The Education Gadfly Show

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show, Vlad Kogan—professor and director of undergraduate studies at The Ohio State University—joins us to discuss his forthcoming book, No Adult Left Behind: How Politics Hijacks Education Policy and Hurts Kids (out August 21).Then, on the Research Minute, Adam highlights new findings from the National Bureau of Economic Research on the long-term benefits of participation in scholastic sports.Recommended content:“No Adult Left Behind: How Politics Hijacks Education Policy and Hurts Kids” —Vladimir Kogan“When School Board Elections Lose Their Voice” —Anna J. Egalite, Education Next“The Benefits of Scholastic Athletics” — James J. Heckman, Colleen P. Loughlin, and Haihan Tian, NBER (July 2025)Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show, Mike returns for another solo episode, reflecting on the role of regulation in school choice—is it stifling innovation or saving us from bad schools?Then, on the Research Minute, Adam covers a study looking at the relationship between timed math testing and anxiety among fourth- and fifth-grade students.Recommended content:“Democrats’ School Choice Dilemma” —Michael J. Petrilli, for the Wall Street Journal“Seizing educational dynamism” —Stéphane Lavertu and Tim Rosenberger, Thomas B. Fordham Institute“School Choice Should Take the Road Less Traveled” —Robert Enlow and Michael Q. McShane, Education Next“Of School Choice, Regulation, and the Real Road-Least Traveled” —Jed Wallace, CharterFolk“It’s One Small, Ugly School Choice Expansion” —Michael Q. McShane, for the Wall Street Journal“Math anxiety in elementary students: Examining the role of timing and task complexity” —Kathrin E. Maki, Anne F. Zaslofsky, Robin Codding, and Breanne Woods, ScienceDirect (2024)Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show, Brian Jodice, National Press Secretary for the American Federation for Children joins us for a lively debate on the federal school choice provision embedded in the newly enacted “One Big Beautiful Bill”—including its potential impact in blue states.Then, on the Research Minute, Adam reviews a new Education Next study showing that a low-cost college-planning course can boost success for high-achieving, low-income students.Recommended content: “Democrats’ School Choice Dilemma” —Michael J. Petrilli, for The Wall Street Journal“Federal school choice skeptics are tilting at windmills” —Shaka Mitchell, for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute“College Counseling in the Classroom” —Joshua Hyman, Education Next“#974: The Risks of the Educational Choice for Children Act, with Jon Valant” —Education Gadfly Show, Thomas B. Fordham InstituteEducation Gadfly Show #974: The Risks of the Educational Choice for Children Act, with Jon ValantEducation Gadfly Show #963: All about the Educational Choice for Children Act, with Jim Blew Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.  

 On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Doug Harris, director of the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH), joins us to discuss a new website aimed at advancing evidence-based education policy and supporting more effective decision-making in schools.Then, on the Research Minute, Meredith Coffey examines new data from Massachusetts that reveal lasting post-pandemic shifts in school enrollment, particularly in the middle grades and in higher-income districts.Recommended content: “AEFP Live Handbook of Education Policy Research” —Association for Education Finance & Policy (AEFP)“School Enrollment Shifts Five Years After the Pandemic” —Abigail Francis and Joshua Goodman, EdWorkingPapers (June 2025)“Analyzing homeschooling demographics and families’ definitions of student success” —Jeff Murray, Thomas B. Fordham Institute“Fixing IES” —Chester E. Finn, Jr., Thomas B. Fordham InstituteFeedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org. 

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Mike flies solo to reflect on what’s happening across the education reform landscape—from the private school choice debate to the question of whether education reform has successfully scaled.Then, on the Research Minute, Adam shares a study examining four-day school weeks and their (paltry) impact on teacher recruitment and retention.Recommended content:“Maine Case Opens New Battleground for School Choice: The Right to Discriminate” —Linda Jacobson, The 74“What Betsy DeVos should say about vouchers, LGBT rights, and religious liberty” —Mike Petrilli, Thomas B. Fordham Institute“John Arnold’s Instructive Retreat from Ed Reform” —Mike Goldstein, Education Next“Fewer Children Left Behind: Lessons From the Dramatic Achievement Gains of the 1990s and 2000s” —Mike Petrilli, Thomas B. Fordham Institute“The Effects of the Four-Day School Week on Teacher Recruitment and Retention” —Andrew M. Camp, J. Cameron Anglum, Cory Koedel, Se Woong Lee, and Tuan D. Nguyen, CALDER (2025)Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Jon Valant —director of the Brown Center on Education Policy and a senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings—joins Mike to discuss his recent analysis of the federal tax credit scholarship initiative included in the Republican budget bill and its potential to open the door to waste, fraud, and discriminatory practices. Then, on the Research Minute, Adam shares a Belgian study comparing the cognitive and non-cognitive effects of work-based learning within different vocational education arrangements.Recommended content: “The Educational Choice for Children Act opens the door to waste, fraud, and abuse” —Jon Valant, Brookings Institution“Federal school choice skeptics are tilting at windmills” —Shaka Mitchell, for Thomas B. Fordham Institute“The impact of work-based versus school-based learning on cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes in vocational secondary education” —Ilse Tobback, Dieter Verhaest, and Kristof De Witte, Economics of Education Review (2025) Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.  

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Linda Darling-Hammond and Anne Podolsky of the Learning Policy Institute—authors of our latest Think Again brief, “Do the Returns to Teacher Experience Fizzle Out?”—join Mike and David to discuss whether teachers really stop improving after just a few years on the job. Then, on the Research Minute, Adam shares a study examining the extent of school board turnover and whether it is linked to school performance.Recommended content: “Think Again: Do the returns to teacher experience fizzle out?” —Anne Poldolsky and Linda Darling-Hammond, Learning Policy Institute, for Thomas B. Fordham Institute“Effective Teacher Professional Development” — Linda Darling-Hammond, Maria E. Hyler, and Madelyn Gardner, Learning Policy Institute“The voices we don't hear: Teachers who gave up” —Robert Pondiscio, Thomas B. Fordham Institute“High Turnover with Low Accountability: Local School Board Elections in 16 States” — Vladimir Kogan, Stéphane Lavertu, and Zachary Peskowitz, EdWorking Paper (May 2025)Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.  

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Brandon Brown, CEO of The Mind Trust, joins Mike to explain why charter school advocates keep winning in red states—and how others might follow Indiana’s lead. Then, on the Research Minute, Adam shares a new study documenting the sharp rise in teacher absences post-pandemic—and why it matters for schools and students.Recommended content:“Charter school advocates keep winning—at least in red states” —Brandon Brown, CEO of The Mind Trust, for Thomas B. Fordham Institute“Education reform in red versus blue states” — Michael Petrilli, Thomas B. Fordham Institute“Five ways to ensure that charter schools have a political future” —Brandon Brown, Thomas B. Fordham Institute“Ed in ‘28: A playbook for Democratic education reformers” —Dale Chu, Thomas B. Fordham Institute“State data shows K–12 teacher absences surged post-pandemic” —Michael Hansen, Purnima Aggarwal, and Rebecca Wagner, Brookings Institute (May 2025)Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org. 

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Tom Toch, director of FutureEd, and Lynn Olson, former deputy director at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, join Mike and David to discuss Lynn’s new paper, “Quality Check: The New, Best Way to Measure School Performance.” Then, on the Research Minute, Amber shares a study on the economic effects of Universal Pre-Kindergarten programs, showing that UPK boosted workforce participation across nine states and cities.Recommended content:“Quality Check: The New, Best Way to Measure School Performance” —Lynn Olson, FutureEd“A New, Bipartisan Agenda for Raising Student Achievement” —Tom Toch, FutureEd“The Full Measure of a School” —Erik W. Robelen, Education Next“Ready or Not? A New Way to Measure Elementary and Middle School Quality” — Jing Liu, Seth Gershenson, and Max Anthenelli, Thomas B. Fordham Institute“Universal Pre-K as Economic Stimulus: Evidence from Nine States and Large Cities in the U.S” — C. Kirabo Jackson, Julia A. Turner, and Jacob Bastian, NBER (May 2025)Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Genevieve Collins, Texas State Director for Americans for Prosperity, joins us to discuss Texas’s newly passed Education Savings Account bill—an ambitious policy that could position the Lone Star State as a national leader in school choice. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber highlights a Michigan study showing that simply being flagged for third-grade retention can boost students’ reading scores—even if they aren’t actually held back.Recommended content: “A Texas-Sized Win for Families in the Trump Education Era” —Genevieve Collins, RealClear Policy“Jeb Bush: Texas’ Education Savings Account Victory Can Set Nationwide Standard” —Jeb Bush, The74“How Genevieve Collins, Americans for Prosperity, Are Shaping Texas’s Future” —Daily Caller“The Impacts of Grade Retention Policy With Minimal Retention” —Jordan S. Berne, Brian A. Jacob, Christina Weiland, Katharine O. Strunk. EdWorking Papers (May 2025)Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.