Ednext Podcast

Should teachers be paid more? Should it be harder for teachers to get tenure? Are teacher evaluation systems working? In this episode of the EdNext podcast, Paul E. Peterson and Martin West take a close look at the differing views of teachers, parents, and the general public on polices that affect teachers, based on data from 2016 EdNext survey. You can read about the survey here: http://educationnext.org/ten-year-trends-in-public-opinion-from-ednext-poll-2016-survey/

The just-released 2016 Education Next poll identified changes in public support for the Common Core, testing, opting out, and school choice. In this episode of the EdNext podcast, Paul Peterson and Marty West discuss what the public says it wants and why these opinions are changing. Read the full article on the poll here: http://educationnext.org/ten-year-trends-in-public-opinion-from-ednext-poll-2016-survey/

Using inexpensive new technology, students can take virtual reality field trips without leaving their classrooms. What will schools, teachers, and curriculum developers need to do for virtual reality to live up to the hype? In this episode of the EdNext podcast, Marty West talks with Michael Horn, whose article, “Virtual Reality Disruption: Will 3-D technology break through to the educational mainstream?” is available at http://educationnext.org/virtual-reality-disruption-3d-technology-education/

It is widely believed that minority students are overrepresented in special ed programs, possibly due to racial bias. But controlling for other factors that might put students at risk for problems at school, Paul Morgan and George Farkas find that minority students are actually less likely to receive special ed services than similarly situated white students. In this episode, they discuss why there is under-identification and under-treatment of black children with a demonstrated clinical need for special ed services compared to white children with the same need. They explain the issue in more detail in “The Wrong and Right Ways to Ensure Equity in IDEA” available at http://educationnext.org/the-wrong-and-right-ways-ensure-equity-idea/

The Common Core standards initiative was launched in 2009 but by the time new tests aligned with those standards were rolled out 4 to 5 years later, there was mounting opposition to using those tests to evaluate teachers and schools. To preserve support for the standards, many states began throwing the assessments overboard. Will abandoning the tests in order to save the standards actually work? In this podcast, EdNext's Marty West talks with Ashley Jochim of the Center for Reinventing Public Education, who is the co-author of "The Politics of the Common Core Assessments: Why states are quitting the PARCC and Smarter Balanced testing consortia." Read the full article here: http://educationnext.org/the-politics-of-common-core-assessments-parcc-smarter-balanced/

Los Angeles has over 41,000 students on charter school wait lists. But when the school district and teachers union got wind of the Broad Foundation's plan to help launch schools to serve those students, simmering tensions over charter school expansion exploded. In this week's episode of the EdNext podcast, Richard Whitmire, the author of "Ed Reform Battle in Los Angeles," talks with Marty West about the numerous challenges facing LAUSD and what is likely to happen next on the charter school front. You can read Richard Whitmire's article here: http://educationnext.org/ed-reform-battle-in-los-angeles-charter-schools/

At least ten percent of students who graduate from high school and plan on going to college never show up on campus in the fall, a phenomenon called "summer melt." Ben Castleman of the University of Virginia has studied the causes of summer melt and is testing some innovative interventions to help get at-risk students to college. He finds that connecting students with people and resources to help them manage the paperwork for financial aid, student loans, health insurance, and housing can make all the difference in getting from graduation to orientation. You can read the review of Ben Castleman's book (The 160-Character Solution) discussed in this episode of the podcast here: http://educationnext.org/the-trouble-with-texting/ Ben Castleman responds to the review here: http://educationnext.org/response-to-the-trouble-with-texting/

Stanford University’s Terry M. Moe sits down with EdNext editor Marty West to discuss how political debates over education reform have unfolded around the world, with a focus on the role played by teachers unions.

Leslie Cornfeld, former special advisor to both the Secretary of Education and to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, speaks with Paul E. Peterson about chronic absenteeism and how data can be used to identify kids who are at risk.

Patrick Wolf of the University of Arkansas shares some of his findings on incarceration rates of voucher students vs. public school students with EdNext’s Paul E. Peterson.

Paul Peterson interviews Robert Shapiro, an expert on public opinion, about how the partisan divide in education policy is shifting, as issues of school quality and accountability have produced "conflicted liberals," at the same time that the presidential election is creating "conflicted conservatives."

In this episode of the EdNext podcast, Robert Balfanz talks with EdNext editor-in-chief Paul Peterson about chronic absenteeism and about some successful efforts to identify students who are chronically absent and assign them mentors who work with students individually to reduce absences from school.

Paul E. Peterson discusses his recent article, “The End of the Bush-Obama Regulatory Approach to School Reform,” with host Marty West. Read the full article here: http://educationnext.org/end-of-bush-obama-regulatory-approach-school-reform-choice-competition/

Journalist Paul Tough talks with Education Next editor Marty West about his new book, “Helping Children Succeed.” Read a review of the book here: http://educationnext.org/teaching-character-book-review-angela-duckworth-paul-tough/

Randall Reback of Barnard College and Columbia University sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss the kinds of changes in state accountability systems we are likely to see under the Every Student Succeeds Act.

With the prospect of free college tuition attracting many young voters to the candidacy of Bernie Sanders, EdNext’s Paul Peterson talks with Ludger Woessmann of the Ifo Institute in Munich about free higher education in Germany.

Matthew Ladner and Nelson Smith join Marty West to discuss the pros and cons of education savings accounts. Ladner and Smith both contributed articles to a new Education Next forum, "Should Reformers Support Education Savings Accounts?" which is available here: http://educationnext.org/should-reformers-support-education-savings-accounts-forum-ladner-smith/

Eric Hanushek talks with Paul E. Peterson about the findings of his new study, which calculates the impact we would see on the economy if states improve their schools and students improve their skills. Read the full article here: http://educationnext.org/pays-improve-school-quality-student-achievement-economic-gain/

Jim Stergios, the Executive Director of the Pioneer Institute, talks with with Paul E. Peterson about the debate over charter schools that is now taking place in the Massachusetts state legislature.

David Osborne talks with Marty West about the education reform strategies being embraced by the elected school board in Denver which have made the school district a leading example of urban reform. Read the full article here: http://educationnext.org/denver-expands-choice-and-charters/