The Education Exchange

The Founder of Propel America, Paymon Rouhanifard, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how to best help students transition from high school to the workforce.

A Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Parag A. Pathak, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Pathak's recent working paper, which investigates the effects of busing on integration, achievement, and college enrollment. “Still Worth the Trip? School Busing Effects in Boston and New York,” co-written with Joshua Angrist, Guthrie Gray-Lobe, and Clemence M. Idoux, is availa...

The director of education reform at Reason Foundation, Aaron Garth Smith, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Smith's latest analysis, which shows per-pupil spending increased in 49 out of 50 states during the 2020 fiscal year, while student enrollment declined in 22 states, plus the district of Columbia. Smith's report, "K-12 Education Spending Spotlight: An in-depth look at school finance data and...

The editor-in-chief of Education Next and member of the National Assessment Governing Board, Martin R. West, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the latest release of National Assessment of Educational Progress data, which shows test performance dipped for most fourth-grade students in both math and reading since the beginning of the pandemic.

An assistant policy researcher at RAND, Melissa Kay Diliberti, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Diliberti's recent report, which collects survey responses from school districts through the 2021-22 academic year, and how schools are expecting teacher shortages for 2022-23. The report, "Districts Continue to Struggle with Staffing, Political Polarization, and Unfinished Instruction," co-written wit...

The director of the Center for School and Student Progress at NWEA, Karyn Lewis, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Lewis' new research brief, which finds signs of student performance in math and reading rebounding during the 2021-22 academic year. The research brief, "Student achievement in 2021–2022: Cause for hope and continued urgency," co-written with Megan Kuhfield, is available now. https://...

An Assistant Professor at George Mason University, David Houston, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the 2022 Education Next Survey, on which both Houston and Peterson are co-authors. "Partisan Rifts Widen, Perceptions of School Quality Decline: Results of the 2022 Education Next Survey of Public Opinion," by David M. Houston, Paul E. Peterson, and Martin R. West, is available now. https://www.educ...

A Post Doctoral Researcher at the Harvard Kennedy School, M. Danish Shakeel, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss their new study, which finds that student achievement has increased since the 1970s. "A Half Century of Student Progress Nationwide" is available now at EducationNext.org. https://www.educationnext.org/half-century-of-student-progress-nationwide-first-comprehensive-analysis-finds-gains-te...

An Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, George Bulman, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how the Covid-19 pandemic affected enrollment and performance in community colleges in California. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Community College Enrollment and Student Success," by Bulman and Robert W. Fairlie, is available now. https://www.edworkingpap...

The founder of Vertex Partnership Academies, a nonprofit charter school network, Ian Rowe, joins Paul Peterson to discuss the opening of Vertex Academies, a new charter high school set to open this month in the Bronx, New York City.

An adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute and superintendent of Partnership Schools, Kathleen Porter-Magee, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how enrollment in Catholic schools increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. Porter-Magee's brief, "Catholic School Enrollment Boomed During Covid. Let’s Make It More Than a One-Time Bump," co-written with Annie Smith and Matt Klausmeier, is available now....

The 11th Secretary of Education of the United States, Betsy DeVos, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss her experience in the U.S. Department of Education, and her new book, Hostages No More: The Fight for Education Freedom and the Future of the American Child. A review of the book by Peterson for Education Next is available now: "In New Book, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Emerges as a Modern Alyos...

An assistant professor of political science at Boston College, Michael Hartney, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Hartney's new book, how influential teachers unions are in shaping educational policy, and how parents have fared in their own efforts. Hartney's book, How Policies Make Interest Groups: Governments, Unions, and American Education, will be available in Sept. 2022 by the University of C...

A Distinguished Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution and director of the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University, Macke Raymond, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss CREDO's latest study, which shows growth for students attending Innovation Network and charter schools in Indianapolis. The "2022 Indianapolis CREDO Study" is available now. https://www.themindtrust....

A University Professor in Economics and the College and the Harris School of Public Policy, Director of the Development Innovation Lab, Michael Kremer, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Kremer's latest working paper, which examines the impact of enrolling in Bridge International Academies in Kenya. Kremer's paper, "Can Education be Standardized? Evidence from Kenya," co-written with Guthrie Gray-L...

A senior writer and national correspondent at The 74, Beth Hawkins, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the ramifications of the Minneapolis teacher strike, which ended in March 2022. "Minneapolis Teacher Strike Lasted 3 Weeks. The Fallout Will Be Felt for Years," by Hawkins is available now at The 74. https://www.the74million.org/article/minneapolis-teacher-strike-lasted-3-weeks-the-fallout-will-be...

An Assistant Professor at Temple University, Sarah Cordes, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Cordes' latest study, which measures the effect of charter schools on the diversity of nearby district schools. "Choice and Change: The Implications of Charter School Expansion for School and Neighborhood Diversity in NYC," co-written with Agustina Laurito, is available now. https://www.edworkingpapers.com...

The lead research scientist in Applied Research at ACT, Edgar Sanchez, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Sanchez's latest report, which investigates how grade inflation has grown since 2010, and how inflation increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. The report, “Grade Inflation Continues to Grow in the Past Decade,” co-written with Raeal Moore, is available now. https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/...

An assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma, Daniel Hamlin, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Hamlin's research on gun ownership in America, and its relationship to school shootings over 40 years. Hamlin's paper, "Are gun ownership rates and regulations associated with firearm incidents in American schools? A forty-year analysis (1980–2019)", is available now. https://www.sciencedirect.co...

A Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and a Senior Fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, Chester E. Finn, Jr., joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Finn's new book, Assessing the Nation’s Report Card: Challenges and Choices for NAEP. Finn's latest piece for Education Next, “It Felt Like Guerrilla Warfare” — Student achievement levels in the Nation’s Report Card: a brief...

The Walter H. Gale Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and faculty director of the Center for Education Policy Research, Thomas Kane, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Kane's latest study, which looks into how remote and hybrid instruction impacted students' learning in the 2020-21 academic year. "The Consequences of Remote and Hybrid Instruction During the Pandemic"...

The Executive Director of the Pioneer Institute, Jim Stergios, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the current state of Boston Public Schools, and whether control of the district should be taken over by the state. "Time for Receivership in Boston," a report by Stergios, is available now. https://pioneerinstitute.org/opeds/education-oped/time-for-receivership-in-boston/

A professor of economics at Duke University, Peter Arcidiacono, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Arcidiacono new study, which examines how racial preferences for under-represented minorities affected admissions to Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The report, "What the Students for Fair Admissions Cases Reveal About Racial Preferences," co-written with Josh K...

The Executive Director at North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Michael Maher, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the state's preliminary report on student learning loss in North Carolina during the pandemic. "Report to the North Carolina General Assembly: An Impact Analysis of Student Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic," is available now. https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/meetings/T...

The National Director of the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH), Douglas N. Harris, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Harris' new study, which analyzes data from 1995 to 2016 for the nation's publicly funded school systems, and finds that charter schools increased average graduation rates, as well as math and reading test scores. "The Bigger Picture of Charter Scho...