The Winter 2019 issue of Education Next is now available in full on our website. The issue presents results from the 2018 EdNext Poll of public opinion. Among this year’s findings are rising support for increased teacher salaries and growing favor for universal school vouchers and charter schools. The twelfth annual poll also reveals how union and nonunion teachers differ on key education policy matters.
This issue also highlights the long-term benefits of developing positive students’ non-cognitive skills. A new analysis finds that teachers’ impact on these skills matters more for student success than their impact on test scores, suggesting the importance of expanding the way we identify the most effective teachers. And the cover story takes a critical look at homework, emphasizing that quality—not quantity—is crucial for forming positive student habits and attitudes.
We also challenge conventional wisdom on key topics in higher education. A new take on student loan debt uncovers the benefits of student borrowing for academic success and persistence. And a look at the future of for-profit colleges describes how, despite years of scrutiny, the sector is poised to rebound through innovation.
Also in this issue, an analysis of the escalating cost of teacher retiree health-care benefits; an examination of how teachers unions might shift their strategies following teacher walkouts; and a look at what Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation means for education.
See the full list of contents below or at www.educationnext.org/journal.
FEATURES
Results from the 2018 EdNext Poll
Public support climbs for teacher pay, school expenditures, charter schools, and universal vouchers
By Albert Cheng, Michael Henderson, Paul E. Peterson, and Martin R. West
Health Care for Life
Will teachers’ post-retirement benefits break the bank?
By Chad Aldeman
The Case for (Quality) Homework
Why it improves learning, and how parents can help
By Janine Bempechat
Can For-Profit Colleges Rebound?
A second chance to innovate, amid tough market conditions
By Jon Marcus
FORUM
After the Teacher Walkouts
Will unions shift their focus to the statehouse?
Education Next talks with Jeffrey R. Henig, Melissa Arnold Lyon, and Sarah F. Anzia
RESEARCH
The Full Measure of a Teacher
Using value-added to assess effects on student behavior
By C. Kirabo Jackson
The Benefits of Borrowing
Evidence on student loan debt and community college attainment
By Benjamin M. Marx and Lesley J. Turner
FROM THE EDITORS
Looking Past the Wreckage of a Disgraceful Confirmation Process
By Martin R. West
LEGAL BEAT
Good Advice
By Joshua Dunn
BOOK REVIEWS
How Schools Work: An Inside Account of Failure and Success from One of the Nation’s Longest-Serving Secretaries of Education by Arne Duncan
As reviewed by Frederick M. Hess
The Transformation of Title IX: Regulating Gender Equality in Education by R. Shep Melnick
As reviewed by Christina Hoff Sommers
WHAT NEXT
From Cat Videos and Cooking Tips to the History of the Punic Wars
By Michael J. Petrilli
SCHOOL LIFE
