The Education Exchange

A co-founder of and a distinguished fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, Michael Horn, joins Paul E. Peterson to survey how schools and families are adapting to online education. They also explore what innovations might be on the horizon amid coronavirus-related school-building closures.

The former superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, Joseph Olchefske, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how schools are operating amid the closures due to Covid-19, including scenario planning and how to deliver education while physical campuses are closed.

The superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Alberto Carvalho, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how the county has prepared for the school closures forced by the coronavirus pandemic, including strong investments in digital technology.

The director of the Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research at Saint Louis University, Michael Podgursky, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss what the lasting economic impacts could occur as a result of Covid-19.

A senior fellow and director of education policy at the Manhattan Institute, Ray Domanico, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how enrollment in district and charter schools in New York City is shifting. Read Domanico's complete report, "A Statistical Profile of New York’s K-12 Educational Sector: Race, Income and Religion." https://www.manhattan-institute.org/complex-demographics-new-york-public-pr...

An Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas, Albert Cheng, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Cheng's new paper, "What Do They Deliver? A Report on American Colleges and Universities," which polls a representative sample of college alumni on their experiences in higher education. The paper, co-written with David Sikkink, is available here: https://www.cardus.ca/research/education/reports/w...

The Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow in Education at the Hoover Institution, Eric Hanushek, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss new findings on the widening gaps in educational achievement by socio-economic status. Hanushek and Peterson are co-authors of a new paper, "Long-Run Trends in the U.S. SES-Achievement Gap," with Laura M. Talpey and Ludger Woessman. https://www.hks.harvard.edu/sites/defaul...

The director of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education, Ludger Woessmann, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Woessmann's new research that investigates how testing reforms relate to country performance on the Program for International Student Assessment tests over time, and their link to student achievement. The full paper, co-written with Annika B. Bergbauer and Eric A. Hanushek, is availab...

A distinguished research fellow at the Hoover Institution, Macke Raymond, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Raymond's new paper that looks into the rising high school graduation rates, and the gap between those graduation requirements and the entry requirements for state universities. The paper, "The Diploma Dilemma," is available now as part of the Hoover Education Success Initiative. https://www...

The Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow in Education at the Hoover Institution, Eric Hanushek, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new paper by Hanushek that offers guidelines for states and local governments on how to raise teacher pay in a way that best supports improved student achievement. Hanushek's paper, "The Unavoidable: Tomorrow’s Teacher Compensation," is part of the Hoover Education Succe...

A professor of education policy at the University of Arkansas, Patrick Wolf, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Wolf’s latest findings from Milwaukee’s Parental Choice Program. Wolf’s research explores whether voucher students are more likely to attain higher levels of education than their peers outside of the program. Read the full paper, co-written with John F. Witte and Brian Kisida, here: https...

Daniel Hamlin, an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma, joins Paul E. Peterson to discussion the question of whether homeschooled children have fewer opportunities to acquire cultural capital than their public school peers. Hamlin's full paper is available here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/0161956X.2019.1617582

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.