Commentary

Measuring School Quality for Accountability and Improvement

What’s the best way to measure a school’s quality? It depends on whom you ask. Parents, educators, employers and policymakers hold many different opinions about…

Out-of-School Programs’ Role in Reversing Chronic Absenteeism

In the wake of January’s disappointing National Assessment of Educational Progress results, one finding stands out: students who miss the most school have the…

A New, Bipartisan Agenda for Raising Student Achievement

This piece originally appeared in Washington Monthly. Amid Donald Trump’s campaign to dismantle the Department of Education, a recent report from one of its…

Medicaid Cuts Would Put Students At Risk

This piece originally appeared in The Hill. The nation’s schools, already reeling from plunging test scores and culture war controversies…

The New Absenteeism: What Measuring Attendance Misses

The sharp rise in chronic student absenteeism in the wake of the pandemic has attracted national headlines, and rightly so. But research I’ve done with my…

A New Blueprint for State Standardized Testing

This piece originally appeared in Education Next. Statewide standardized testing has played a central role in education policy for decades…

The Important Connection Between Attendance and Student Achievement

Thirty-one states showed improvement in rates of chronic absenteeism, or the number of students missing 10% or more school days, in the 2023-24 school year…

Questions to Ask as Private School Choice Surges

This piece originally appeared in The Grade. The rapid expansion of private school choice has drawn a good deal of news coverage — as it should. We’ve never put…