The Education Exchange

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-cdc-11628432716

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 Initiative. https://www.hoover.org/research/budgeting-during-and-for-recovery https://www.hoover.org/research/does-world-change-for-teachers

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.org/publications/Driven-by-Data:-Using-Licensure-Tests-to-Build-a-Strong,-Diverse-Teacher-Workforce/

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-social-sector/our-insights/covid-19-and-education-the-lingering-effects-of-unfinished-learning

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.

The Chief Executive Officer for ExcelinEd, Patricia Levesque, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss recent legislative changes to school choice in Florida, as well as advances in options around the country.

The Director of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education, Ludger Woessmann, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Woessmann's new research, which investigates the long-term economic effects of student learning loss during the Covid-19 pandemic. Woessmann's paper, "The Economic Impacts of Learning Losses," co-written with Eric A. Hanushek, is available now. http://hanushek.stanford.edu/publications/economic-impacts-learning-losses

An assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma, Daniel Hamlin, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the Conference on the Post-Pandemic Future of Homeschooling, which was recently hosted over seven weeks by the Program on Education Policy and Governance at the Harvard Kennedy School. Video and presentations from the conference can be found here: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/taubman/programs-research/pepg/events/future-homeschooling

A Professor of Education and Social Policy and of Economics at the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University, David Figlio, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Figlio's latest research, which explores how Florida's private school choice program affected students in public schools.

The State Representative for House District 91 in Indiana, Robert Behning, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Indiana's expanded scholarship program, and current trends in school choice across the country.

A Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institute, Macke Raymond, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Raymond's research on the structural imperfections of high schools, how the Covid-19 pandemic laid bare these problems, and how the high school experience can be improved. Raymond's research is available as part of the Hoover Education Success Initiative. https://www.hoover.org/research/introduction-how-improve-our-schools-post-covid-era

A Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education, Williamson M. Evers, Ph.D., joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a proposed mathematics curriculum framework in California which, if passed, could stunt student progress in math and halt gifted-and-talented programs

A senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, Jason Riley, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Riley's new biography on Thomas Sowell, which chronicles the life of the long-time senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. "Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell" will be available on May 25, 2021.

A research fellow at the Hoover Institution, David R. Henderson, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the long-term costs of the pandemic response on young people. Henderson's op-ed, "Youth Pay a High Price for Covid Protection," was co-written with Charles L. Hooper and is available in the Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/youth-pay-a-high-price-for-covid-protection-11620078943?mod=searchresults_pos1&page=1

A Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, Jay Bhattacharya, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the the importance of reopening schools during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the subsequent risks to students being kept out of in-person classrooms.

The Superintendent of the Catholic Schools Office of the Archdiocese of Boston, Thomas Carroll, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how Catholic schools in Massachusetts have responded and adapted to the Covid-19 pandemic, and how they've remained open while many public schools operated remotely.

A professor of political science at Boston College, Peter Skerry, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Skerry's latest piece in National Affairs, which looks at the Black Lives Matter movement, and how the Black experience in America differs from the immigrant experience of those groups originating from Latin America. "Why 'Black Lives Matter' Matters" is available now at National Affairs. https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/why-black-lives-matter-matters

A senior fellow at the Pioneer Institute, Charles D. Chieppo, join's Paul E. Peterson to discuss Pioneer's latest poll, which finds mixed views on Massachusetts schools' response to the pandemic, including opinions on individual teachers, school districts and teachers unions. The full poll, "Massachusetts Residents' Perceptions of K-12 Education During the Covid-19 Pandemic," is available now. https://pioneerinstitute.org/academic-standards/poll-finds-mixed-views-about-schools-pandemic-performance/

The National Director of Research at the American Federation for Children, Corey DeAngelis, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss DeAngelis' new report, which investigates the likelihood of school reopenings amid the pandemic against funding in each district. DeAngelis' report, "Are School Reopening Decisions Related to Funding? Evidence from Over 12,000 Districts During the COVID-19 Pandemic," co-written with Christos Makridis, is available now. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3799694

A professor at the University of Buckingham, James Tooley, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Tooley's new book, Really Good Schools: Global Lessons for High-Caliber, Low-Cost Education, and the success of some low-cost, effective private schools in the developing world. Peterson reviewed Really Good Schools for Education Next, in "To Critics of The Beautiful Tree, a Pearl of a Reply." https://www.educationnext.org/to-critics-of-the-beautiful-tree-pearl-of-reply-review-really-good-schools-tooley/ Tooley profiled low-cost private schools in the Fall 2005 issue of Education Next, in "Private Schools for the Poor." https://www.educationnext.org/privateschoolsforthepoor/

A visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, John Bailey, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Bailey's latest report, which reviews more than 130 studies on whether schools can reopen safely amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Bailey's report, "Is it safe to reopen schools? An extensive review of the research," is available now from AEI. https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/is-it-safe-to-reopen-schools-an-extensive-review-of-the-research/

The director of the Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research at Saint Louis University, Michael Podgursky, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the resignation of the members of the Oakley Union Elementary School District Board, who were caught on a live Zoom meeting discussing parents, including a comment that, "it's very unfortunate that they want to pick on us because they want their babysitters back."

The President of the John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy, Brett Healy, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the effects on collective bargaining and the long-term tax savings of Wisconsin's Act 10 budget repair bill, which was passed 10 years ago. The MacIver Institute's report, "Act 10 at 10: Total Taxpayer Savings Hits $13.9 Billion," is available now. https://www.maciverinstitute.com/2021/02/act-10-at-10-total-taxpayer-savings-hits-13-9-billion/

A professor of Education Policy at the University of Arkansas, Patrick J. Wolf, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Wolf’s new research, which finds that charter schools in seven U.S. cities are more cost effective than their traditional public school counterparts, according to test results. The study, "Making it Count: The Productivity of Public Charter Schools in Seven U.S. Cities," co-written with Corey A. DeAngelis, Cassidy Syftestad, Larry D. Maloney and Jay F. May, is available now. https://scdp.uark.edu/making-it-count-the-productivity-of-public-charter-schools-in-seven-u-s-cities/

The president of the National Education Association, Becky Pringle, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how to best open schools, and debate the safety protocols needed to get teachers back into classrooms, including the prioritization of teachers receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.

The Dean Fellow and head of the Teacher Preparation Program at the Relay Graduate School of Education in Memphis, Lequite Manning, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Relay's teacher training and placement techniques, and how they have been adapted amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

A Distinguished Doctoral Fellow and Graduate Assistant at the University of Arkansas' Department of Education Reform, Martha Bradley-Dorsey, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Bradley-Dorsey's thesis on how traditional school bureaucracies are limiting access to school choice.

The President and CEO of EdChoice, Robert Enlow, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how the majority of public schools are holding classes online only, more than 60 percent of private schools are serving students in person, and the implications of that stark difference.

The associate director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington Bothell, Betheny Gross, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Gross's new research, which illustrates that the surge in Covid-19 cases is slowing efforts to reopen schools.

The Director of the Public Policy Research Lab at Louisiana State University, Michael Henderson, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss findings from the latest Education Next survey. The poll surveys parents on their experiences as schools attempted to reopen amid the Covid-19 pandemic. https://www.educationnext.org/pandemic-parent-survey-finds-perverse-pattern-students-more-likely-to-be-attending-school-in-person-where-covid-is-spreading-more-rapidly/

The senior director of PRI's Center for Education, Lance Izumi, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Izumi's new research, which details the obstacles students trapped in failing schools face when trying to switch to charter schools Izumi's research brief, "New Obstacles Hinder Students Trapped in Failing Schools from Escaping to Charter Schools," is available now. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-brief-new-obstacles-hinder-students-trapped-in-failing-schools-from-escaping-to-charter-schools-301200866.html

The director of National Litigation & General counsel for the Goldwater Institute, Jon Riches, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a case before the New Jersey Supreme Court, which will decide whether taxpayers will be required to pay for teachers' release time. An op-ed by Riches and Justin Meyers, "The N.J. Teachers Who Get Paid Not to Teach," is available at the Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-n-j-teachers-who-get-paid-not-to-teach-11609710168

A Distinguished Senior Fellow and President Emeritus at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Chester E. Finn, Jr., joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Finn's new policy analysis, which looks into the state of school accountability five years after the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act. Finn's analysis, "School Accountability — Past, Present, and Future," is available now: https://www.hoover.org/research/school-accountability-past-present-and-future

A resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, Nat Malkus, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how schools have dealt with reopening amid the Covid-19 pandemic, including the different options available to districts. Malkus' report, "Reopening in the shadow of COVID-19: Beginning the first full coronavirus school year," is available now. https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/reopening-in-the-shadow-of-covid-19-beginning-the-first-full-coronavirus-school-year/

U.S. education needs more flexibility and adaptability, less rigidity, a new Hoover Education Success Initiative report finds. A Distinguished Policy Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Christopher Ruszkowski, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss "Toward Equitable School Choice," a new policy analysis by Peterson and released as part of the Hoover Education Success Initiative. Read the full report here: https://www.hoover.org/research/toward-equitable-school-choice

The President and CEO of the Aurora Institute, Susan Patrick, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how schools can continue to adapt to remote learning environments.

A research professor at Georgetown University and director of the Edunomics Lab, Marguerite Roza, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new Edunomics Lab study on weighted student funding, which investigates the spending patterns and student outcomes in school districts. The full study is available here: https://edunomicslab.org/2020/10/29/wsfstudy/

A professor of Education Policy at the University of Arkansas, Patrick J. Wolf, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Wolf's new research, which explores the funding inequities between charter and traditional schools in 18 cities across the country. The report, "Charter School Funding: Inequity Surges in the Cities," by Wolf, Corey A. DeAngelis, Larry D. Maloney and Jay F. May, is available now: https://scdp.uark.edu/charter-school-funding-inequity-surges-in-the-cities

The Dead of the Belmont University School of Education, Wayne D. Lewis Jr., joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss teacher effectiveness, and how schools of education can better prepare teachers for the classroom.

The president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Mike Petrilli, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the results of the 2020 presidential election, and what it could mean for education in the United States.

An assistant professor of political science at Boston College, Michael Hartney, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new study by Hartney and Leslie Finger, which links school district decisions on whether to reopen schools to how those areas voted in the 2016 presidential election.

An Associate Professor of Economics at the Naval Postgraduate School, Ryan Sullivan, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Sullivan's recent op-ed, which outlines why schools should resume in-person classes.

The co-leader of the Eversheds Sutherland Business and Commercial Litigation team, Rocco E. Testani, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a recently settled adequacy lawsuit in Delaware. The plaintiffs originally alleged that students in Delaware, particularly disadvantaged students defined as low income, English learners and students with disabilities, were not receiving an adequate education in that state under its constitution. Testani was the lead attorney in the case, defending the state.

A Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute, Williamson M. Evers, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss California Gov. Gavin Newsom's veto of AB 331, a bill that would have made an ethnic studies course a high school graduation requirement.