The Top 20 Education Next Articles of 2016

Every December, Education Next announces the most popular articles we published over the course of the past year based on web traffic.

This year, the top article was “How Family Background Influences Student Achievement: Can schools narrow the gap?” by Anna Egalite.

The article looks at four different family variables that may influence student achievement and at ways in which schools can offset the effects of these variables. It was part of a special Education Next issue commemorating the 50th anniversary of James S. Coleman’s groundbreaking report, “Equality of Educational Opportunity.” Five other articles from that issue also appear on the Top 20 list.

Without further ado, here’s the list:

1.		How Family Background Influences Student Achievement Can schools narrow the gap? By Anna J. Egalite
2.		After Common Core, States Set Rigorous Standards Forty-five states raise the student proficiency bar By Paul E. Peterson, Samuel Barrows and Thomas Gift
3.		High School of the Future Cutting-edge model capitalizes on blended learning to take personalization further By Joanne Jacobs
4.		What Matters for Student Achievement Updating Coleman on the influence of families and schools By Eric A. Hanushek
5.		In Schools, Teacher Quality Matters Most Today’s research reinforces Coleman’s findings By Dan Goldhaber
6.		The Politics of the Common Core Assessments Why states are quitting the PARCC and Smarter Balanced testing consortia By Ashley Jochim and Patrick McGuinn
7.		Ten-year Trends in Public Opinion From the EdNext Poll Common Core and vouchers down, but many other reforms still popular By Paul E. Peterson, Michael B. Henderson, Martin R. West and Samuel Barrows
8.		It Pays to Improve School Quality States that boost student achievement could reap large economic gains By Eric A. Hanushek, Jens Ruhose and Ludger Woessmann
9.		Connecting to Practice How we can put education research to work By Thomas J. Kane
10.		An Open Letter to Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan Focus your philanthropy on innovation outside the system By Chester E. Finn, Jr.
11.		Denver Expands Choice and Charters Elected school board employs portfolio strategy to lift achievement By David Osborne
12.		The Life and Times of James S. Coleman Hero and villain of school policy research By Sally B. Kilgore
13.		Teacher Home Visits School-family partnerships foster student success By June Kronholz
14.		Desegregation Since the Coleman Report Racial composition of schools and student learning By Steven Rivkin
15.		Incomplete Reform in Baltimore A shift in authority to school leaders falls short By Betheny Gross and Ashley Jochim
16.		“Children, be quiet and watch your lesson” The case for video time during class By Michael J. Petrilli
17.		School Closures In New York City Did students do better after their high schools were closed? By James J. Kemple
18.		Innovation in Catholic Education New approaches to instruction and governance may revitalize the sector By Kelly Robson and Andy Smarick
19.		Teacher Race and School Discipline Are students suspended less often when they have a teacher of the same race? By Constance A. Lindsay and Cassandra M. D. Hart
20.		What Do We Know About School Discipline Reform? Assessing the alternatives to suspensions and expulsions By Matthew P. Steinberg and Johanna Lacoe