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The Thomas B. Fordham Institute is the nation's leader in advancing educational excellence.

10/09/2026

ICYMI: This week in Education Gadfly Weekly:
• Checker Finn on a new documentary chronicling the life and legacy of Rod Paige.
• Andy Smarick on whether education reform has regrets.
• Miguel Solis on why struggling school districts shouldn’t wait for the state to intervene.
Read more: https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/education-gadfly-weekly

10/02/2026

ICYMI: This week in Education Gadfly Weekly

• Robert Pondiscio on the lessons we’re not learning from Nikole Hannah-Jones.

• Emily Freitag on why AI bans aren’t the answer.

• Aaron Churchill on how Ohio’s new automatic-enrollment math policy will work.

Read more: https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/education-gadfly-weekly

09/29/2026

Too much screen time? Too many Chromebooks? Too many apps? Not enough handwriting, discussion, and hands-on learning?

The hard part isn’t deciding that schools need better technology rules. It’s deciding what those rules should be and who gets to make them.

That’s the question for Wonkathon 2026.

We’re looking for concrete answers. Submissions are due October 23. https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/wonkathon-2026-what-rules-should-govern-uses-digital-technology-schools-and-who

09/29/2026

It’s not AI vs. human grading. It’s which design choices you make.

Sidhi Baweja explains why the best approach uses both.

Read more: https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/its-not-ai-vs-human-grading-its-which-design-choices-you-make

09/28/2026

Teach For America turns 35 this year. Few organizations have had a bigger impact on the education reform movement.

But Dale Chu asks whether TFA has drifted from what once made it so effective, and whether it now has an opportunity to find its way back.

Read more: https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/teach-america-was-once-movement-what-happened

09/25/2026

Missed The Education Gadfly Weekly yesterday? Catch up on this week’s stories:
• Dale Chu on Teach For America’s changing mission.
• Aaron Garth Smith on how states can slow the school staffing surge.
• Brandon L. Wright on America’s high achievers and their surprisingly strong PISA performance.
Read the online edition: https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/education-gadfly-weekly

09/23/2026

How far has Ohio come with the science of reading? 📚

115,000+ educators trained, 151 schools with reading coaches, and 48 teacher-prep programs audited. Our new Fordham report breaks down the progress and what’s next for Ohio’s students.

Read more: https://fordhaminstitute.org/ohio/research/next-chapter-ohios-implementation-science-reading-and-where-next

09/23/2026

The quickest way to expand school choice may not be building new schools.

Kathleen Porter-Magee argues that in many places, the faster, more cost-effective move is filling empty seats in existing private schools.

Read more: https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/quickest-way-expand-school-choice-fill-empty-private-school-seats

09/22/2026

High school performance can help predict whether students will succeed in college.

But Matthew Carr writes that it cannot tell us whether college—or another pathway—will leave a particular student better off.

Read more: https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/college-or-career-false-positives-and-negatives

09/21/2026

Student AI use is not just a school-policy issue.

Alicia Anderson writes that AI raises bigger questions about honesty, effort, judgment, and whether students are still doing the difficult work that helps them learn. Parents have a role to play in helping children think through when and how—or if—the technology should be used.

Read more: https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/student-ai-use-about-much-more-school-rules

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