The Education Exchange

A professor of political science at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Joshua Dunn, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in the Carson v. Makin case, and what could be in store for religious education and state Blaine amendments. Read Dunn's blog post, "Supreme Court Oral Argument in Carson v. Makin Sends Hopeful Signal for Religious School A...

An an economics professor at Brown University, Emily Oster, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Oster's latest research, which finds that pass rates on standardized tests declined in district schools during the Covid-19 pandemic, and that those rates were lower in schools with less in-person instruction. Oster's paper, "Pandemic Schooling Mode and Student Test Scores: Evidence from US States," co-wr...

The Will Skillman Fellow in Education at The Heritage Foundation, Jonathan Butcher, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the growing controversy over critical race theory and its place in the classroom. Butcher's report, "Critical Race Theory, the New Intolerance, and Its Grip on America," co-written with Mike Gonzalez, is available now. https://www.heritage.org/civil-rights/report/critical-race-theo...

The Superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District, Michael Hinojosa, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how Dallas handles school safety, the recent lifting of the mask mandate in schools, and how the district has rewarded their best-performing teachers while limiting turnover.

A senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Naomi Schaefer Riley, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Schaefer Riley's new book, "No Way to Treat a Child: How the Foster Care System, Family Courts, and Racial Activists Are Wrecking Young Lives."

The director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, Rick Hess, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the critical race theory debate, and how the media has covered the subject. "Misleading Media Coverage Has Made Critical Race Theory Debate Angrier and Less Honest," a report by Hess, is available now. https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/medias-misleading-portrayal-o...

The president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, Nina Rees, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a recent report by the National Alliance which shows an increase in enrollment in charter schools across the country in the 2020-21 academic year. The report, "Voting with Their Feet: A State-level Analysis of Public Charter School and District Public School Enrollment Trends," i...

The president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Mike Petrilli, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the results of the 2021 Virginia Governor race, and what the election of Glenn Youngkin could signal for school choice moving forward.

A junior economist and doctoral student at the Ifo Center for the Economics of Education, Benjamin Arold, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Arold's research, which looks at the impact of the Common Core on subjects outside of math and reading. The paper, "The Unintended Effects of the Common Core State Standards on Non-Targeted Subjects," by Arold and M. Danish Shakeel, is available here: https://...

Investor and Chairman of the Board for the American Federation for Children, Bill Oberndorf, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how progress in the school choice movement has been made in the states, with private school choice programs in 32 states, and charter programs in 48. Oberndorf was recently awarded the 2021 Simon-DeVos Prize for Philanthropic Leadership by Philanthropy Roundtable.

A senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, columnist for the Wall Street Journal, and author of Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell, Jason Riley, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss some of Riley's reservations with adoption of critical race theory into school curriculum.

The Superintendent of Detroit Public Schools Community District, Dr. Nikolai Vitti, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how he has helped Detroit schools rebound from financial strains to its current renaissance.

The Managing Attorney at the Liberty Justice Center, Daniel Suhr, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the Bishop of Charleston v. Adams case, which challenges South Carolina state officials from using the Blaine Amendment to block Covid-19 funds from going to non-public schools and historically black colleges and universities.

The Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, Eric Hanushek, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Hanushek being awarded the $3.9 million Yidan Prize, which honors individuals or teams that have significantly contributed to the theory and practice of education.

The superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Alberto Carvalho, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how the district has supported school choice, which includes spreading choice options to communities and creating new programs that meet the needs of students and demands of parents.

A senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, Michael Bindas, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the Carson v. Makin, which challenges Maine's exclusion of religions options from the state's tuition assistance program for residents outside of public school districts who send their children to private schools.

A professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Dr. Marty Makary, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the arguments against mandating mask use by children in schools. Dr. Makary is co-author of a recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, "The Case Against Masks for Children." https://www.wsj.com/articles/masks-children-parenting-schools-mandates-covid-19-coronavirus-pandemic-biden-administration...

An Assistant Professor at George Mason University, David Houston, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the 2021 Education Next Poll, on which both Houston and Peterson are co-authors.

An education researcher and former senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Tom Loveless, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new book by Loveless, "Between the State and the Schoolhouse: Understanding the Failure of the Common Core." https://www.hepg.org/hep-home/books/between-the-state-and-the-schoolhouse

The Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, Eric Hanushek, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss two new reports by Hanushek, which focus on incentives for schools to improve learning after the Covid-19 pandemic. The reports, "Budgeting During And For Recovery" and "Does The World Change For Teachers?," are available as part of the Hoover Education Success I...

The president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, Kate Walsh, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new study by the NCTQ, which looks at how licensure tests can help improve teacher quality, and whether teachers should be required to take such tests at all. The report, "Driven by Data: Using licensure tests to build a strong, diverse teacher workforce," is available now. https://www.nctq.or...

A Senior Knowledge Expert at McKinsey & Company, Emma Dorn, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Dorn's new report, which investigates the effects of learning loss from Covid-19 school shutdowns. Dorn's report, "COVID-19 and education: The lingering effects of unfinished learning," co-written with Bryan Hancock and Jimmy Sarakatsannis, is available now. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-...

A Professor of Education at Stanford University, William Damon, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Damon's new book, "A Round of Golf with My Father: The New Psychology of Exploring Your Past to Make Peace with Your Present."

The 44th Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, Clint Bolick, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Justice Bolick’s book new book, "Unshackled: Freeing America’s K–12 Education System," co-written with Kate J. Hardiman.

The Commissioner the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, Johnny Key, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how Arkansas has adjusted amid the ongoing challenges of Covid-19, and how the school choice landscape has shifted over the past year.