On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Brandon Wright, Fordham’s Editorial Director and author of the latest Think Again brief, “Are Education Programs for High Achievers Inherently Inequitable?” joins Mike and David to explain why the answer to that question is “no” and why such programs are important. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber shares a study examining how individual teachers’ effectiveness shifted when instruction went from in-person to on-line during the 2020-21 school year.

Recommended content:

• Brandon L. Wright, Think Again: Are Education Programs for High Achievers Inherently Inequitable? Thomas B. Fordham Institute (October 2024).
• Building a Wider, More Diverse Pipeline of Advanced Learners: Final Report of the National Working Group on Advanced Education, Thomas B. Fordham Institute (June 2023).
• Brandon L. Wright, “Hope and progress for gifted education,” Advance (July 5, 2022).
• Jonathan Plucker, “Do programs for advanced learners work?” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (June 24, 2020).
• M. Cade Lawson and Tim R. Sass, Teacher Effectiveness in Remote Instruction, Annenberg Institute at Brown University (2024).

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Marc Porter Magee, CEO and Founder of 50CAN, joins Mike and David to discuss “The State of Educational Opportunity in America," 50CAN’s new report based on a survey of over 20,000 parents from all 50 states and D.C. Then, on the Research Minute, Adam shares a study examining how teacher strikes affect compensation, working conditions, and student achievement.

Recommended content:

• The State of Educational Opportunity in America, 50CAN (2024).
• “Student enrollment is dropping. The charter sector should keep growing anyway.” —Michael J. Petrilli
• State of Educational Opportunity: Ohio Survey of Ohio Parents, Thomas B. Fordham Institute and 50CAN (2024).
• Melissa Arnold Lyon, Matthew A. Kraft, and Matthew P. Steinberg, The Causes and Consequences of U.S. Teacher Strikes, NBER (2024).

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, David Deming, a professor of Political Economy at the Harvard Kennedy School, joins Mike and David to discuss his article in The Atlantic arguing that it’s not enough for governments and the private sector to eliminate college-degree requirement for good-paying jobs. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber shares a study investigating the “fade-out effect” in early childhood education programs.

Recommended content:

• “We need supply-side education policy” —David Deming
• “The vibes for career-tech programs are great. But they’re too rare.” —Michael J. Petrilli
• “What Kamala Harris should do on education and training” —Bruno V. Manno
• John A. List and Haruka Uchida, Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? Toward an Understanding of Fade-out in Early Childhood Education Programs, NBER (2024)

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.