The cover story is the 2015 EdNext poll on school reform, which finds continuing high levels of support for educational testing and little sympathy for the opt-out movement. The survey also reports on what the public thinks about Common Core, charter schools, teachers unions, and more.
The research section offers two articles that address how education policies impact students over the long term. In an article assessing the effects of test-based accountability, David Deming, Sarah Cohodes, Jennifer Jennings, and Christopher Jencks analyze an accountability system implemented in Texas in 1993 that served as a model for No Child Left Behind, and find mixed effects on graduation rates and future earnings. And Michael Lovenheim and Alexander Willén present the first evidence that students’ exposure to collective bargaining while in elementary and secondary school depresses their employment prospects and earnings later in life.
In the features section, readers will find an article from Mike Antonucci discussing Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a case currently awaiting a hearing by the U.S. Supreme Court that, if decided in favor of the plaintiffs, could end the practice of “agency fees” charged by teachers unions to nonmembers to cover the costs of collective bargaining.
In another timely feature, Shep Melnick gives us an assessment of the October 2014 “Dear Colleague Letter” from the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, which demanded that each school district provide a detailed accounting of resources available to each school in order to avoid allegations of racially disparate impacts on children.
Also in this issue, Joanne Jacobs explores how NCLB and Common Core have transformed instruction for English language learners; Michael Petrilli and Brandon Wright argue that poverty does not explain away America’s lackluster academic performance; and Sara Goldrick-Rab and Andrew Kelly debate whether community college should be free.
See the full list of contents below or at https://www.educationnext.org/journal.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FEATURES
The 2015 EdNext Poll on School Reform
Public thinking on testing, opt out, Common Core, unions, and more
by Michael B. Henderson, Paul E. Peterson, and Martin R. West
Teachers Unions at Risk of Losing “Agency Fees”
Friedrichs vs. California Teachers Association could fundamentally alter the education labor landscape
by Mike Antonucci
Civil Wrongs
Federal equity initiative promotes paperwork, not equality
by R. Shep Melnick
Learning English
Accountability, Common Core, and the college-for-all movement are transforming instruction
by Joanne Jacobs
America’s Mediocre Test Scores
Education crisis or poverty crisis?
by Michael J. Petrilli and Brandon L. Wright
RESEARCH
A Bad Bargain
How teacher collective bargaining affects students’ employment and earnings later in life
by Michael F. Lovenheim and Alexander Willén
When Does Accountability Work?
Texas system had mixed effects on graduation rates and future earnings
by David J. Deming, Sarah Cohodes, Jennifer Jennings, and Christopher Jencks
FORUM
Should Community College Be Free?
Education Next talks with Sara Goldrick-Rab and Andrew P. Kelly
FROM THE EDITOR
Why Do German Students Learn More, When Their Schools Get Less Money?
by Paul E. Peterson
LEGAL BEAT
Heading for a Fall
by Joshua Dunn
BOOK REVIEWS
Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schools: The Politics of Education Reform by Jack Jennings
As reviewed by Jay P. Greene
The Game Believes in You: How Digital Play Can Make Our Kids Smarter by Greg Toppo
As reviewed by Mark Bauerlein
WHAT NEXT
Moving EdTech Forward
by Michael B. Horn
SCHOOL LIFE
One Point Short
by Lauren Seymour
