Podcast appearances and mentions of Chester E Finn

On this week's Education Gadfly Show podcast, Mike and David discuss what's really going on with DOGE, including its cuts to IES research grants and the implications for education policy. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber highlights a study on whether the Core Knowledge curriculum helped strengthen kindergarteners' vocabulary and knowledge.Recommended content: Chester E. Finn, Jr., “Easy, DOGE. IES matters.,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (February 11, 2025).Robert Pondiscio, “Culture war vs. competence: Why conservatives should support Penny Schwinn,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (February 6, 2025).Chester E. Finn, Jr., “Trump should stay out of what students learn in school,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (January 30, 2025).Sonia Q. Cabell, James S. Kim, Thomas G. White, Charles J. Gale, Ashley A. Edwards, HyeJin Hwang, Yaacov Petscher, and Rhonda M. Raines, Impact of a Content-Rich Literacy Curriculum on Kindergarteners' Vocabulary, Listening Comprehension, and Content Knowledge, Journal of Educational Psychology (2024)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, Alyson Klein, assistant editor at Education Week, joins Mike and David to discuss how President Trump could weaken the U.S. Department of Education without dismantling it entirely. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber shares a study examining the impact of early math intervention on student outcomes in Kentucky.Recommended content: Alyson Klein, “How Trump Can Hobble the Education Department Without Abolishing It,” Education Week (December 12, 2024).Chester E. Finn, Jr., “Will Trump eliminate the federal role in education or weaponize it?,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (December 12, 2024).Michael J. Petrilli, “How much blame does the federal government deserve for America's mediocre schools?,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (November 21, 2024).Zeyu Xu, Umut Özek, Jesse Levin and Dong Hoon Lee, Effects of Large-Scale Early Math Interventions on Student Outcomes: Evidence From Kentucky's Math Achievement Fund, SAGE Journals (2024)Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org. New for 2025! You can now watch this episode on YouTube. 

On this week's Education Gadfly Show podcast, Jill Barshay, author of The Hechinger Report's “Proof Points” column, joins Mike and David to discuss her recent article on the surprising effects of colleges eliminating remedial courses. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber shares a study examining the impact of Washington's academic acceleration policies on high school students.Recommended content: Jill Barshay, “A decade of data in one state shows an unexpected result when colleges drop remedial courses,” The Hechinger Report (September 23, 2024).Michael J. Petrilli, “‘Kid, I'm Sorry, but You're Just Not College Material' Is exactly what we should be telling a lot of high school students,” Slate (March 18, 2014).Chester E. Finn, Jr., “What's the point of high school?” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (September 5, 2024).Megan Austin, Ben Backes, Dan Goldhaber, Dory Li, and Francie Streich, Leveling Up: An Academic Acceleration Policy to Increase Equity in Advanced High School Course Taking, American Educational Research Journal (2024). 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, Fordham's Checker Finn joins Mike and David to discuss the changes in how the College Board is scoring Advanced Placement exams. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a meta-analysis examining the effectiveness of robot-assisted foreign language learning.Recommended content:  “Are AP exams getting easier?” —Chester E. Finn, Jr. “The Great Recalibration of AP exams” —John Moscatiello“The College Board's new method for raising AP scores” —John MoscatielloAli Derakhshan, Timothy Teo, Esmaeel Saeedy Robat, Mostafa Janebi Enayat, and Akbar A. Jahanbakhsh, “Robot-Assisted Language Learning: A Meta-Analysis,” Review of Educational Research (May 2024).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, Lindsey Burke, the director of the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation, joins Mike and David to discuss what a second Trump term could mean for federal education policy. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reports on a new study investigating the impacts of licensure and certification on CTE teacher retention.Recommended content:“If Trump returns…” —Chester E. Finn, Jr., Fordham Institute“Department of Education” —Lindsey M. Burke, chapter in Mandate for leadership Hannah Kistler, Shaun Dougherty, and S. Colby Woods, “Teacher exit and educational opportunity: Lessons from career and technical education,” Educational Researcher (January 2024).Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Daniel Buck at dbuck@fordhaminstitute.org. 

On this week's Education Gadfly Show podcast, Ray Domanico, the director of education policy at the Manhattan institute, joins Mike to discuss whether New York should eliminate the Regents Exams as high school graduation requirements. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reviews a study investigating the trends in parental school involvement over the past two and a half decades.Recommended content:“Revising graduation requirements could improve academic rigor in New York” —Ray Domanico, Education Next“End-of-course exams and student outcomes” —Adam Tyner and Matthew Larsen“The accountability conundrum” —Chester E. Finn, Jr., Fordham InstituteAriel Kalil, Samantha Steimle, and Rebecca Ryan, “Trends in Parents' Time Investment at Children's Schools During a Period of Economic Change,” AERA (April 2023).Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Daniel Buck at dbuck@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week's Education Gadfly Show podcast, Checker Finn, Fordham's president emeritus—and the original Education Gadfly—joins Mike and David to discuss the best and worst developments in education reform in 2023. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber reviews the best education research of the year.Recommended content:“Standards-based reform | A Nation At Risk +40” —Michael Petrilli, Hoover Institution“What would another Trump term mean for education?” —Chester E. Finn, Jr., Fordham InstitutePreeya Mbekeani, John Papay, Ann Mantil, and Richard J. Murnane, “Understanding High Schools' Effects on Longer-Term Outcomes,” Annenberg Institute at Brown University (February 2023).Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Daniel Buck at dbuck@fordhaminstitute.org. 

A Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and a Senior Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, Chester E. Finn, Jr., joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the latest NAEP results in civics and history, and what might be contributing to the decline in student proficiency in these subjects. “Will Dismal New National Test Results in Civics and History Finally Spark Improvements?” is available now at EducationNext.org. https://www.educationnext.org/will-dismal-new-national-test-results-civics-history-finally-spark-improvements-naep/

Chester E. Finn, Jr. is a Distinguished Senior Fellow and President Emeritus at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and a Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. He's the author of Assessing the Nation's Report Card: Challenges and Choices with the NAEP. He joins host Mike Palmer in a conversation about the history of the NAEP, its challenges and opportunities, and the importance of having a shared set of standards for educational performance across the nation. You can learn more about the NAEP by checking out Overhauling the Nation's Report Card. We begin by hearing Chester's origin story dating back to working in the Johnson Administration and for Daniel Patrick Moynihan before starting to work with the NAEP in 1969. From there we dig into the power of "low-stakes tests" like the NAEP in providing a read on academic performance while not penalizing students, teachers, or schools based on performance. We talk about culture wars and politicization and how to avoid many of the pitfalls there while also avoiding the broad brush attacks on standardized testing as a whole. We conclude with Chester's read on recent results which are troubling before wrapping up. Don't miss this deep dive into how we get a read on how the country is doing in education! Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more perspectives on what's emerging in the world of learning.

I am a public school teacher. I am also a libertarian. How did this happen? In this episode, I explain why I became a teacher and why teacher tenure is a bad idea. I am eligible to receive tenure this year, and I have no plans to accept it. If you have been wondering about my career and how it intersects with my faith and my principals, this is the episode you have been waiting for! Episode Outline:I. Why I Became a Public School TeacherII. Teacher TenureIII. The End of Teacher Tenure ArticleIV. I am Turning Down TenureMedia Referenced:The End of Teacher Tenure, Chester E. Finn (https://www.hoover.org/research/end-teacher-tenure) Kentucky Teacher Tenure FAQ: https://education.ky.gov/t  eachers/Documents/Teacher%20Tenure%20FAQ%20Post.pdfDefinition of Key Terms: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=48753

Get the book, Assessing the Nation's Report Card: Challenges and Choices for NAEP About the Author Chester E. Finn, Jr. is a distinguished senior fellow and president emeritus at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and a senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. He has previously served as Professor of Education and Public Policy at Vanderbilt, and was the United States Assistant Secretary of Education for Research and Improvement. He is the author of numerous books on testing, accountability, and education policy.

On this week's Education Gadfly Show podcast, Checker Finn joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss his article (co-authored with Rick Hess) in National Affairs about the bipartisan history—and uncertain future—of school reform. Then on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a study on how politicized issues like Covid-19 safety measures and Critical Race Theory are affecting principals and teachers. Recommended content: ·      Chester E. Finn, Jr. and Frederick M. Hess's article: “The End of School Reform?” National Affairs (Summer 2022).·      Michael J. Petrilli's article on education reform: “Education reform is alive and well, even if the Washington Consensus is dead for now,” August 11, 2022.·      Daniel Buck's article on the new education consensus: “The new education consensus is conservative, and that's a good thing,” August 11, 2022.·      The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Ashley Woo et al., “Walking a Fine Line—Educators' Views on Politicized Topics in Schooling,” RAND Corporation (2022).  Feedback Welcome!Have ideas on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producers Nathaniel Grossman and Lilly Sibel at ngrossman@fordhaminstitute.org and lsibel@fordhaminstitute.org 

A discussion of Assessing the Nation's Report Card: Challenges and Choices for NAEP, authored by veteran education participant/analyst Chester E. Finn, Jr., examines the history of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). It's a revealing look at the country's most influential source of data on K–12 achievement: how it came to be, what's pushing it today, and what it must do tomorrow..Dr Finn is President Emeritus of The Thomas Fordham Institute, former US Ass't Secretary of Education, and a Sr. Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution. FYI, here's an interesting article by Dr Finn: https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/the-end-of-school-reform

A discussion of Assessing the Nation's Report Card: Challenges and Choices for NAEP, authored by veteran education participant/analyst Chester E. Finn, Jr., examines the history of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). It's a revealing look at the country's most influential source of data on K–12 achievement: how it came to be, what's pushing it today, and what it must do tomorrow..Dr Finn is President Emeritus of The Thomas Fordham Institute, former US Ass't Secretary of Education, and a Sr. Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution. FYI, here's an interesting article by Dr Finn: https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/the-end-of-school-reform

Bill spoke with Dr. Chester Finn about American education, how the U.S. compares to the rest of the world and his new book, “Assessing the Nation’s Report Card: Challenges and Choices for NAEP.” Chester E. Finn, Distinguished Senior Fellow & President Emeritus, Thomas B. Fordham Institute, and Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University. Learn more about […]

A Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and a Senior Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, Chester E. Finn, Jr., joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Finn's new book, Assessing the Nation's Report Card: Challenges and Choices for NAEP. Finn's latest piece for Education Next, “It Felt Like Guerrilla Warfare” — Student achievement levels in the Nation's Report Card: a brief history of “basic,” “proficient,” and “advanced,” is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/it-felt-like-guerrilla-warfare-student-achievement-levels-nations-report-card-brief-history-basic-proficient-advanced/

Bill spoke with Dr. Chester Finn about American education, how the U.S. compares to the rest of the world and his new book, "Assessing the Nation's Report Card: Challenges and Choices for NAEP." Chester E. Finn, Distinguished Senior Fellow & President Emeritus, Thomas B. Fordham Institute, and Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anyone who has ever sat in a classroom knows that some students need a higher level of academic enrichment and challenge than others. When did such a fundamental facet of education become controversial? Amy and Mike invited author and editor Brandon Wright to explain why gifted programs are under attack. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Why exactly are gifted and talented programs under attack? How has this opposition impacted gifted programs? What makes opposition to gifted programs bad educational policy? What makes opposition to gifted programs bad politics? Why are programs for high achievers fair and equitable? MEET OUR GUEST Brandon Wright is the Editorial Director of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. He is the co-author or co-editor of three books: Failing our Brightest Kids: The Global Challenge of Educating High-Ability Students (with Chester E. Finn, Jr.), Charter Schools at the Crossroads: Predicaments, Paradoxes, Possibilities (with Chester E. Finn, Jr. and Bruno V. Manno), and Getting the Most Bang for the Education Buck (edited with Frederick M. Hess). His writing has appeared in places like the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, U.S. News, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, National Review, Newsweek, Education Next, Education Week, Phi Delta Kappan, the Journal of School Choice, and dozens of state newspapers. He holds a J.D. from American University Washington College of Law and a B.A. from the University of Michigan. Brandon frequently appears on radio stations across the country. Find Brandon at bwright@fordhaminstitute.org LINKS Attacking gifted education is bad policy and bad politics Rigorous courses are a good thing—and good for equity Failing our Brightest Kids: The Global Challenge of Educating High-Ability Students Universal screening increases the representation of low-income and minority students in gifted education RELATED EPISODES THE NECESSITY OF GIFTED AND TALENTED PROGRAMS WHY SELECTIVE SPECIALIZED SCHOOLS MATTER LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD ABOUT THIS PODCAST Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our episodes on the show page. ABOUT YOUR HOSTS Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros. If you're interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, feel free to get in touch through our contact page. We'd love to hear from you!

A Senior Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution and co-author of "Learning in the Fast Lane: The Past, Present and Future of Advanced Placement," Chester E. Finn, Jr., joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss standardized testing, and how higher education is moving away from requiring tests as part of the application process amid the Covid-19 pandemic. "Favoritism, rich parents getting new kinds of advantages for their kids, the lacrosse coach and the speech coach and the trip to Bhutan will end up counting for more rather than less, because there won't be an SAT score," Finn warns.

Chester E. Finn, Jr., Distinguished Senior Fellow & President Emeritus at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, on the University of California system's move to get rid of the SAT and ACT tests for admission. Mike Rowe's unsolicited commencement address. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chester E. Finn joined Bill to discuss the new book "How to Educate an American: The Conservative Vision for Tomorrow's Schools ". Chester is the Distinguished Senior Fellow & President Emeritus, Thomas B. Fordham Institute, and Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is social and emotional learning, how does it relate to academic learning, and how much should schools focus on it? Chester E. Finn, Jr., a distinguished senior fellow and president emeritus at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and a senior fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss “What Social and Emotional Learning Needs to Succeed and Survive,” a new paper co-written with Rick Hess. The paper is available at https://www.educationnext.org/what-social-emotional-learning-needs-succeed-survive

Chester E. Finn, Jr. joins EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the life and legacy of President George H.W. Bush. who declared on the campaign trail that he wanted to be "the education president." In “Remembering Two Education Reformers," Finn wrote about Bush's education reform efforts, as well as those of Harold O. Levy, who also died last month. https://www.educationnext.org/remembering-two-education-reformers/

On this week’s podcast Chester E. Finn, Jr., Chad Aldis, and David Griffith discuss whether we’ve reached the “end of education policy.” On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how same-race teachers affect students’ long-term educational outcomes.

Mark Zuckerberg goes before Congress, the FBI raids Michael Cohen's office and President Trump considers action against Syria. There's a lot to digest on this episode of the Bill Bennett Show. Brian Kennedy, President of the American Strategy Group joins Bill to discuss these things. Also Chester E. Finn, Distinguished Senior Fellow & President Emeritus, Thomas B. Fordham Institute, and Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University will joined Bill to discuss the latest NAEP results. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices