Mike Miles, superintendent of Houston Independent School District, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to talk about his new book, By Design: How to Transform School Systems, and how districts can use systemic thinking and accountability with support to improve schools. Then, on the Research Minute, Brian Fitzpatrick reviews new research on how classroom context can affect teacher evaluations, and how schools can use the logic of value-added models to develop better evaluations. Recommende...

Tyrone Holmes, chief impact officer at Curriculum Associates, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the growing parent backlash against education technology and why i-Ready has become one of its most visible targets. They unpack the differences among i-Ready’s assessments, teacher-led resources, and personalized online instruction; consider concerns about screen time and overuse; and discuss why teachers and schools need to communicate more clearly with families about how these to...

David Griffith talks with neuroscientist and educator Jared Cooney Horvath, author of The Digital Delusion, about whether schools have put too much faith in classroom technology. They discuss what the evidence says about screen-based instruction, why school-sanctioned devices and platforms deserve more scrutiny, and whether artificial intelligence is making the ed-tech problem better or worse. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a new study on Texas’s Teacher Incentive Allotm...

Mike Petrilli takes the mic to consider whether America’s schools need a renewed sense of urgency around raising achievement and closing gaps. He revisits the test-based accountability era, debates whether its biggest contribution may have been less about policy mechanics and more about shifting the national “vibes,” and argues that today’s education leaders may need to be much clearer about what it means to put students first. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a new Americ...

Stefanie Sanford, president of Civic Ventures at Alithi Consulting and Humanitae Philanthropy Advisors and a trustee of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, joins Mike Petrilli to discuss how America’s 250th anniversary could help renew civic life. They explore why civic formation must extend beyond the classroom, how schools can teach both the achievements and failures of American history, and what young people need in order to develop a sense of civic responsibility in an increasingly polarized...

Charles Barone of the National Parents Union joins Mike Petrilli to debate the Senate’s bipartisan READ Act. Would additional federal funding help states strengthen teacher preparation and expand evidence-based reading instruction, or could a larger federal role politicize the science-of-reading movement and repeat the mistakes of Reading First? Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a new study examining why tutoring’s impact on student achievement tends to shrink when programs...

Mike Petrilli flies solo to discuss the latest Long-Term Trend NAEP results and why the bounce-back among nine-year-olds deserves more attention. While America’s education recovery is far from complete, especially for older students, Mike argues that the rebound in reading and partial recovery in math suggest that federal dollars, tutoring, economic trends, and perhaps science of reading reforms may be helping younger students regain lost ground. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern e...

Patrick McAlister, principal of PM Strategies and former director of the Indianapolis Mayor’s Office of Education Innovation, and Shaina Cavazos, the office’s current director, join The Education Gadfly Show to discuss charter growth after the replication era. Drawing on their experience with closures and mergers in Indianapolis, they explain why authorizers and charter boards may need new approaches as enrollment declines and the sector matures. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern e...

Jonathan Plucker, a research professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Education, and Fordham’s own Alicia Anderson, policy and editorial associate, join The Education Gadfly Show to discuss new research on how little states and the federal government invest in advanced education. How much funding goes toward gifted education, AP, IB, and other advanced learning opportunities, and why is it so hard to track where those dollars go? Then, on the Research Minute, Brian Fitzpatrick examines new re...

Melissa Arnold Lyon joins The Education Gadfly Show to discuss Fordham’s new report, A Crowded Table: Teacher Union Strength in 2026, and what has changed in state education politics since Fordham’s 2012 analysis of teacher union power. How influential are teacher unions today, where are they strongest, and what does a more crowded political landscape mean for education policy? Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines new research on the Common Core State Standards and their effe...