The Education Exchange

Marcus Winters, an associate professor in Boston University and Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his new study, which shows lasting test score gains for students at charter schools in Newark, N.J. Read the full study, "Charter Schools in Newark: the Effect on Student Test Scores," here: https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/sites/default/files/charter-sc...

Melanie Rucinski, a doctoral student in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss her new paper, "Racial Diversity in the Teacher Pipeline," which looks into how Massachusetts has worked to make the teacher profession better reflect the student population. The full paper, co-written with Joshua Goodman, is available here: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/rap...

Bill Whalen, the Virginia Hobbs Carpenter Fellow in Journalism and a Hoover Institution research fellow, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss education issues, including school choice, in California.

Richard Burkhauser, Professor Emeritus of Policy Analysis at Cornell University's College of Human Ecology, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the poverty rate in the United States, looking at a full-income poverty measure, and raising the question of whether President Lyndon Johnson's original War on Poverty has been a success. Burkhauser is co-author on two recent papers, "Evaluating the success...

On Aug. 12, 2019, Todd Rogers, Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, sat down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new study that looks to curb chronic absenteeism through randomized experiments. The paper, "Reducing Student Absences at Scale by Targeting Parents’ Misbeliefs," is co-written with Avi Feller, and he co-wrote "How to Tackle Student Absenteeism" with Carly Robinson f...

In a new book, "Love Your Enemies" Arthur Brooks describes the rise of a “culture of contempt”—a habit of seeing people who disagree with us not as merely incorrect or misguided, but as worthless--and considers what we can do to bridge divides and mend relationships. Earlier this year, Brooks spoke to Paul E. Peterson about how contempt corrodes our own happiness, about remembering the difference...

Bruce Meyer, the McCormick Foundation Professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his annual report on U.S. consumption poverty, which reveals that poverty has fallen sharply in the past 50 years. Read the full report here: https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/annual-report-on-us-consumption-poverty-2018/

David Steiner, the Director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the review of the Providence Public School District recently undertaken by Johns Hopkins. The review includes distressing news on proficiency in math and reading, teacher morale and deteriorating facilities. Read the full review here: https://edpolicy.education.jhu.edu/institute-leads...

Erica Smith, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, a case that takes a deep look at school choice and which could declare the so-called Blaine Amendments unconstitutional in 38 states. Prof. Peterson previously spoke to Richard Komer on this issue, and in the Fall 2019 issue of Education Next, Joshua Dunn analyzed t...

Andreas Schleicher, Director for the Directorate of Education and Skills at OECD, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss the upcoming PISA results, how high-performing nations work to support teachers, and what school systems can do to better prepare students for the future. The 2019 PISA results will be released on Tuesday, Dec. 3.

Robert Pondiscio, a senior fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss his time observing a Success Academy school in the Bronx, and his new book, "How the Other Half Learns." Read an excerpt from the book, "Come to Jesus: Effort parties, data walls, reading logs, and “warm/strict” — a look inside Success Academy." https://www.educationnext.org/come-to-jes...

Richard Komer, a former Senior Litigation Attorney at the Institute for Justice, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, a case which could declare the Blaine Amendments in 38 state constitutions unconstitutional. Komer is defending plaintiffs, including Kendra Espinoza, who received a tax credit scholarship to attend a religious school. In the Fall 2019 issue...

Diane Tavenner, the cofounder and CEO of Summit Public Schools, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss her new book, "Prepared: What Kids Need for a Fulfilled Life," and a series of tips and questions for parents as their children begin the college application process.

Andrew G. Biggs, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new article and whether teachers are paid appropriately compared to similar professions. Read the full article, "The Truth about Teacher Pay," co-written with Jason Richwine, at National Affairs: https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/the-truth-about-teacher-pay

Michael Horn, co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss his new book "Choosing College," co-written with Bob Moesta, and the different questions prospective college applicants should ask themselves as they work through the application process for college. Read an excerpt from "Choosing College," "What Colleges Can Learn Fr...

Ep. 113 - Oct. 7, 2019: The Turnaround of Camden's Schools by Paul E. Peterson

Carlos X. Lastra-Anadón, a postdoctoral research fellow at Stanford University and an Assistant Professor at IE University in Madrid, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss their co-authored paper, "Who Benefits from Local Financing of Public Services? A Causal Analysis." Read the full paper here: https://sites.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/PDF/Papers/PEPG19_03.pdf

Matt Beienburg, the Director of Education Policy at the Goldwater Institute, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the impact of education savings accounts as a school choice option in Arizona. Read his full paper, "The Public School Benefits of Education Savings Accounts: The Impact of ESAs in Arizona," here: https://goldwaterinstitute.org/az-esa/

Rebecca Friedrichs, the lead plaintiff in the Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association case that ended in a four-four split in the Supreme Court, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss her book, "Standing Up to Goliath," and how teachers feel about national unions.

Doug Harris, Professor and Department Chair of Economics at Tulane University, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his new study, "How is New Orleans School Performance Evolving, and Why?," co-authored with Lihan Liu, Alica Gerry, and Paula Arce-Trigatti, and how school choice and performance-based contracting have fared after 15 years. Read the full study here: https://educationresearchalliancenola...

Robert G. Valletta, Group Vice President at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss whether the earning power of college graduates have flatlined in relation to those without a college degree. The research referenced can be found at "Recent Flattening in the Higher Education Wage Premium: Polarization, Skill Downgrading, or Both?," by Robert Valletta, as well a...

Marty West, the editor-in-chief of Education Next, joins Paul E. Peterson to continue their discussion on the 2019 EdNext Poll, focusing on the public's opinion on higher education. Read the 2019 EdNext poll here: https://www.educationnext.org/school-choice-trump-era-results-2019-education-next-poll/

Michael Henderson, Research Director, Public Policy Research Lab at the Manship School of Mass Communication, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how the 2019 Education Next Poll came together, including methodology and how the sample builds in experiments to best gauge the public's opinion on schools. The 2019 EdNext Poll will be released on Aug. 20, 2019, and available at educationnext.org. https:...

Todd Rogers, Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new study that looks to curb chronic absenteeism through randomized experiments. The paper, "Reducing Student Absences at Scale by Targeting Parents’ Misbeliefs," is co-written with Avi Feller and available here: https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/todd_rogers/files/rogers_feller_absen...

Jason Delisle, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how the federal Pell Grant program, initially designed to help low-income students access college, has become available to more and more middle-class families. Read the paper, "Pell Grant mission creep: How a federal program for low-income families expanded to the middle class," co-written with...