On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Tom Toch, director of FutureEd, and Lynn Olson, former deputy director at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, join Mike and David to discuss Lynn’s new paper, “Quality Check: The New, Best Way to Measure School Performance.” Then, on the Research Minute, Amber shares a study on the economic effects of Universal Pre-Kindergarten programs, showing that UPK boosted workforce participation across nine states and cities.

Recommended content:

• “Quality Check: The New, Best Way to Measure School Performance” —Lynn Olson, FutureEd
• “A New, Bipartisan Agenda for Raising Student Achievement” —Tom Toch, FutureEd
• “The Full Measure of a School” —Erik W. Robelen, Education Next
• “Ready or Not? A New Way to Measure Elementary and Middle School Quality” — Jing Liu, Seth Gershenson, and Max Anthenelli, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• “Universal Pre-K as Economic Stimulus: Evidence from Nine States and Large Cities in the U.S” — C. Kirabo Jackson, Julia A. Turner, and Jacob Bastian, NBER (May 2025)

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Genevieve Collins, Texas State Director for Americans for Prosperity, joins us to discuss Texas’s newly passed Education Savings Account bill—an ambitious policy that could position the Lone Star State as a national leader in school choice. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber highlights a Michigan study showing that simply being flagged for third-grade retention can boost students’ reading scores—even if they aren’t actually held back.

Recommended content:

• “A Texas-Sized Win for Families in the Trump Education Era” —Genevieve Collins, RealClear Policy
• “Jeb Bush: Texas’ Education Savings Account Victory Can Set Nationwide Standard” —Jeb Bush, The74
• “How Genevieve Collins, Americans for Prosperity, Are Shaping Texas’s Future” —Daily Caller
• “The Impacts of Grade Retention Policy With Minimal Retention” —Jordan S. Berne, Brian A. Jacob, Christina Weiland, Katharine O. Strunk. EdWorking Papers (May 2025)

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Starlee Coleman, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, joins Mike and David to discuss the religious charter schools case currently before the U. S. Supreme Court. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber shares a study out of Dallas on whether an automatic Algebra enrollment policy boosted participation among underserved students.

Recommended content:

• “SCOTUS should mandate state support for religious education, but not via charter schools”—Michael J. Petrilli, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• “Supreme Court Case Could Reshape Landscape for Charter and Religious Schools”—Mark Walsh, Education Week
• “The religious charter schools case is a bigger deal than you think”—Michael J. Petrilli, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• “Why SCOTUS should—and will—approve faith-based charter schools”—Andy Smarick, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• “Closing the Gaps: An Examination of Early Impacts of Dallas ISD’s Opt-out Policy on Advanced Course Enrollment”—Daniel Vargas Castaño, Dareem K. Antoine, and Trey Miller, EdWorkingPapers (May 2025)

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.