On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Charles Barone, Senior Director of the Center for Innovation at the National Parents Union, joins Mike and David to discuss the future of federal assessment and accountability policies under the Trump Administration. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a study on student loan forgiveness and its impact on work, earnings, and borrowing.Recommended content: <ul><li>Charles Barone, “<a href='https://nationalparentsunion.org/2025/02/26/the-future-of-assessment-and-accountability-part-1-goodbye-federal-assessment-guardrails/'>The Future of Assessment and Accountability | Part 1 | Goodbye Federal Assessment Guardrails?</a>,” National Parents Union  (2025).</li><li>Dale Chu, “<a href='https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/are-states-ready-lead-education-could-trumps-policies-set-them-fail'>Are states ready to lead on education? Could Trump’s policies set them up to fail?</a>,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (March 6, 2025).</li><li>Victoria McDougald, “<a href='https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/case-standardized-testing'>The case for standardized testing</a>,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (August 1, 2025).</li><li>Michael Dinerstein, Samuel Earnest, Dmitri K. Koustas and Constantine Yannelis, <a href='https://www.nber.org/papers/w33462'>Student Loan Forgiveness</a>, NBER (February 2025)</li></ul>Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at <a href='mailto:sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org'>sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org</a>.

<description>&lt;p&gt;On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Charles Barone, Senior Director of the Center for Innovation at the National Parents Union, joins Mike and David to discuss the future of federal assessment and accountability policies under the Trump Administration. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a study on student loan forgiveness and its impact on work, earnings, and borrowing.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Recommended content:&lt;/b&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Charles Barone, “&lt;a href='https://nationalparentsunion.org/2025/02/26/the-future-of-assessment-and-accountability-part-1-goodbye-federal-assessment-guardrails/'&gt;The Future of Assessment and Accountability | Part 1 | Goodbye Federal Assessment Guardrails?&lt;/a&gt;,” National Parents Union  (2025).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Dale Chu, “&lt;a href='https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/are-states-ready-lead-education-could-trumps-policies-set-them-fail'&gt;Are states ready to lead on education? Could Trump’s policies set them up to fail?&lt;/a&gt;,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (March 6, 2025).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Victoria McDougald, “&lt;a href='https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/case-standardized-testing'&gt;The case for standardized testing&lt;/a&gt;,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (August 1, 2025).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Michael Dinerstein, Samuel Earnest, Dmitri K. Koustas and Constantine Yannelis, &lt;a href='https://www.nber.org/papers/w33462'&gt;&lt;em&gt;Student Loan Forgiveness&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, NBER (February 2025)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Feedback Welcome:&lt;/b&gt; Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at &lt;a href='mailto:sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org'&gt;sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Charles Barone, Senior Director of the Center for Innovation at the National Parents Union, joins Mike and David to discuss the future of federal assessment and accountability policies under the Trump Administration. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a study on student loan forgiveness and its impact on work, earnings, and borrowing. Recommended content:  Charles Barone, “The Future of Assessment and Accountability | Part 1 | Goodb...

#960: Why Secretary McMahon shouldn’t waive federal testing requirements, with Charles Barone

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Jing Liu (University of Maryland) and Seth Gershenson (American University), authors of our latest report, Ready or Not? A New Way to Measure Elementary and Middle School Quality, join Mike and David to explore how tracking students’ future GPAs could offer a clearer measure of school quality. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reviews a new study on young children’s evolving media consumption habits and their effects.Recommended content: <ul><li>Jing Liu, Ph.D. Seth Gershenson, Ph.D. and Max Anthenelli, <a href='https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/research/ready-or-not-new-way-measure-elementary-and-middle-school-quality'>Ready or Not? A New Way to Measure Elementary and Middle School Quality</a>, Thomas B. Fordham Institute (February 20, 2025).</li><li>David Griffith and Amber Northern, “<a href='https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/make-room-test-scores-introducing-indicators-high-school-and-middle-school'>Make room, test scores: Introducing “indicators of high school and middle school readiness</a>,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (February 20, 2025). </li><li>Supreet Mann, Angela Calvin, Amanda Lenhart, and  Michael Robb, <a href='https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/the-2025-common-sense-census-media-use-by-kids-zero-to-eight'>The 2025 Common Sense Census: Media Use by Kids Zero to Eight</a>, Common Sense Media (2025)</li></ul>Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at <a href='mailto:sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org'>sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org</a>.

<description>&lt;p&gt;On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Jing Liu (University of Maryland) and Seth Gershenson (American University), authors of our latest report, &lt;em&gt;Ready or Not? A New Way to Measure Elementary and Middle School Quality&lt;/em&gt;, join Mike and David to explore how tracking students’ future GPAs could offer a clearer measure of school quality. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reviews a new study on young children’s evolving media consumption habits and their effects.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Recommended content:&lt;/b&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Jing Liu, Ph.D. Seth Gershenson, Ph.D. and Max Anthenelli, &lt;a href='https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/research/ready-or-not-new-way-measure-elementary-and-middle-school-quality'&gt;&lt;em&gt;Ready or Not? A New Way to Measure Elementary and Middle School Quality&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, Thomas B. Fordham Institute (February 20, 2025).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;David Griffith and Amber Northern, “&lt;a href='https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/make-room-test-scores-introducing-indicators-high-school-and-middle-school'&gt;Make room, test scores: Introducing “indicators of high school and middle school readiness&lt;/a&gt;,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (February 20, 2025). &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Supreet Mann, Angela Calvin, Amanda Lenhart, and  Michael Robb, &lt;a href='https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/the-2025-common-sense-census-media-use-by-kids-zero-to-eight'&gt;&lt;em&gt;The 2025 Common Sense Census: Media Use by Kids Zero to Eight&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, Common Sense Media (2025)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Feedback Welcome:&lt;/b&gt; Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at &lt;a href='mailto:sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org'&gt;sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Jing Liu (University of Maryland) and Seth Gershenson (American University), authors of our latest report, Ready or Not? A New Way to Measure Elementary and Middle School Quality, join Mike and David to explore how tracking students’ future GPAs could offer a clearer measure of school quality. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reviews a new study on young children’s evolving media consumption habits and their effects. Recommended content:  ...

#959: Are GPAs the key to measuring school quality? with Jing Liu and Seth Gershenson

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, John White, former Louisiana superintendent of education and current CEO of Great Minds PBC, joins David and Amber to discuss the reforms he led in Louisiana and their role in the state’s significant NAEP gains. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber highlights a study on the expansion of “transitional kindergarten” in Michigan and its impact on early learning access and socioeconomic gaps.Recommended content: <ul><li>Kevin Mahnken, “<a href='https://www.the74million.org/article/new-naep-scores-dash-hope-of-post-covid-learning-recovery/'>New NAEP Scores Dash Hope of Post-COVID Learning Recovery</a>,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (January 29, 2025).</li><li>Emily Freitag, “<a href='https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/bold-state-move-improve-reading'>A bold state move to improve reading</a>,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (February 20, 2025).</li><li>Sara Schwartz, “<a href='https://www.edweek.org/leadership/why-are-reading-scores-still-falling-on-the-nations-report-card/2025/01'>Why Are Reading Scores Still Falling on the Nation’s Report Card?</a>,” EducationWeek (January 29, 2025).</li><li>Sonia Q. Cabell, James S. Kim, Thomas G. White, Charles J. Gale, Ashley A. Edwards, HyeJin Jordan Berne, Katia Córdoba García, Brian A. Jacob, Tareena Musaddiq, Samuel Owusu, Anna Shapiro, and Christina Weiland, <a href='https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0013189X251318334'>Transitional Kindergarten: The New Kid on the Early Learning Block</a>, SAGE Journals (2025)</li></ul> Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at <a href='mailto:sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org'>sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org</a>.

<description>&lt;p&gt;On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, John White, former Louisiana superintendent of education and current CEO of Great Minds PBC, joins David and Amber to discuss the reforms he led in Louisiana and their role in the state’s significant NAEP gains. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber highlights a study on the expansion of “transitional kindergarten” in Michigan and its impact on early learning access and socioeconomic gaps.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Recommended content:&lt;/b&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Kevin Mahnken, “&lt;a href='https://www.the74million.org/article/new-naep-scores-dash-hope-of-post-covid-learning-recovery/'&gt;New NAEP Scores Dash Hope of Post-COVID Learning Recovery&lt;/a&gt;,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (January 29, 2025).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Emily Freitag, “&lt;a href='https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/bold-state-move-improve-reading'&gt;A bold state move to improve reading&lt;/a&gt;,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (February 20, 2025).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Sara Schwartz, “&lt;a href='https://www.edweek.org/leadership/why-are-reading-scores-still-falling-on-the-nations-report-card/2025/01'&gt;Why Are Reading Scores Still Falling on the Nation’s Report Card?&lt;/a&gt;,” EducationWeek (January 29, 2025).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Sonia Q. Cabell, James S. Kim, Thomas G. White, Charles J. Gale, Ashley A. Edwards, HyeJin Jordan Berne, Katia Córdoba García, Brian A. Jacob, Tareena Musaddiq, Samuel Owusu, Anna Shapiro, and Christina Weiland, &lt;a href='https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0013189X251318334'&gt;&lt;em&gt;Transitional Kindergarten: The New Kid on the Early Learning Block&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, SAGE Journals (2025)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Feedback Welcome:&lt;/b&gt; Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at &lt;a href='mailto:sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org'&gt;sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, John White, former Louisiana superintendent of education and current CEO of Great Minds PBC, joins David and Amber to discuss the reforms he led in Louisiana and their role in the state’s significant NAEP gains. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber highlights a study on the expansion of “transitional kindergarten” in Michigan and its impact on early learning access and socioeconomic gaps. Recommended content:  Kevin Mahnken, “New NAEP Scores D...

#958: Louisiana’s NAEP gains and the power of a strong curriculum, with John White

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Mike and David discuss what’s really going on with DOGE, including its cuts to IES research grants and the implications for education policy. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber highlights a study on whether the Core Knowledge curriculum helped strengthen kindergarteners’ vocabulary and knowledge.Recommended content: <ul><li>Chester E. Finn, Jr., “<a href='https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/easy-doge-ies-matters'>Easy, DOGE. IES matters.</a>,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (February 11, 2025).</li><li>Robert Pondiscio, “<a href='https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/culture-war-vs-competence-why-conservatives-should-support-penny-schwinn'>Culture war vs. competence: Why conservatives should support Penny Schwinn</a>,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (February 6, 2025).</li><li>Chester E. Finn, Jr., “<a href='https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/trump-should-stay-out-what-students-learn-school'>Trump should stay out of what students learn in school</a>,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (January 30, 2025).</li><li>Sonia Q. Cabell, James S. Kim, Thomas G. White, Charles J. Gale, Ashley A. Edwards, HyeJin Hwang, Yaacov Petscher, and Rhonda M. Raines, <a href='https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2025-46446-001.pdf?mc_cid=3e37a7e295&amp;mc_eid=23437cb062'>Impact of a Content-Rich Literacy Curriculum on Kindergarteners’ Vocabulary, Listening Comprehension, and Content Knowledge</a>, Journal of Educational Psychology (2024)</li></ul>Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at <a href='mailto:sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org'>sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org</a>.

<description>&lt;p&gt;On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Mike and David discuss what’s really going on with DOGE, including its cuts to IES research grants and the implications for education policy. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber highlights a study on whether the Core Knowledge curriculum helped strengthen kindergarteners’ vocabulary and knowledge.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Recommended content:&lt;/b&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Chester E. Finn, Jr., “&lt;a href='https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/easy-doge-ies-matters'&gt;Easy, DOGE. IES matters.&lt;/a&gt;,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (February 11, 2025).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Robert Pondiscio, “&lt;a href='https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/culture-war-vs-competence-why-conservatives-should-support-penny-schwinn'&gt;Culture war vs. competence: Why conservatives should support Penny Schwinn&lt;/a&gt;,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (February 6, 2025).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Chester E. Finn, Jr., “&lt;a href='https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/trump-should-stay-out-what-students-learn-school'&gt;Trump should stay out of what students learn in school&lt;/a&gt;,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (January 30, 2025).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Sonia Q. Cabell, James S. Kim, Thomas G. White, Charles J. Gale, Ashley A. Edwards, HyeJin Hwang, Yaacov Petscher, and Rhonda M. Raines, &lt;a href='https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2025-46446-001.pdf?mc_cid=3e37a7e295&amp;amp;mc_eid=23437cb062'&gt;&lt;em&gt;Impact of a Content-Rich Literacy Curriculum on Kindergarteners’ Vocabulary, Listening Comprehension, and Content Knowledge&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, Journal of Educational Psychology (2024)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Feedback Welcome:&lt;/b&gt; Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at &lt;a href='mailto:sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org'&gt;sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Mike and David discuss what’s really going on with DOGE, including its cuts to IES research grants and the implications for education policy. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber highlights a study on whether the Core Knowledge curriculum helped strengthen kindergarteners’ vocabulary and knowledge. Recommended content:  Chester E. Finn, Jr., “Easy, DOGE. IES matters.,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (February 11, 2025).Robert Pondiscio, “Culture ...

#957: DOGE, IES, and the future of education research

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Delia Pompa, Senior Fellow for Education Policy at MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, joins Mike and David to discuss how the potential threat of immigration agents at school doors is affecting students—and what can be done to keep them coming to class. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a study on the impact of a Hawaii Public Schools policy that raised special education teacher salaries by $10,000.Recommended content: <ul><li>Alexander Russo, “<a href='https://kappanonline.org/russo-threat-assessment-ice-raids-in-schools/'>Threat Assesment: Ice raids in schools</a>,” The Grade (February 5, 2025).</li><li>Ileana Najarro, “<a href='https://www.edweek.org/leadership/how-schools-can-navigate-trumps-immigration-policies/2025/01'>How Schools Can Navigate Trump’s Immigration Policies</a>,” Education Week (January 23, 2025).</li><li>Liz Willen, “<a href='https://hechingerreport.org/column-in-just-one-week-trump-created-a-new-culture-of-anxiety-in-education/'>In just one week, Trump created a new culture of anxiety in education</a>,” The Hechinger Report (January 27, 2025).</li><li>Roddy Theobald, Zeyu Xu, Allison Gilmour, Lisa Lachlan-Hache, Elizabeth Bettini and Nathan Jones, <a href='https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/01623737241310905#:~:text=We%20estimate%20that%20this%20policy,an%20unlicensed%20teacher%20by%2035%25.'>The Impact of a $10,000 Bonus on Special Education Teacher Shortages in Hawai‘i</a>, Sage Journals (2025)</li></ul>Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at <a href='mailto:sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org'>sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org</a>.

<description>&lt;p&gt;On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Delia Pompa, Senior Fellow for Education Policy at MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, joins Mike and David to discuss how the potential threat of immigration agents at school doors is affecting students—and what can be done to keep them coming to class. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a study on the impact of a Hawaii Public Schools policy that raised special education teacher salaries by $10,000.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Recommended content:&lt;/b&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Alexander Russo, “&lt;a href='https://kappanonline.org/russo-threat-assessment-ice-raids-in-schools/'&gt;Threat Assesment: Ice raids in schools&lt;/a&gt;,” The Grade (February 5, 2025).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Ileana Najarro, “&lt;a href='https://www.edweek.org/leadership/how-schools-can-navigate-trumps-immigration-policies/2025/01'&gt;How Schools Can Navigate Trump’s Immigration Policies&lt;/a&gt;,” Education Week (January 23, 2025).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Liz Willen, “&lt;a href='https://hechingerreport.org/column-in-just-one-week-trump-created-a-new-culture-of-anxiety-in-education/'&gt;In just one week, Trump created a new culture of anxiety in education&lt;/a&gt;,” The Hechinger Report (January 27, 2025).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Roddy Theobald, Zeyu Xu, Allison Gilmour, Lisa Lachlan-Hache, Elizabeth Bettini and Nathan Jones, &lt;a href='https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/01623737241310905#:~:text=We%20estimate%20that%20this%20policy,an%20unlicensed%20teacher%20by%2035%25.'&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Impact of a $10,000 Bonus on Special Education Teacher Shortages in Hawai‘i&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, Sage Journals (2025)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Feedback Welcome:&lt;/b&gt; Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at &lt;a href='mailto:sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org'&gt;sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Delia Pompa, Senior Fellow for Education Policy at MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, joins Mike and David to discuss how the potential threat of immigration agents at school doors is affecting students—and what can be done to keep them coming to class. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a study on the impact of a Hawaii Public Schools policy that raised special education teacher salaries by $10,000. Recommended conte...

#956: How schools can manage deportation fears, with Delia Pompa

For more than 15 years, the Fordham Institute has been hosting a weekly podcast, The Education Gadfly Show. Each week, you’ll get lively, entertaining discussions of recent education news, usually featuring Fordham’s Mike Petrilli and David Griffith. Then the wise Amber Northern will recap a recent research study. For questions or comments on the podcast, contact its producer, Stephanie Distler, at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.

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