The Education Gadfly Show

They say everything’s bigger in Texas, but does that include teachers’ paychecks? Mary Lynn Pruneda, director of education and workforce policy at Texas 2036, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss Texas’s Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA), a performance-based teacher pay program that rewards great teachers with higher pay, especially in high-need schools. Is Texas’s approach to merit p...

Kevin Shafer, president of City Fund, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss efforts to expand access to high-quality public schools across the country. Speaking on his experience with school reform in Camden, New Jersey, Shafer discusses what it takes to improve school systems and the role charter schools can play in that work. Is it better to work with districts to build a portfolio o...

Kimberly Richey, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to talk about the latest federal guidance on school discipline and Title VI. What does the Department’s new approach to racial disparities in discipline mean for schools? Can the new guidance stick, or will the rules continue to change every time a new administration ta...

Ian Rowe, founder of Vertex Partnership Academies, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss Nikole Hannah-Jones’s recent reflections on her decision to send her daughter to a predominantly Black, low-income public school. They discuss school choice, parental involvement and family stability, and that family structure deserves more attention in conversations about student achievement. Shou...

Mike Petrilli is back on the mic solo this week to weigh the case for and against banning AI in schools. He considers growing concerns about cheating, an erosion of grading standards, and the broader effects of technology on student learning, as well as arguments that well-designed AI tools could still have a useful place in the classroom. Are blanket bans too extreme, or is it time for schools to...

Brian Fitzpatrick, research manager at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss his new report, High Tech, Low Standards: High School in the Age of Distraction . They examine how cell phones, school-issued devices, grade inflation, and AI are changing the high school experience, why banning phones alone may not be enough to solve the distraction problem, a...

Programming note: The Education Gadfly Show is taking a short end-of-summer break next week. We’ll be back with a new episode after Labor Day on Wednesday, September 9 . Checker Finn, president emeritus of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to talk about the future of Head Start and why he thinks the troubled federal preschool program needs rebuilding, not dest...

Mike Petrilli is solo once again to revisit the college-for-all debate and consider whether the backlash has become an overcorrection. He considers the risks of steering academically underprepared students toward four-year degrees, the growing enthusiasm for career pathways, and whether today’s push away from college could discourage some students who might actually succeed there. Then, on the Res...

Andrew Camp and Collin Hitt join Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss Moving Target: The Success and Failure of Missouri’s Charter School Funding Surge , a new Fordham report by David, Andrew, and Collin. They examine Missouri’s effort to close the charter funding gap, how schools used the additional money, and why true funding parity remained out of reach. They also discuss the effects on...

Congressman Josh Harder joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss his push to revive the National Reading Panel and advance the READ Act. They consider whether a new panel could update the evidence base on reading instruction, how federal funding might encourage stronger implementation of science-of-reading reforms, and whether literacy could help rebuild a bipartisan federal role in educa...

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,...

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 d...

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. Th...

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...

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 y...

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...

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 m...

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 approac...

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...

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 Resea...

On this week’s solo episode of The Education Gadfly Show, Mike Petrilli discusses President Trump’s Education Freedom Tax Credit, including how it works, why he has concerns about its design, and why he still thinks states, including blue states, should opt in. Could the program help Catholic schools and expand scholarships for low-income families, or will it mostly benefit upper-middle-class pare...

Arkansas Education Secretary Jacob Oliva joins The Education Gadfly Show to discuss the sweeping Arkansas LEARNS reforms, from early literacy and teacher pay to career pathways, parent empowerment, and new approaches to teacher preparation. Why did Arkansas take on so much at once, and can it support teachers, empower districts, and maintain high standards along the way? Then, on the Research Minu...

Christy Wolfe, director of K–12 policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, joins the Education Gadfly Show to discuss a new report on the American workforce—and what it means for K–12 education. As policymakers call for a clearer national talent strategy, which ideas echo past reforms, what’s genuinely new, and should school improvement efforts shift from individual schools to districts? Then, on the...

On this week’s episode, Mike Petrilli is joined by David Griffith and Brian Fitzpatrick to discuss Fordham’s latest report, From the Teacher’s Desk: A Science of Reading Progress Report . Drawing on a nationally representative survey of K–3 teachers, they examine what educators understand about reading instruction, how state policies are shaping classroom practice, and where progress has been made...

On this week’s solo episode, Mike Petrilli explores a big question: What would it look like to define an evidence-based model for American elementary schools—and could AI help us get there? Drawing on his long view of school reform, he considers what most schools have in common, where they fall short, and whether a clearer, research-backed playbook could improve outcomes at scale. This is a work-i...