The cover story of the Summer 2018 issue is a new research article on an innovative online master’s degree program at the Georgia Institute of Technology that is expanding access and increasing educational attainment for students who would not otherwise enroll in a graduate program. And increasing access to college courses at affordable costs is more important than ever, as a new study in this issue finds that state funding for higher-ed is being increasingly displaced by soaring public-welfare spending, especially Medicaid.
This issue also explores new ways of thinking about teacher preparation programs. An expert on how children learn proposes an overhaul of current teacher education programs to focus less on theory and more on practice. And when it comes to ranking teacher prep programs based on graduates’ impact on student performance, a new analysis shows that such an approach is almost no better than ranking them randomly. Researchers reanalyzed program rankings in six locations and found that differences in rankings were negligible—even in Louisiana and New York City where previous research once suggested large differences.
Meanwhile, when it comes to the charter sector, an analysis of the San Francisco Bay Area draws lessons for slowing charter growth nationwide and offers recommendations for turning around the trend. And a school choice advocate recommends another approach for strengthening the movement: a return to its roots by embracing diversity in learning models, populations served, and school leaders.
Also in this issue, a look at how external motivation can help hold students accountable for their own education, and a debate on whether the Trump administration has helped or hindered the nation’s schools.
See the full list of contents below or at https://www.educationnext.org/journal.
Table of Contents
FEATURES
Why is Charter Growth Slowing?
Lessons from the Bay Area
By Robin Lake, Trey Cobb, Roohi Sharma, and Alice Opalka
Strengthening the Roots of the Charter-School Movement
How the mom-and-pops can help the sector diversify and grow
By Derrell Bradford
The Case for Holding Students Accountable
How extrinsic motivation gets kids to work harder and learn more
By Adam Tyner and Michael J. Petrilli
Rating Teacher-Preparation Programs
Can value-added make useful distinctions?
By Paul T. von Hippel and Laura Bellows
Unlocking the Science of How Kids Think
A new proposal for reforming teacher education
By Daniel T. Willingham
Higher Ed, Lower Spending
As states cut back, where has the money gone?
By Douglas Webber
FORUM
Trump and the Nation’s Schools
Assessing the administration’s early impact on education
Education Next talks with Lindsey M. Burke and Shavar Jeffries
RESEARCH
An Elite Grad-School Degree Goes Online
Can Georgia Tech’s virtual master’s increase access to education?
By Joshua Goodman, Julia Melkers, and Amanda Pallais
FROM THE EDITORS
A Disappointing National Report Card
By Martin R. West
LEGAL BEAT
Judgment Day for Union Agency Fees
By Joshua Dunn
BOOK REVIEWS
Public vs. Private: The Early History of School Choice in America by Robert N. Gross
As reviewed by Paul E. Peterson
Addicted to Reform: A 12-Step Program to Rescue Public Education by John Merrow
As reviewed by Chester E. Finn, Jr.
The Art of Screen Time: How Your Family Can Balance Digital Media and Real Life by Anya Kamenetz, and Be the Parent, Please: Stop Banning Seesaws and Start Banning Snapchat by Naomi Schaefer Riley
As reviewed by Michael J. Petrilli
