The Education Gadfly Show

For more than 15 years, the Fordham Institute has been hosting a weekly podcast, The Education Gadfly Show. Each week, you’ll get lively, entertaining discussions of recent education news, usually featuring Fordham’s Mike Petrilli and David Griffith. Then the wise Amber Northern will recap a recent research study. For questions or comments on the podcast, contact its producer, Stephanie Distler, at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.

The Education Gadfly Show is a education podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 0 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts The Education Gadfly Show, a education show with 0 episodes published.

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  Episode #1036

  School discipline: A new rulebook (again) | Episode 1036 of The Education Gadfly Show

  Sep 30, 202640 minS20

  Kimberly Richey, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to talk about the latest federal guidance on school discipline and Title VI. What does the Department’s new approach to racial disparities in discipline mean for schools? Can the new guidance stick, or will the rules continue to change every time a new administration takes control of the White House? Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a new NWEA study examining whether schools are getting Algebra I placement right, and why students should be allowed to take algebra as soon as they are ready. Recommended content: Dear Colleague Letter: Guidance on Pupil Discipline and Compliance with Title VI —U.S. Department of Education Toward a durable compromise on discipline disparities? —Michael J. Petrilli, SCHOOLED Doing educational equity right: School discipline —Michael J. Petrilli, Thomas B. Fordham Institute Groundhog Day for school discipline —David Griffith, Thomas B. Fordham Institute Getting Algebra Placement Right: Expanding Opportunity and Strengthening Preparation —Megan Kuhfeld, Daniel Long, and Scott J. Peters, NWEA (August 2026) Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our show? We would love to hear them. Send them to thegadfly@fordhaminstitute.org

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  Episode #1035

  Family structure, school choice, and a mother’s regrets | Episode 1035 of The Education Gadfly Show

  Sep 23, 202642 minS20

  Ian Rowe, founder of Vertex Partnership Academies, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss Nikole Hannah-Jones’s recent reflections on her decision to send her daughter to a predominantly Black, low-income public school. They discuss school choice, parental involvement and family stability, and that family structure deserves more attention in conversations about student achievement. Should family structure become a more common measure in education data? Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern shares a new study of team-based teaching in Arizona. The researchers find no overall improvement in student achievement, but positive results in middle school math and much lower teacher turnover. Recommended content: In Fighting for Every Black Child, Did I Betray My Own? —Nikole Hannah-Jones, The New York Times Magazine Choosing a School for My Daughter in a Segregated City —Nikole Hannah-Jones, The New York Times Magazine Why I Send My Kid to Low-Income Urban Public Schools —Matthew Yglesias, Slow Boring Family Structure, a Key Factor Hidden in Plain Sight: The Case for Federal Reporting in Education —Ian V. Rowe, Brad Wilcox, and Grant Bailey, American Enterprise Evidence on Team-Based Teaching Models in Arizona —Mary Laski, Calen Clifton, and Dan Goldhaber, CALDER (August 2026) Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our show? We would love to hear them. Send them to thegadfly@fordhaminstitute.org

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  Episode #1033

  Too much tech, too little learning? | Episode 1033 of The Education Gadfly Show

  Sep 9, 202635 minS20

  Brian Fitzpatrick, research manager at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss his new report, High Tech, Low Standards: High School in the Age of Distraction . They examine how cell phones, school-issued devices, grade inflation, and AI are changing the high school experience, why banning phones alone may not be enough to solve the distraction problem, and what schools can do to refocus students on learning. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a new study on test-optional admissions at elite colleges. The findings suggest these policies may unintentionally disadvantage high-achieving students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Recommended content: High Tech, Low Standards: High School in the Age of Distraction —Brian R. Fitzpatrick, Thomas B. Fordham Institute Can schools escape the digital delusion? | Episode 1026 of The Education Gadfly Show Why education technologies disappoint —Adam Tyner, Thomas B. Fordham Institute How Test-Optional Policies in College Admissions Disproportionately Harm High-Achieving Applicants from Disadvantaged Backgrounds —Bruce Sacerdote, Douglas O. Staiger, and Michele Tine, American Economic Association (September 2026) Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our show? We would love to hear them. Send them to thegadfly@fordhaminstitute.org

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  Episode #1032

  Head Start needs reforming, not dismantling | Episode 1032 of The Education Gadfly Show

  Aug 26, 202632 minS20

  Checker Finn, president emeritus of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to talk about the future of Head Start and why he thinks the troubled federal preschool program needs rebuilding, not destroying. They discuss the Trump administration’s approach to Head Start, the program’s longstanding weaknesses, and what meaningful reform could look like. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a new two-year experiment with Khan Academy’s AI tutor, Khanmigo. The study finds modest gains in math achievement, but students rarely engaged deeply with the AI tutor, raising questions about whether the improvement came from the AI itself or simply from structured practice on Khan Academy. Recommended content: The Trump team gives Head Start the DOGE treatment —Chester E. Finn, Jr., Thomas B. Fordham Institute Reroute the Preschool Juggernaut —Chester E. Finn, Jr., Hoover Press (2009) Head Start Program Performance Standards —U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families Transformative for the motivated and mere meh for the unmotivated: How AI will and won’t affect learners —Sean Geraghty and Mike Goldstein, Thomas B. Fordham Institute One Click Away: AI Tutoring with Khanmigo in a Two-Year School Experiment —Philip Oreopoulos and Nina Low, EdWorkingPapers (2026) Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our show? We would love to hear them. Send them to thegadfly@fordhaminstitute.org

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  Episode #1031

  Did the college-for-all backlash go too far? | Episode 1031 of The Education Gadfly Show

  Aug 19, 202637 minS20

  Mike Petrilli is solo once again to revisit the college-for-all debate and consider whether the backlash has become an overcorrection. He considers the risks of steering academically underprepared students toward four-year degrees, the growing enthusiasm for career pathways, and whether today’s push away from college could discourage some students who might actually succeed there. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a new study examining more than two decades of state pre-K expansion and what it reveals about balancing access, spending, and program design. Recommended content: Has the pendulum swung too far away from college for all? —Michael J. Petrilli, SCHOOLED Notice of Intent to Submit Federal Ed-Flex Waiver Requests — State of Alabama Department of Education Hey, Claude, should I go to college? —Michael J. Petrilli, Thomas B. Fordham Institute Returns to Four-Year Higher Education —Doug Webber and Celeste K. Carruthers, Live Handbook of Education Policy Research Who should go to college? More students may benefit than we think —Matt Barnum, Chalkbeat Honest talk about who should go to college —Michael J. Petrilli, Thomas B. Fordham Institute 23 Years of State Pre-K Expansion: How States Balance Investment, Access, and Quality in the Modern Era —Casey Moran, Mindy L. Rosengarten, Eunho Cha, Jade M. Jenkins, Kenneth A. Dodge, Allison Friedman-Kraus, W. Steven Barnett, and Tyler W. Watts, EdWorkingPapers (2026) Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our show? We would love to hear them. Send them to thegadfly@fordhaminstitute.org

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