases is slowing efforts to reopen schools.

The Director of the Public Policy Research Lab at Louisiana State University, Michael Henderson, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss findings from the latest Education Next survey. The poll surveys parents on their experiences as schools attempted to reopen amid the Covid-19 pandemic. https://www.educationnext.org/pandemic-parent-survey-finds-perverse-pattern-students-more-likely-to-be-attending-school-in-person-where-covid-is-spreading-more-rapidly/

The senior director of PRI's Center for Education, Lance Izumi, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Izumi's new research, which details the obstacles students trapped in failing schools face when trying to switch to charter schools Izumi's research brief, "New Obstacles Hinder Students Trapped in Failing Schools from Escaping to Charter Schools," is available now. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-brief-new-obstacles-hinder-students-trapped-in-failing-schools-from-escaping-to-charter-schools-301200866.html

The director of National Litigation & General counsel for the Goldwater Institute, Jon Riches, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a case before the New Jersey Supreme Court, which will decide whether taxpayers will be required to pay for teachers' release time. An op-ed by Riches and Justin Meyers, "The N.J. Teachers Who Get Paid Not to Teach," is available at the Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-n-j-teachers-who-get-paid-not-to-teach-11609710168

A Distinguished Senior Fellow and President Emeritus at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Chester E. Finn, Jr., joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Finn's new policy analysis, which looks into the state of school accountability five years after the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act. Finn's analysis, "School Accountability — Past, Present, and Future," is available now: https://www.hoover.org/research/school-accountability-past-present-and-future

A resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, Nat Malkus, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how schools have dealt with reopening amid the Covid-19 pandemic, including the different options available to districts. Malkus' report, "Reopening in the shadow of COVID-19: Beginning the first full coronavirus school year," is available now. https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/reopening-in-the-shadow-of-covid-19-beginning-the-first-full-coronavirus-school-year/

U.S. education needs more flexibility and adaptability, less rigidity, a new Hoover Education Success Initiative report finds. A Distinguished Policy Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Christopher Ruszkowski, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss "Toward Equitable School Choice," a new policy analysis by Peterson and released as part of the Hoover Education Success Initiative. Read the full report here: https://www.hoover.org/research/toward-equitable-school-choice

The President and CEO of the Aurora Institute, Susan Patrick, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how schools can continue to adapt to remote learning environments.

A research professor at Georgetown University and director of the Edunomics Lab, Marguerite Roza, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new Edunomics Lab study on weighted student funding, which investigates the spending patterns and student outcomes in school districts. The full study is available here: https://edunomicslab.org/2020/10/29/wsfstudy/

A professor of Education Policy at the University of Arkansas, Patrick J. Wolf, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Wolf's new research, which explores the funding inequities between charter and traditional schools in 18 cities across the country. The report, "Charter School Funding: Inequity Surges in the Cities," by Wolf, Corey A. DeAngelis, Larry D. Maloney and Jay F. May, is available now: https://scdp.uark.edu/charter-school-funding-inequity-surges-in-the-cities

The Dead of the Belmont University School of Education, Wayne D. Lewis Jr., joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss teacher effectiveness, and how schools of education can better prepare teachers for the classroom.

The president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Mike Petrilli, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the results of the 2020 presidential election, and what it could mean for education in the United States.

An assistant professor of political science at Boston College, Michael Hartney, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new study by Hartney and Leslie Finger, which links school district decisions on whether to reopen schools to how those areas voted in the 2016 presidential election.

An Associate Professor of Economics at the Naval Postgraduate School, Ryan Sullivan, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Sullivan's recent op-ed, which outlines why schools should resume in-person classes.

The co-leader of the Eversheds Sutherland Business and Commercial Litigation team, Rocco E. Testani, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a recently settled adequacy lawsuit in Delaware. The plaintiffs originally alleged that students in Delaware, particularly disadvantaged students defined as low income, English learners and students with disabilities, were not receiving an adequate education in that state under its constitution. Testani was the lead attorney in the case, defending the state.

A Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute, Williamson M. Evers, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss California Gov. Gavin Newsom's veto of AB 331, a bill that would have made an ethnic studies course a high school graduation requirement.

The president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, Kate Walsh, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss several issues surrounding teachers, including how they are adjusting to online instruction amid Covid-19,  how to best prepare young teachers for the profession, and how to teach the history of slavery in the classroom.

An associate professor of medicine at Stanford University, Dr. Eran Bendavid, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the risks and benefits of restrictive Covid-19 shutdown policies in different countries, and the related effects on the spread of the disease.

The Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, Eric Hanushek, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Hanushek's new study, which calculates the expected losses to the annual GDP incurred by the Covid-19 shutdown of schools.

A Post Doctoral Researcher at the Harvard Kennedy School, M. Danish Shakeel, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss their new study, which shows greater gains in student achievement by students in charter schools than their counterparts in traditional district schools. "Charter Schools Show Steeper Upward Trend in Student Achievement than District Schools," by Shakeel Peterson, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/charter-schools-show-steeper-upward-trend-student-achievement-first-nationwide-study

The director of school choice at Reason Foundation and an adjunct scholar at Cato Institute, Corey DeAngelis, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss DeAngelis' new study which finds a correlation between receiving a school voucher in Milwaukee and a reduction in criminal activity. "Private School Choice and Character: More Evidence from Milwaukee," by DeAngelis and Patrick J. Wolf, is available now. http://journal.apee.org/index.php/Parte3_2020_Journal_of_Private_Enterprise_Vol_35_No_3_Fall

In a replay of this important conversation from July 13, 2020, the 66th Secretary of State and The Denning Professor in Global Business and the Economy at Stanford University, Condoleeza Rice, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how school choice can help lower-income families get more of out the public education system, and how systemic change will be necessary to improve racial equality in America. Rice's op-ed in the Washington Post, "This moment cries out for us to confront race in America," is available now. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/04/condoleezza-rice-moment-confront-race-america/

The Editor-in-chief of Education Next, Marty West, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the findings from the 2020 Education Next Survey, including populism as a factor in people’s views of education policy. “People who are suspicious of elites feel like the elites are in control of our educational system” is one way of interpreting the findings, Peterson says. "Amid Pandemic, Support Soars for Online Learning, Parent Poll Shows," by Michael B. Henderson, David Houston, Paul E. Peterson, M. Danish Shakeel and Martin R. West, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/amid-pandemic-support-soars-online-learning-parent-poll-shows-2020-education-next-survey-public-opinion/

The Superintendent of the South Carolina Public Charter School District, Chris G. Neeley, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how the state plans to reopen for the fall semester during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A former senior attorney at the Institute of Justice and the lead attorney in the Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue case, Richard Komer, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the outcome of that Supreme Court case, and what it could mean for school choice going forward.

A Senior Fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution and co-author of "Learning in the Fast Lane: The Past, Present and Future of Advanced Placement," Chester E. Finn, Jr., joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss standardized testing, and how higher education is moving away from requiring tests as part of the application process amid the Covid-19 pandemic. "Favoritism, rich parents getting new kinds of advantages for their kids, the lacrosse coach and the speech coach and the trip to Bhutan will end up counting for more rather than less, because there won't be an SAT score," Finn warns.

A senior fellow and vice president for external affairs at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Robert Pondiscio, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Thomas Sowell's new book, Charter Schools and Their Enemies, and the heavy criticism that charters currently face. Pondiscio's review, "Charter Schools and Their Enemies: At 90, Thomas Sowell reminds charter schools how to fight. And why," is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/charter-schools-and-their-enemies-thomas-sowell-book-review/

The 66th Secretary of State and The Denning Professor in Global Business and the Economy at Stanford University, Condoleeza Rice, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how school choice can help lower-income families get more of out the public education system, and how systemic change will be necessary to improve racial equality in America. Rice's op-ed in the Washington Post, "This moment cries out for us to confront race in America," is available now. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/04/condoleezza-rice-moment-confront-race-america/

The Editor in Chief of Education Next, Marty West, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss findings from the 2020 Education Next survey, which reveals what American parents and teachers think of quality of the instruction their children received after schools closed their doors in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. "What American Families Experienced When Covid-19 Closed Their Schools, by Michael B. Henderson, David Houston, Paul E. Peterson and Martin R. West, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/what-american-families-experienced-when-covid-19-closed-schools-2020-survey

A professor of political science at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Joshua Dunn, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, and the implications it could have for school choice and religious-school parents. Dunn's analysis of the decision, "In Supreme Court Case, a Far-Reaching Win for Religious-School Parents," is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/supreme-court-case-far-reaching-win-religious-school-parents-espinoza-montana/

The CEO of Public Prep, a nonprofit charter school network, Ian Rowe, joins Paul Peterson to discuss the "common struggle" for civil rights in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in police custody. Rowe, who is also a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, also discusses his charter network's early childhood work: "starting at 18 months old, every younger sibling of a Boys' Prep or Girls' Prep scholar has, two times per week, 30 minutes per visit, an early learning specialist comes into the home, sits with the caregiver and the toddler to help begin building their vocabulary. They bring a book each week to build a library at home." Rowe's op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, "The Power of Personal Agency," is available now. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-power-of-personal-agency-11592770867

Marcus WintersAn associate professor in Boston University and Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, Marcus Winters, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Winters' new study, which presents test-score evidence about whether charter schools harm traditional public schools. "We haven't seen big negative effects really for anyone," Winters says. "It puts the burden back on the side that would say that expanding charter schools harms public schools or harms kids in public schools." The study, "Do Charter Schools Harm Traditional Public Schools? Years of Test-Score Data Suggest They Don’t," is available now. https://www.manhattan-institute.org/charter-school-growth-doesnt-harm-public-schools

A senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Niall Ferguson, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the 1957-58 "Asian Flu" pandemic, how governments reacted to its outbreak and how it compares to the modern-day response to the Covid-19. In the conversation, Ferguson says that, "we've created one of the deepest recessions in American history." He adds that, "there are two pandemics going on at the moment. There's the real one involving a real virus. And then there's the pandemic online of disinformation and misinformation."

The President and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, Nina Rees, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how charters have responded to the Covid-19 school shutdowns, and how they can continue to adapt going forward.

The Director of the Public Policy Research Lab at LSU's Manship School of Mass Communication, Michael Henderson, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Louisiana's response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and how the public is responding to the state's stay-at-home order. The full survey results are available here. https://www.lsu.edu/manship/news/2020/may/la-survey-stay-at-home-order.php

The founder and CEO of ModernStates.org, Steve Klinsky, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how the online platform has stepped up colleges and universities shut down due to the novel coronavirus.

The David and Joan Traitel Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution of Stanford University and a Member of Hoover Institution’s Working Group on Health Care Policy, Scott W. Atlas, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss fear, risk, Covid-19 shutdowns, and how to move forward with reopening schools.

The co-leader of the Eversheds Sutherland Business and Commercial Litigation team, Rocco E. Testani, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a recent decision from the Sixth Circuit in the Gary B. v. Whitmer case. The court ruled that "substandard outcomes" in Detroit's public schools violated a Constitutional right to a basic education for students, going against decades of precedent.

The director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, Robin Lake, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new report published by CRPE which details how school districts have responded to closures due to Covid-19. The full report, "School Systems Make a Slow Transition From the Classroom to the Cloud," co-written by Lake and Bree Dusseault, is available now. https://www.crpe.org/thelens/school-systems-make-slow-transition-classroom-cloud

A senior research and policy associate at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, David Griffith, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new study that investigates whether student achievement increases as the market share of charter schools grows. Read Griffith's full report, "Rising Tide: Charter School Market Share and Student Achievement." https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/research/rising-tide-charter-market-share

A co-founder of and a distinguished fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, Michael Horn, joins Paul E. Peterson to survey how schools and families are adapting to online education. They also explore what innovations might be on the horizon amid coronavirus-related school-building closures.

The former superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, Joseph Olchefske, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how schools are operating amid the closures due to Covid-19, including scenario planning and how to deliver education while physical campuses are closed.

The superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Alberto Carvalho, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how the county has prepared for the school closures forced by the coronavirus pandemic, including strong investments in digital technology.

The director of the Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research at Saint Louis University, Michael Podgursky, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss what the lasting economic impacts could occur as a result of Covid-19.

A senior fellow and director of education policy at the Manhattan Institute, Ray Domanico, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how enrollment in district and charter schools in New York City is shifting. Read Domanico's complete report, "A Statistical Profile of New York’s K-12 Educational Sector: Race, Income and Religion." https://www.manhattan-institute.org/complex-demographics-new-york-public-private-schools

An Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas, Albert Cheng, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Cheng's new paper, "What Do They Deliver? A Report on American Colleges and Universities," which polls a representative sample of college alumni on their experiences in higher education. The paper, co-written with David Sikkink, is available here: https://www.cardus.ca/research/education/reports/what-do-they-deliver/

The Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow in Education at the Hoover Institution, Eric Hanushek, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss new findings on the widening gaps in educational achievement by socio-economic status. Hanushek and Peterson are co-authors of a new paper, "Long-Run Trends in the U.S. SES-Achievement Gap," with Laura M. Talpey and Ludger Woessman. https://www.hks.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/Taubman/PEPG/research/PEPG20_01.pdf

The director of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education, Ludger Woessmann, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Woessmann's new research that investigates how testing reforms relate to country performance on the Program for International Student Assessment tests over time, and their link to student achievement. The full paper, co-written with Annika B. Bergbauer and Eric A. Hanushek, is available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xW74mZz6OSHlS3SzmERF6y7yQ_3aAXoO/view

A distinguished research fellow at the Hoover Institution, Macke Raymond, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Raymond's new paper that looks into the rising high school graduation rates, and the gap between those graduation requirements and the entry requirements for state universities. The paper, "The Diploma Dilemma," is available now as part of the Hoover Education Success Initiative. https://www.hoover.org/research/diploma-dilemna

The Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow in Education at the Hoover Institution, Eric Hanushek, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new paper by Hanushek that offers guidelines for states and local governments on how to raise teacher pay in a way that best supports improved student achievement. Hanushek's paper, "The Unavoidable: Tomorrow’s Teacher Compensation," is part of the Hoover Education Success Initiative, and is available here: https://www.hoover.org/research/unavoidable-tomorrows-teacher-compensation

A professor of education policy at the University of Arkansas, Patrick Wolf, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Wolf’s latest findings from Milwaukee’s Parental Choice Program. Wolf’s research explores whether voucher students are more likely to attain higher levels of education than their peers outside of the program. Read the full paper, co-written with John F. Witte and Brian Kisida, here: https://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai19-115

Daniel Hamlin, an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma, joins Paul E. Peterson to discussion the question of whether homeschooled children have fewer opportunities to acquire cultural capital than their public school peers. Hamlin's full paper is available here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/0161956X.2019.1617582

Marcus Winters, an associate professor in Boston University and Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his new study, which shows lasting test score gains for students at charter schools in Newark, N.J. Read the full study, "Charter Schools in Newark: the Effect on Student Test Scores," here: https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/sites/default/files/charter-schools-newark-effect-on-student-test-scores-MW.pdf

Melanie Rucinski, a doctoral student in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss her new paper, "Racial Diversity in the Teacher Pipeline," which looks into how Massachusetts has worked to make the teacher profession better reflect the student population. The full paper, co-written with Joshua Goodman, is available here: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/rappaport/research-and-publications/policy-briefs/racial-diversity-in-the-teacher-pipline

Bill Whalen, the Virginia Hobbs Carpenter Fellow in Journalism and a Hoover Institution research fellow, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss education issues, including school choice, in California.

Richard Burkhauser, Professor Emeritus of Policy Analysis at Cornell University's College of Human Ecology, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the poverty rate in the United States, looking at a full-income poverty measure, and raising the question of whether President Lyndon Johnson's original War on Poverty has been a success. Burkhauser is co-author on two recent papers, "Evaluating the success of President Johnson’s War on Poverty" and "Income Growth and its Distribution from Eisenhower to Obama." https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Burkhauser-Corinth-Elwell-Larrimore-President-Johnson-War-on-Poverty-WP-1.pdf https://www.nber.org/papers/w26439.pdf

On Aug. 12, 2019, Todd Rogers, Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, sat down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new study that looks to curb chronic absenteeism through randomized experiments. The paper, "Reducing Student Absences at Scale by Targeting Parents’ Misbeliefs," is co-written with Avi Feller, and he co-wrote "How to Tackle Student Absenteeism" with Carly Robinson for Education Next. https://www.educationnext.org/how-to-tackle-student-absenteeism/

In a new book, "Love Your Enemies" Arthur Brooks describes the rise of a “culture of contempt”—a habit of seeing people who disagree with us not as merely incorrect or misguided, but as worthless--and considers what we can do to bridge divides and mend relationships. Earlier this year, Brooks spoke to Paul E. Peterson about how contempt corrodes our own happiness, about remembering the difference between people we disagree with and the ideas they embrace, and about the role universities can play in repairing our culture.

Bruce Meyer, the McCormick Foundation Professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his annual report on U.S. consumption poverty, which reveals that poverty has fallen sharply in the past 50 years. Read the full report here: https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/annual-report-on-us-consumption-poverty-2018/

David Steiner, the Director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the review of the Providence Public School District recently undertaken by Johns Hopkins. The review includes distressing news on proficiency in math and reading, teacher morale and deteriorating facilities. Read the full review here: https://edpolicy.education.jhu.edu/institute-leads-review-of-the-providence-public-school-district/

Erica Smith, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, a case that takes a deep look at school choice and which could declare the so-called Blaine Amendments unconstitutional in 38 states. Prof. Peterson previously spoke to Richard Komer on this issue, and in the Fall 2019 issue of Education Next, Joshua Dunn analyzed the Espinoza case in “Answered Prayer? Montana case could prompt last judgment for Blaine Amendments.” https://www.educationnext.org/education-exchange-school-choice-blaine-amendments-montana-supreme-court-espinoza/

Andreas Schleicher, Director for the Directorate of Education and Skills at OECD, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss the upcoming PISA results, how high-performing nations work to support teachers, and what school systems can do to better prepare students for the future. The 2019 PISA results will be released on Tuesday, Dec. 3.

Robert Pondiscio, a senior fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss his time observing a Success Academy school in the Bronx, and his new book, "How the Other Half Learns." Read an excerpt from the book, "Come to Jesus: Effort parties, data walls, reading logs, and “warm/strict” — a look inside Success Academy." https://www.educationnext.org/come-to-jesus-look-inside-success-academy-excerpt-how-the-other-half-learns/

Richard Komer, a former Senior Litigation Attorney at the Institute for Justice, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, a case which could declare the Blaine Amendments in 38 state constitutions unconstitutional. Komer is defending plaintiffs, including Kendra Espinoza, who received a tax credit scholarship to attend a religious school. In the Fall 2019 issue of Education Next, Joshua Dunn analyzed the Espinoza case in "Answered Prayer? Montana case could prompt last judgment for Blaine Amendments." https://www.educationnext.org/answered-prayer-montana-case-prompt-last-judgement-blaine-amendments/

Diane Tavenner, the cofounder and CEO of Summit Public Schools, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss her new book, "Prepared: What Kids Need for a Fulfilled Life," and a series of tips and questions for parents as their children begin the college application process.

Andrew G. Biggs, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new article and whether teachers are paid appropriately compared to similar professions. Read the full article, "The Truth about Teacher Pay," co-written with Jason Richwine, at National Affairs: https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/the-truth-about-teacher-pay

Michael Horn, co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss his new book "Choosing College," co-written with Bob Moesta, and the different questions prospective college applicants should ask themselves as they work through the application process for college. Read an excerpt from "Choosing College," "What Colleges Can Learn From Toyota," here: https://www.educationnext.org/what-colleges-can-learn-from-toyota-excerpt-choosing-college-horn-moesta/

Ep. 113 - Oct. 7, 2019: The Turnaround of Camden's Schools by Paul E. Peterson

Carlos X. Lastra-Anadón, a postdoctoral research fellow at Stanford University and an Assistant Professor at IE University in Madrid, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss their co-authored paper, "Who Benefits from Local Financing of Public Services? A Causal Analysis." Read the full paper here: https://sites.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/PDF/Papers/PEPG19_03.pdf

Matt Beienburg, the Director of Education Policy at the Goldwater Institute, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the impact of education savings accounts as a school choice option in Arizona. Read his full paper, "The Public School Benefits of Education Savings Accounts: The Impact of ESAs in Arizona," here: https://goldwaterinstitute.org/az-esa/

Rebecca Friedrichs, the lead plaintiff in the Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association case that ended in a four-four split in the Supreme Court, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss her book, "Standing Up to Goliath," and how teachers feel about national unions.

Doug Harris, Professor and Department Chair of Economics at Tulane University, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his new study, "How is New Orleans School Performance Evolving, and Why?," co-authored with Lihan Liu, Alica Gerry, and Paula Arce-Trigatti, and how school choice and performance-based contracting have fared after 15 years. Read the full study here: https://educationresearchalliancenola.org/publications/how-is-new-orleans-school-performance-evolving-and-why

Robert G. Valletta, Group Vice President at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss whether the earning power of college graduates have flatlined in relation to those without a college degree. The research referenced can be found at "Recent Flattening in the Higher Education Wage Premium: Polarization, Skill Downgrading, or Both?," by Robert Valletta, as well as "Education, Skills, and Technical Change: Implications for Future U.S. GDP Growth," made available by NBER. https://www.nber.org/papers/w22935 https://www.nber.org/books/hult-12

Marty West, the editor-in-chief of Education Next, joins Paul E. Peterson to continue their discussion on the 2019 EdNext Poll, focusing on the public's opinion on higher education. Read the 2019 EdNext poll here: https://www.educationnext.org/school-choice-trump-era-results-2019-education-next-poll/

Michael Henderson, Research Director, Public Policy Research Lab at the Manship School of Mass Communication, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how the 2019 Education Next Poll came together, including methodology and how the sample builds in experiments to best gauge the public's opinion on schools. The 2019 EdNext Poll will be released on Aug. 20, 2019, and available at educationnext.org. https://www.educationnext.org/ednext-poll/

Todd Rogers, Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new study that looks to curb chronic absenteeism through randomized experiments. The paper, "Reducing Student Absences at Scale by Targeting Parents’ Misbeliefs," is co-written with Avi Feller and available here: https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/todd_rogers/files/rogers_feller_absenteeism.pdf

Jason Delisle, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how the federal Pell Grant program, initially designed to help low-income students access college, has become available to more and more middle-class families. Read the paper, "Pell Grant mission creep: How a federal program for low-income families expanded to the middle class," co-written with Cody Christensen, here: https://www.aei.org/publication/pell-grant-mission-creep-how-a-federal-program-for-low-income-families-expanded-to-the-middle-class/

Andrew Roberts, a Visiting Professor at the War Studies Department at King’s College, London and the Lehrman Institute Lecturer at the New-York Historical Society, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss his new book, "Churchill: Walking with Destiny," Winston Churchill's lasting impact on Western civilization, and how he is taught today in schools.

Scott Imberman, a Professor in the Department of Economics at Michigan State University, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new paper which uses data from Florida to explore how the identification of childhood disabilities varies by race and school racial composition. The paper, "School Segregation and Racial Gaps in Special Education Identification," is co-written with Todd E. Elder, David N. Figlio and Claudia I. Persico, and is available from NBER.org: https://www.nber.org/papers/w25829.pdf

Richard Vedder, an Independent Institute Sr. Fellow and a Distinguished Professor of Economics Emeritus at Ohio University, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his new book, "Restoring the Promise: Higher Education in America," and how rising college tuition costs have changed the dialogue around higher education. https://www.independent.org/store/book.asp?id=129

Howard Fuller, a Distinguished Professor of Education, and Founder/Director of the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University, joins Paul E. Peterson on the 100th episode of the Education Exchange to discuss the state of school choice and it's contentious standing in current politics.

Wilfred McClay joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his new book, Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Society, which he describes as a narrative account of the American story that could be used as a high school history textbook.

There is new interest in giving adult prisoners greater access to education while they are behind bars. One bill in Congress would allow prisoners access to Pell Grants to pay for higher education, something which has not been possible since 1994. Gerard Robinson, Executive Director of the Center for Advancing Opportunity, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the importance of education for men and women in prison and some different kinds of programs that could be offered. Robinson and Elizabeth English Smith are the editors of a new book, Education for Liberation: The Politics of Promise and Reform Inside and Beyond America’s Prisons. The book is available at: https://www.amazon.com/Education-Liberation-Politics-Promise-Americas-ebook/dp/B07L7H2XFN

Americans may like to buy things online, but people who live in neighborhoods with stores, libraries, restaurants, schools, and parks nearby have higher levels of community satisfaction and lower levels of social isolation. That's the finding of a new survey on community and society conducted by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Daniel Cox, a research fellow in polling and public opinion at AEI, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his paper, "The Importance of Place: Neighborhood amenities as a source of social connection and trust," co-written with Ryan Streeter. The paper is available at https://www.aei.org/publication/the-importance-of-place-neighborhood-amenities-as-a-source-of-social-connection-and-trust/

Students attending school in big cities made significant gains on NAEP in the years between 2003 and 2013 but those trend lines have flattened in recent years. Paul Peterson talks with Kristin Blagg, a research associate in the Center on Education Data and Policy at the Urban Institute, about what the data show, and about which districts made the greatest gains. In "Making the Grade in America's Cities: Assessing Student Achievement in Urban Districts," Blagg explains how the NAEP data for students can be adjusted for changes in student demographics to better understand test score growth. The paper is available at: https://www.urban.org/research/publication/making-grade-americas-cities-assessing-student-achievement-urban-districts

In the most recent ratings put out by the state of Florida, Miami-Dade County Public Schools earned an "A" designation and had no "F" rated schools, unusual achievements for a large urban district. Ron Matus, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at Step Up For Students, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss some factors behind the school district's success: dynamic and stable leadership, an understanding of how to intervene in and support the most struggling schools, and many different options for families if they are not satisfied.

Families in Milwaukee gained access to the nation's first private school vouchers nearly three decades ago. Today the educational landscape in Milwaukee also includes charter schools and many other forms of public school choice. But standardized test scores are still low and the achievement gap between black and white students remains large. Alan Borsuk of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Marquette University talks with Paul E. Peterson about some of the challenges Milwaukee has faced despite the long history of school choice in the city.

Robin J. Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss what Indianapolis has done to make charter schools work.

Jim Blew, assistant secretary for planning, evaluation and policy development at the U.S. Department of Education, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss some of the work of the department, including a new federal tax credit initiative and proposed changes to Title IX.

For over 50 years, a limited number of students of color living in Boston have been able to enroll in schools in the suburbs as part of the METCO program, run by the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity. Charles Glenn sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss who benefits from the program and whether it distracts from larger issues related to urban schools.

A new study finds that students who receive vouchers to attend private schools in Louisiana are outperformed by students in a control group. Some argue that regulations in Louisiana that discourage many private school leaders from participating in school choice programs are to blame for the poor results. Paul Peterson talks with Patrick Wolf about two recent studies, one looking at the Louisiana Scholarship Program and one looking at what school leaders say about their willingness to participate in school choice programs when those programs have regulatory strings attached. "Heterogeneous Impacts Across Schools in the First Four Years of the Louisiana Scholarship Program," by Matthew Lee, Jonathan Mills, and Patrick Wolf is available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3376234 "The Effects of Regulations on Private School Choice Program Participation: Experimental Evidence from California and New York," by Corey DeAngelis, Lindsey Burke, and Patrick Wolf is available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3349453

Jeff Bergner, author of The Vanishing Congress, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how Congress has stopped doing its job and how that could change. The book is available at https://www.amazon.com/Vanishing-Congress-Reflections-Politics-Washington/dp/0989040232

What is social and emotional learning, how does it relate to academic learning, and how much should schools focus on it? Chester E. Finn, Jr., a distinguished senior fellow and president emeritus at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and a senior fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss “What Social and Emotional Learning Needs to Succeed and Survive,” a new paper co-written with Rick Hess. The paper is available at https://www.educationnext.org/what-social-emotional-learning-needs-succeed-survive

Some studies have found that schools can get substantial gains in achievement by changing textbooks. But a new analysis by the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard finds little evidence of differences in achievement gains for schools using different math textbooks. Paul E. Peterson talks with Thomas Kane, of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, about the new study, “Learning by the Book: Comparing math achievement growth by textbook in six common core states.” https://cepr.harvard.edu/files/cepr/files/cepr-curriculum-report_learning-by-the-book.pdf

In a new book, Love Your Enemies, Arthur Brooks describes the rise of a “culture of contempt”—a habit of seeing people who disagree with us not as merely incorrect or misguided, but as worthless--and considers what we can do to bridge divides and mend relationships. Today he talks with Paul E. Peterson about how contempt corrodes our own happiness, about remembering the difference between people we disagree with and the ideas they embrace, and about the role universities can play in repairing our culture.

A decline in birth rates in the U.S. could mean that the school-aged population will spiral downward in the next decade and beyond. Would this be a disaster for schools? Or could there be a silver lining? Mike Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his new article, "The Baby Bust Goes to School." https://www.educationnext.org/baby-bust-goes-to-school-falling-birthrates-crisis-opportunity/

What tradeoffs are involved when we choose to spend huge sums of money to slow global warming? Are there more cost-effective ways to do more good in the world? Bjorn Lomborg, president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss his research on the impact on global temperatures of goals set in the Paris climate accord and how the funds being used to meet those goals could be better spent. You can read about his research at https://www.lomborg.com/press-release-research-reveals-negligible-impact-of-paris-climate-promises

Researchers studying school choice programs often look at the impact of using a voucher on student test scores or high school graduation. A new study of the longer-term impacts of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program finds that students who used vouchers to attend private school were less likely to be involved with criminal activity and paternity disputes. This week, Paul Peterson speaks with Corey DeAngelis, an education policy analyst at the Cato Institute,and co-author, with Patrick J. Wolf, of the new study, which is described in "Private School Choice Helps Students Avoid Prison and Unplanned Pregnancies." https://www.educationnext.org/private-school-choice-helps-students-avoid-prison-unplanned-pregnancies/

A new study finds that astonishingly high numbers of elementary school teacher candidates fail their professional licensing tests each year, with the highest failure rates among candidates of color. The tests assess subject knowledge in English, science, mathematics, and social studies. The study, conducted by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), also finds that teacher preparation programs give little attention to the content knowledge that teacher candidates need. Kate Walsh, president of the NCTQ, talks with Paul E. Peterson about the new report, "A Fair Chance: Simple steps to strengthen and diversify the teacher workforce," as well as what must change so that more new teachers can enter classrooms with the knowledge they need to do their jobs well. https://www.nctq.org/publications/A-Fair-Chance

When the Supreme Court ruled last year in Janus v. Afscme that unions could no longer collect agency fees from employees who choose not to join, many predicted a major decline in union membership. But according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, public union membership declined less than 1% in 2018. In this episode, Paul E. Peterson talks with Daniel DiSalvo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, the author of a recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, “Janus Barely Dents Public-Sector Union Membership," and a new report "Public-Sector Unions After Janus: An Update." https://www.wsj.com/articles/janus-barely-dents-public-sector-union-membership-11550100582?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1 https://www.manhattan-institute.org/public-sector-unions-after-janus?mod=article_inline

The Florida Tax Credit (FTC) scholarship program is the nation’s largest private school choice program. A new study finds that students who enroll in private schools through the FTC program are more likely to go to and graduate from college than their public school peers. Matt Chingos talks with Paul E. Peterson about the study, “The Effects of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program on College Enrollment and Graduation," which he co-authored with Tomas Monarrez and Daniel Kuehn. Read the full report here: https://www.urban.org/research/publication/effects-florida-tax-credit-scholarship-program-college-enrollment-and-graduation

Most studies of charter schooling look at how charters compare with traditional schools at one point in time, but the success of the reform depends on whether the charter sector improves over time. So writes Eric Hanushek and his colleagues, the authors of a new study looking at changes over time in the charter school sector in Texas. Hanushek joins Paul E. Peterson this week to discuss the paper, "The Evolution of Charter School Quality," co-written with Patrick Baude, Marcus Casey and Steven G. Rivkin. http://hanushek.stanford.edu/publications/evolution-charter-school-quality

Polling data reveal that when it comes to most debates in education policy, the divide between Republicans and Democrats is not growing. Only on issues like teacher tenure and merit pay is public opinion becoming more polarized. David Houston, a Post Doctoral Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his latest paper, "Polarization and the Politics of Education: What Moves Partisan Opinion?" https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0895904818823745

Nathan Glazer, urban sociologist and scholar of ethnicity, race and education, died recently at the age of 95. On this episode, Peter Skerry, Professor of Political Science at Boston College, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Glazer’s work and the ideas he wrestled with.

As teachers strike or threaten to strike in several cities, one of the key issues is pay. But while teachers want higher salaries, school districts face a number of financial challenges. One source of strain in school district budgets is what economist Ben Scafidi calls the staffing surge, a major increase in non-teaching staff hired over the past few decades. Ben Scafidi joins EdNext senior editor Paul E. Peterson to discuss his report, "Back to the Staffing Surge." https://www.edchoice.org/research/back-staffing-surge/

Many Teach for America corps members remain in the classroom long-term, but a large number move on to careers involving advocacy. A new study looks at how Teacher for America impacts state-level education policy. Leslie Finger of Harvard University joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss her study, “National Youth Service and Policy Feedback: How TFA Shapes Education Policy Working Papers through the Development of Young Advocates,” which was co-written with Carlos Lastra-Anadon.

Many parents choose to wait an extra year before enrolling a child in elementary school, a practice known as redshirting. Does this practice benefit the children who are held back? This week, Paul E. Peterson talks with Phillip Cook of Duke University, the co-author of a new study on the impact of delayed entry on student achievement. The paper, "The School-Entry-Age Rule Affects Redshirting Patterns and Resulting Disparities in Achievement," is co-written with Songman Kang. https://www.nber.org/papers/w24492.pdf

A study based on data from North Carolina finds that grade inflation increased over the last decade and that grade inflation was more severe in schools attended by affluent students than in those attended by lower-income pupils. Seth Gershenson, the author of “Grade Inflation in High Schools (2005-2016),” joined Paul E. Peterson this summer to discuss the study. https://edexcellence.net/publications/grade-inflation-in-high-schools

How do teachers feel about the changes taking place in American education? In this replay episode, Evan Stone, the co-founder and CEO of Educators for Excellence, joined Paul E. Peterson to discuss his organization's survey, “Voices from the Classroom: A Survey of America’s Educators.” https://e4e.org/sites/default/files/2018_voices_from_the_classroom_teacher_survey.pdf

The Florida Legislature created the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program in 2001. Last year, scholarships from the program were awarded to a total of 108,098 students to attend private schools in the state. Jason Bedrick, director of policy for EdChoice, joins Paul E. Peterson to explain how the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program works and to discuss the results of a new survey of participating families. Bedrick and Lindsey Burke co-authored a report on the survey, "Surveying Florida Scholarship Families," and also a blog entry about it for EdNext. https://www.edchoice.org/research/surveying-florida-scholarship-families/ https://www.educationnext.org/survey-says-parents-want-school-choice/

Researchers and policymakers are often puzzled when a policy like high quality preschool or class size reduction is found to have no impact on student test scores but a positive impact on longer-term outcomes like college graduation or future earnings. A new paper by Eric Nielsen can help explain these different findings. It turns out that the way we calculate test scores may be disguising the true impact of these policies. Eric Nielsen joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his paper, “Test Items, Outcomes, and Achievement Gaps.” http://papers.nber.org/conf_papers/f115410/f115410.pdf

Erica Suares, Senior Policy Advisor to the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss some of the inner workings of legislation in the Senate, including how the tax reform bill came together and what's on the horizon for higher education and school choice.

Clint Bolick, an Associate Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, talks with Paul E. Peterson about how the results of gubernatorial elections will affect the school choice climate in various states. They also discuss the proposed expansion of an education savings account program which was on the ballot in Arizona.

Are parents move likely to want to send their kids to college if they are given accurate information about the costs and benefits of attending college? A new study looks at what happens when parents are given customized information about the cost of going to college and the wage premium for earning a college degree. Albert Cheng, Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss their paper, "Experimental Impacts of Customized Information on College Aspirations," available at: https://appam.confex.com/appam/2018/webprogram/Paper27508.html

Richard Barth, CEO of the KIPP Foundation, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how the KIPP network is adapting to changes in the charter sector.

In Boston, nearly 25% of public middle and high school students attend exam schools, but these schools are much less diverse than the school district as a whole. A new study looks closely at the entrance exam used to select students for these schools and at ways the admissions process could be changed to to make the schools more diverse without sacrificing academic selectivity. Joshua Goodman of the Harvard Kennedy School joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the new study, "Increasing Diversity in Boston's Exam Schools," which he co-wrote with Melanie Rucinski. The study can be found at: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/rappaport/research-and-publications/policy-briefs/increasing-diversity-in-Boston's-Exam-Schools

Hanna Skandera, Editor-in-chief of The Line and former Secretary of Education for New Mexico, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss the four-day school week and Pathway 2 Tomorrow, a call for innovative proposals to broaden education.

There are plenty of college-level online courses available for free, but students who want college credit for an online course may have to pay up to $1,000 per credit, or $30,000 per year. Modern States Education Alliance has come up with a way to combine college-level online learning with free college credit. Students take specially designed courses aligned with tests offered by the College Board. These tests are accepted by over 2,900 U.S. colleges and universities for college credit. Steve Klinksy, founder and CEO of Modern States Education Alliance, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to explain how the organization is able to provide an on-ramp to college with its "Freshman Year for Free" program.

When a school district's discipline policy has a disparate impact on African American students, is that racial discrimination? How about when an elite university uses affirmative action to increase the diversity of its student body? Adam White, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, and director of the Center for the Study of the Administrative State at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the legal issues involved.

Under the leadership of Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, Miami-Dade County Public Schools has won numerous awards for student performance. Carvalho sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss his strategy of empowering school leaders and reforming teacher compensation.

A new study based on data from North Carolina finds that grade inflation increased over the last decade and that grade inflation was more severe in schools attended by affluent students than in those attended by lower-income pupils. Seth Gershenson, the author of “Grade Inflation in High Schools (2005-2016),” joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the study, which can be read here: https://edexcellence.net/publications/grade-inflation-in-high-schools

The world of education policy has been filled with some nasty battles in the recent years. Hanna Skandera, who formerly served as education secretary in New Mexico, hopes to change that by promoting civil discourse around education. Skandera is the new editor new editor-in-chief of The Line, a publication for state and district superintendents. She joins Paul Peterson on this week's episode.

Education Next and PDK both released the results of major surveys of public opinion about education in recent weeks. Joshua Starr, the president of PDK, joins Paul E Peterson to discuss the results of the two surveys.

Michael Henderson, assistant professor at Louisiana State University and survey director for the EdNext poll, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the nuts and bolts of EdNext's annual survey of public opinion. https://www.educationnext.org/public-support-climbs-teacher-pay-school-expenditures-charter-schools-universal-vouchers-2018-ednext-poll/

School is back in session after one of the hottest summers in recorded history, and many students are now in classrooms without air conditioning. A new study looks at how hotter school days impact. student learning. Josh Goodman of the Kennedy School at Harvard sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss his recent working paper, “eat and Learning,” co-written with Michael Hurwitz, Jisung Park and Jonathan Smith. http://www.nber.org/papers/w24639

Last year's EdNext poll revealed a sharp drop in support for charter schools. On today's podcast, Paul E. Peterson and Marty West look at the biggest changes in public opinion revealed by the 2018 EdNext poll, some of which relate to charter schools and vouchers. Read more about the 2018 EdNext Poll here: https://www.educationnext.org/public-support-climbs-teacher-pay-school-expenditures-charter-schools-universal-vouchers-2018-ednext-poll/

The Boston Public Schools will be led by an interim superintendent this fall, since former superintendent Tommy Chang was asked by the mayor of Boston to step down last June. Steve Poftak talks with Paul E. Peterson about some of the challenges that have faced, and will continue to face, the school district, including debates over school start times, diversity levels at exam schools, whether the student assignment system is causing segregation, transportation costs, and what happens next for BPS. Poftak is Executive Director of the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

A new study investigates whether teaching practices differ in effectiveness depending on the students in the class. It finds that the impact of good classroom management and student-centered instruction vary depending on whether the students in the classroom are of high ability or of mixed ability. Jane Cooley Fruehwirth, Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of North Carolina, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss the conference paper,”Teacher Effectiveness and Classroom Composition,” which she co-authored with Esteban Aucejo, Patrick Coate, Sean Kelly and Zachary Mozenter: http://papers.nber.org/conf_papers/f110143/f110143.pdf

Evan Stone, the co-founder and CEO of Educators for Excellence, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his organization’s new survey, "Voices from the Classroom: A Survey of America’s Educators." https://e4e.org/sites/default/files/2018_voices_from_the_classroom_teacher_survey.pdf

Before schools in the southern U.S. were racially integrated, schools for African American students were staffed almost exclusively by African American teachers. After the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, southern schools began to be desegregated, and this had a big effect on black teacher employment. Economist Owen Thompsont talks with Paul E. Peterson about his paper, “School Desegregation and Black Teacher Employment," in which he estimates the percentage decline in black teacher employment in the south after desegregation. https://www.sugarsync.com/pf/D1811793_87119961_1702858

Michael McConnell, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a former Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Students in Washington, D.C. have been making large gains on NAEP, and many credit the transformation of the teaching profession that has taken place in DCPS over the past decade. Thomas Toch of FutureEd joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his report, A Policymaker’s Playbook: Transforming Public School Teaching in the Nation’s Capital, which takes a close look those changes. Read the full report here: https://www.future-ed.org/a-policymakers-playbook-for-transforming-teaching/

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) faces a debt of between $11-15 billion. How did the school district get itself into such a financial hole and what might it do to get out of it? Lisa Snell of the Reason Foundation joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the challenges faced by the district and its options. Snell is a co-author of A 2018 Evaluation of LAUSD’s Fiscal Outlook: Revisiting the Findings of the 2015 Independent Financial Review Panel. https://reason.org/policy-study/2018-evaluation-of-lausd-fiscal-outlook/

On the last day of its 2017-2018 term, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Janus vs. AFSCME that public employee unions can no longer collect agency fees from non-members. Clint Bolick, an associate justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss why the U.S. Supreme Court felt it was necessary to overrule a decision from the 1970s allowing agency fees.

Charter schools have been in the news lately, as supporters and opponents have debated whether they are expanding opportunities for students most in need or whether they are increasing segregation. Earlier this month, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on charter schools and EdNext's Marty West was invited to testify. Today, Marty West joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his testimony and these debates over charter schools Watch the full hearing here. http://educationnext.org/watching-hearing-power-charter-schools/

In San Diego, one in ten students attends a magnet school, and because admission is sometimes determined by lottery, researchers have been able to study the impact of attending a magnet school on long-term outcomes. In this episode, Julian Betts of the University of California, San Diego joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his research on magnet schools in San Diego. Betts is the co-author of "The Long-Term Effects of Public School Choice: Lottery Evidence from San Diego," with Sam M. Young, Andrew C. Zau and Karen Volz Bachofer, available at https://sites.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/conferences/learning-from-longterm-effects-2018/papers/panel-i-betts-et-al.pdf

Are graduates of private schools as active in the public sphere as graduates of public schools? David Sikkink, an associate professor of sociology at Notre Dame, finds that when it comes to volunteering and charitable giving, graduates of private religious schools are more likely to be engaged. He joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his research. Read the full paper, co-written with Jonathan Schwartz, here: https://sites.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/conferences/learning-from-longterm-effects-2018/papers/panel-iii-sikkink.pdf

A new analysis by Education Next finds that the state that has raised its proficiency standards the most over the past 10 years is Tennessee. In this episode, Tennessee Commissioner of Education Candice McQueen joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how her state has raised its standards and made other changes to advance student learning. Read the full report here: http://educationnext.org/have-states-maintained-high-expectations-student-performance-analysis-2017-proficiency-standards/

Dan Hamlin, a postdoctoral fellow at the Program on Education Policy and Governance (PEPG) at the Harvard Kennedy School, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss their new article, "Have States Maintained High Expectations for Student Performance? An analysis of 2017 state proficiency standards." http://educationnext.org/have-states-maintained-high-expectations-student-performance-analysis-2017-proficiency-standards/

Schools are paying increasing attention to the problem of truancy, and many states are including an indicator measuring chronic absenteeism in their accountability plans for the Every Student Succeeds Act. In this episode, Paul E. Peterson talks with Peter Bergman about the phenomenon of joint absences, when students have a peer with whom they systematically skip class. Peter Bergman, Assistant Professor of Economics and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, is the co-author, with Magdalena Bennett, of "Better Together? Social Networks in Truancy and the Targeting of Treatment," available at http://papers.nber.org/conf_papers/f104327/f104327.pdf

The Trump administration may undo regulations that punish for-profit colleges if their graduates are unable to earn enough money to repay their student loans. In this episode, Paul Peterson is joined by the authors of a new study that examines the impact on student enrollment in for-profit colleges and community colleges when the federal government cracks down on for-profit colleges with high rates of students defaulting on their loans. Stephanie R. Cellini and Lesley J. Turner, who are guests on the podcast, are the authors of "Where Do Students Go when For-Profit Colleges Lose Federal Aid?," along with Rajeev Darolia: http://papers.nber.org/conf_papers/f104339/f104339.pdf

A little over a decade ago, a new government in the United Kingdom issued a report recommending that early reading instruction include phonics. What has been the impact of that change in approach to teaching reading? Martina Viarengo, the author of a study on this topic, joins Paul Peterson to discuss her research. The study, "'Teaching to Teach' Literacy," was co-written with Stephen J. Machin and Sandra McNally. It is available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2786039

After a devastating earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010, thousands of Haitians moved to the U.S. and enrolled their children in school here. David Figlio, Dean of the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his research on the impact these Haitian refugee students had on the non-refugee students who were already attending those schools. Read the full article, "Influx of Haitian Refugees in Florida Didn’t Hurt Student Outcomes," co-written with Umut Ozek, here: http://educationnext.org/influx-haitian-refugees-florida-didnt-hurt-student-outcomes/

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss efforts to bring education savings accounts and full-day kindergarten to his state.

Instead of just looking at the effect teachers have on the test scores of their students, researchers have expanded their focus to include the impact of teachers on student attendance and the long run outcomes of their students. Seth Gershenson joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the latest findings on the impact teachers have on their students.

In Colombia, a voucher program has awarded over 125,000 poor children scholarships to help them attend private high schools. Eric Bettinger of Stanford University talks with Paul Peterson about the program, which has been found to have positive long-term impacts on participating students, including better labor market outcomes.

Results from a survey released last week showed that support for charter schools has come back up after a sharp drop last year. In this week's episdode, Nina Rees of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss what might have caused support for charters to dip and then rise and to consider the results of some recent studies on charter schools.

School choice researchers are finding that vouchers may impact student test scores and later attainment outcomes in different ways. In this episode, Patrick Wolf joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss why researchers should consider other outcomes besides test scores when evaluating school choice programs. Wolf is the co-author of a new report, "Do Impacts on Test Scores Even Matter? Lessons from Long-Run Outcomes in School Choice Research." The report was co-authored by Michael Q. McShane and Collin Hitt and was recently published by AEI. http://www.aei.org/publication/do-impacts-on-test-scores-even-matter-lessons-from-long-run-outcomes-in-school-choice-research/

In this episode, David L. Leal, professor at the University of Texas, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss how Latinos vote, what Latinos think of their kids’ schools, and whether the views of Latinos differ significantly from the views of other Americans.

Three new studies released by the Urban Institute look at how private school choice has affected nearly 13,000 students in three different states. Matt Chingos of the Urban Institute joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss what we're learning about how school choice participants do when it comes to college enrollment and graduation. Chingos wrote about these studies in "What Have We Learned From Three Studies of Private School Choice?" http://educationnext.org/learned-three-studies-private-school-choice/ Read his latest report, The Effect of the DC School Voucher Program on College Enrollment, here: https://www.urban.org/research/publication/effect-dc-school-voucher-program-college-enrollment

Paul DiPerna, the vice president of research and innovation for EdChoice, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his report, "The ABC's of School Choice," which can be ordered here: https://www.edchoice.org/what-we-do/research/get-copy-2018-abcs-school-choice/

The number of states with school choice programs and the number of students who are able to take advantage of these programs have roughly doubled since 2010, and we now have a U.S. Secretary of Education who supports school choice. What will happen on the school choice front in 2018? In this episode, Paul E. Peterson talks with John Schilling of the American Federation for Children, which promotes school choice by promoting legislation and trying to help elect candidates who support choice.

Do teens need a sense of purpose? William Damon of the Stanford Center on Adolescence says that developing a sense of purpose is one of the most important but overlooked aspects of adolescent development. He talks with Paul Peterson about his his work on how we develop a sense of purpose and what schools can do to help.

Boston Collegiate Charter School is the most diverse school in Boston. Paul E. Peterson talks with Richard Whitmire, whose article, "Why Boston’s Most Racially Diverse School Could Also Be the Country’s Most Interesting School Integration Story," looks at what makes the school so special and how the school has managed to attract such a diverse population. Read his full feature in The 74 here: https://www.the74million.org/article/whitmire-why-bostons-most-racially-diverse-school-could-also-be-the-countrys-most-interesting-school-integration-story/

Ashley Jochim, a senior research analyst at the Center on Reinventing Public Conflict between school districts and charter schools is not inevitable, argues Ashley Jochim. Paul Peterson talks with Jochim about the factors that allow some school districts to collaborate with charter schools. This is the topic of her new paper, “Collision Course: Embracing Politics to Succeed in District-Charter Collaboration." Jochim, a senior research analyst at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, co-authored the paper with Sarah Yatsko and Alice Opalka. https://www.crpe.org/publications/collision-course-embracing-politics-succeed-district-charter-collaboration

State interventions to improve struggling local school districts have a mixed record, but in Lawrence, Massachusetts, a state takeover seems to be turning things around. Paul Peterson talks with Beth Schueler about her new report, “School District Turnaround: Learning from Leadership in Lawrence, Massachusetts." https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/rappaport/research-and-publications/policy-briefs/school-district-turnaround%3A-learning-from-leadership-in-Lawrence%2C-Massachusetts

Morris Fiorina, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and author of “Unstable Majorities: Polarization, Party Sorting, and Political Stalemate,” joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his new book, which aims to correct the widespread assumption that Americans today are more polarized than ever.

Gerard Robinson joins Paul Peterson to reflect on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King and the work of improving educational opportunities for disadvantaged children. Robinson, who has served as secretary of education in Virginia and Florida, is now executive director of the Center for Advancing Opportunity, which supports research-based solutions to the challenges faced by fragile communities throughout the United States.

Some recent studies of the impact of school choice have found only a limited impact on academic achievement but larger positive effects on long-term outcomes like attainment and earnings. What could account for this? In this episode of the podcast, Paul talks with Marty West about his new working paper on the impact of school choice on non-cognitive skills.

Albert Cheng of the Harvard Kennedy School sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss his research that looks into whether students with a career and technical education diploma do better than students with a traditional diploma.

The state of New Jersey is returning to the city of Newark the power to run its school system. Chris Cerf, who served as state superintendent of New Jersey and then district superintendent of Newark, joins Paul Peterson to talk about the changes that have taken place in the Newark school district and what lies ahead.

Daniel Hamlin of Harvard's Program on Education Policy and Governance sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss his paper, "Are Charter Schools Safer in Deindustrialized Cities With High Rates of Crime? Testing Hypotheses in Detroit," which investigates whether there's any difference in student perception of safety between district and charter schools in Detroit. Read his full paper here: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0002831217705060

Michael Podgursky, Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the role of public sector unions in negotiating and sometimes even selling health care and other benefits to its members.

Josh Goodman of the Harvard Kennedy School sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new master's degree in computer science offered by Georgia Tech. The computer science department, one of the top 10 programs in the country, has set up a flexible, online program for working adults that charges only 1/6 of what an in-person master's degree costs. Read the full paper, co-written with Julia Melkers, and Amanda Pallais, here: https://research.hks.harvard.edu/publications/workingpapers/citation.aspx?PubId=11348&type=WPN

Martin Lueken of EdChoice and Benjamin Scafidi of Kennesaw State University sit down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss their reasearch on the effect of the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program on school district resources.

Demand for seats in charter schools remains high among families but public enthusiasm for continued growth of the charter sector seems to be slipping. Jason Riley, Wall Street Journal columnist and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss where the opposition to charter schools is coming from.

The U.S. Department of Education is urging states and school districts to expand their school voucher programs. In this episode of the podcast, Paul talks with Dennis Epple, an economics professor at Carnegie Mellon and one of the co-authors of a paper that reviews the literature on voucher programs and comes up with recommendations for practitioners.

Steve Klinsky, founder and CEO of ModernStates.org, joins Paul Peterson to discuss his new charity, which offers students up to 40 transferrable college credits for free. Modern States presents a set of high-quality online courses, taught by real college professors, that students would typically take in their freshman year of college. Students access the courses and textbooks for free online and earn course credit by taking a College Board-certified exam upon completion—and Modern States will pay the testing fee for the first 10,000 students who take an end-of-course exam. Klinsky detailed the organization’s mission in a blog post here: http://educationnext.org/free-college-is-now-here-really-modern-states-education-alliance/

Margaret Raymond, director of CREDO at Stanford University, sits down with Paul Peterson to discuss CREDO's latest study on charter schools in New York City. Read the full report here: https://credo.stanford.edu/pdfs/nyc_report%202017%2010%2002%20FINAL.pdf

While serving as chancellor of D.C. Public Schools, Michelle Rhee developed an innovative system of teacher evaluation to incentivize high performance and teacher improvement. In this episode of the podcast, she talks with Paul Peterson about how the IMPACT system promotes teacher retention and performance through pay.

A new Fordham report finds that 28% of teachers in traditional district schools miss more than 10 school days a year for sick or personal leave while teachers in charter schools have lower rates absences. David Griffith of the Fordham Institute talks with Paul Peterson about the report and about where teacher absence rates are high and low. Read more about the study here: http://educationnext.org/public-schools-teacher-absenteeism

Diane Tavenner, CEO of Summit Schools, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss how Summit is changing how schools are run, and why they've had so much success in student achievement.

n many sectors of our economy, there are serious shortages of applicants with the right skills for the available jobs. Many of these jobs do not require a college degree. Are too many students choosing four-year universities rather than getting a useful credential from a two year college? What happens to people who get specific job training rather than academic training when the job market changes? In this episode of the Education Exchange, Paul E. Peterson talks with economist Eric Hanushek about the challenges of ensuring that people get the skills they need for the jobs we have now and the jobs we'll have in the future.

The 2017 Education Next poll asked the public, parents, and teachers what share of teachers at your local public school are excellent, good, satisfactory and unsatisfactory. Overall, people are quite pleased with the quality of teachers in their local school, but the public sees 15 percent of teachers as unsatisfactory, and even teachers believe 11 percent are ineffective. EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West joins Paul E. Peterson on this episode of the Education Exchange to discuss these findings from the 2017 Education Next Poll and more. Read the full poll here: http://educationnext.org/2017-ednext-poll-school-reform-public-opinion-school-choice-common-core-higher-ed/

Paul E. Peterson talks with Anna Egalite of N.C. State about her new study looking at why some private schools do and others don't participate in North Carolina's means-tested voucher program and also at how families make the decision about whether or not to use a school voucher. You can read the study at https://ced.ncsu.edu/elphd/research/the-impact-of-the-north-carolina-opportunity-scholarship-program/

Paul is joined by EdNext editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss findings from the new EdNext poll on school reform, which measured public support for the rights of Muslim students and of evangelical students to form afterschool religious clubs. Read more on the 2017 EdNext poll here: http://educationnext.org/2017-ednext-poll-school-reform-public-opinion-school-choice-common-core-higher-ed/

Former New Mexico Secretary of Education Hanna Skandera joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss some of her accomplishments in the state.

The new federal education law requires states to determine whether ineffective teachers are concentrated in schools with disadvantaged students. But how will states identify ineffective teachers? In this episode of the Education Exchange, Paul E. Peterson is joined by Stanford’s Eric Hanushek to discuss how states have identified qualified teachers and effective teachers and how they plan to comply with the Every Student Succeeds Act.

This week, Paul speaks to Gregorio Caetano and Vikram Maheshri during a break in the National Bureau of Education Research conference in Cambridge, Mass., to discuss their paper, "Explaining Recent Trends in US School Segregation: 1988-2014," and how segregation has changed in the past 30 years.

This week, Paul talks to Charles Barone, the director of policy at Democrats for Education Reform, about the House Appropriation Committee's decision to drop several of Donald Trump's proposals to broaden School Choice.

This week, Paul E. Peterson talks to Ester Fuchs, Professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science at Columbia University, about Mayor Bill de Blasio and mayoral control of charter schools in New York City.