There’s a popular narrative according to which the financial benefits of going to college aren’t what they once were. College is increasingly unaffordable. College doesn’t pay off like it used to. And college is only worth it if you go to the most selective schools.

But is this narrative right? Are college costs going up? How do college costs in the US compare with college costs in other countries? What is the return on investment (ROI) like for students at different schools? How does ROI differ by major? And is there a student loan crisis?

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus discusses these questions, and more, with Preston Cooper.

Preston Cooper is a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he studies ROI in higher education, student lending, and higher education reform.

Show Notes:

ROI in Higher Education (Estimates ROI for 53,000 different degree and certificate programs.)

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus speaks with Brian Jacob about the ways in which the pandemic changed the grammar of schooling. Nat and Brian discuss the pandemic’s effects on student technology use, parent-teacher communication, and individualized instruction; why pandemic-era changes seem more durable in high schools and middle schools than in elementary schools; whether charter schools changed as much during the pandemic as conventional public schools did; what the pandemic’s effects on schools can teach us about how schools will use AI; whether changes to schooling are driven by students’ needs or by other factors; whether teachers are optimistic about the state of schooling; hybrid education, ESSA, and the juvenile detention system; and more.

Brian Jacob is the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Education Policy and Professor of Economics at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.

Show Notes:

Did COVID-19 Shift the “Grammar of Schooling”? (coauthored with Cristina Stanojevich)

The Lasting Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on K-12 Schooling: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Teacher Survey

Over the past couple weeks, as campus protests and crackdowns on campus protests have captured the nation’s attention, it has become increasingly clear that something is wrong with the civic culture at universities.

But how do we change course? How do we create a healthier civic culture on campus? And how can we train the next generation of Americans both to respect freedom of speech and be respectful in disagreement?

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus discusses these questions, and more, with Paul Carrese. Nat and Paul discuss the proper content and aims of civic education, why civic education matters, whether civic education is too boring, how individuals benefit from civic education, whether civic education is conservative, why universities have turned away from civic education, whether civic education is indoctrination, Arizona State University's School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership, when it is appropriate for state governments to get involved in deciding what courses college students should take, why private universities should create schools of civic thought, and more.

Paul Carrese is a professor in the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University and served as its founding director from 2016–2023.

Show Notes:

How Civics Can Remedy Higher Education’s Decline

A New Birth of Freedom in Higher Education: Civic Institutes at Public Universities

Civic Thought and Leadership: A Higher Civics to Sustain American Constitutional Democracy

Now that the 2020 elections have (mostly) wrapped up, what’s the education policy forecast for next year and beyond? Will education be a top priority for the Biden administration? Have voters changed the outlook for expanded private school choice? What should accountability look like in 2021? Tony Bennett, who served as Florida and Indiana’s education chief, and Joanne Weiss, who served as Chief of Staff to US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, discuss these questions and more on this episode of “The Report Card with Nat Malkus.”

Despite pollsters’ predictions, this election has turned out to be a nail biter. Amid this uncertainty, what’s the post-election outlook for education? On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus moderates a discussion with Third Way’s Lanae Erickson, Donna Harris-Aikens of the NEA, Roberto Rodriguez of TeachPlus, and AEI’s own Rick Hess and Jason […]

The post What will the 2020 elections mean for education? appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

As most schools pass the halfway point of this tumultuous semester, one question continues to loom large: Should schools be reopening for in-person learning? That contentious question was the topic of a recent AEI web event featuring Report Card host Nat Malkus; Emily Oster of Brown University; Sarah Cohodes of Columbia University; Susan Enfield of Highline Public Schools; and Marla Ucelli-Kashyap of the American […]

The post Should we be sending K–12 students back to school in person? appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

As schools confront massive budget shortfalls in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, it is critical that they examine how they might use existing funding more efficiently. On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus talks with Byran Hassel about how districts might rethink their staffing models in a way that will increase students’ access to excellent teachers […]

The post Rethinking School Staffing appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

Now, more than ever, it’s critical that school districts examine how to make the most of each and every dollar they receive. On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus talks with Chad Aldeman about ways states and districts might rethink two of their most significant costs—pensions and healthcare. Chad is a senior associate […]

The post Rethinking Teacher Benefits appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

As K-12 classrooms remained shuttered in many parts of the country, childcare and early learning centers are reopening—or, in some cases, never closed in the first place. What lessons might they offer to school administrators and policymakers working to bring kids back to school? On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus talks COVID […]

The post Reopening K-12 Schools: Lessons from Childcare appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

Nat Malkus talks with three superintendents about the planning that went into students’ return to learning and the challenges that lie ahead

The post Inside School Reopening Plans: Superintendent Perspectives appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

The Supreme Court released two decisions this year that could have a significant impact on the nation’s education landscape: Espinoza v. Montana—a case about a small Montana school choice program—and Our Lady of Guadalupe v. Morrissey-Bureau, which considered religious schools’ “ministerial exception” protections. On this episode, Nat Malkus discusses the potential implications of these two […]

The post A big year for education in the Supreme Court (with Josh Dunn) appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

Only six weeks away from the start of the school year, many questions still remain as to what schooling will actually look like come fall. Is it really feasible for schools to reopen for in-person classes as President Trump and others are pushing for? On this episode, Nat Malkus poses that question to John Bailey, […]

The post How can schools possibly reopen this fall? A conversation with John Bailey appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

When remote learning started up this spring, a number of school districts initially forbade teachers from introducing new content in an effort to prevent achievement gaps from widening. Instead of teaching new knowledge, teachers were told to focus on maintaining previously learned skills. In subjects like reading, this focus on skills over content has long been the […]

The post The Knowledge Gap [Rebroadcast] appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

During the pandemic, the federal government sent $190 billion in COVID relief funds to America’s schools. These funds, known as ESSER (or the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund), changed school budgets across the country. But this September, ESSER will come to an end, meaning that—on average—schools will have to reduce their budgets by over $1,000 per student.

How will schools respond? What will get cut? And what should education leaders know to minimize the impacts of the funding cliff? On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus discusses these questions, and more, with Marguerite Roza.

Marguerite Roza is a research professor at Georgetown University and the director of the Edunomics Lab.

Show Notes:

School Boards Face Their Most Difficult Budget Season Ever. Many Are Unprepared

The ESSER Fiscal Cliff Will Have Serious Implications for Student Equity

National Education Resource Database on Schools (NERDS)

How Within-District Spending Inequities Help Some Schools to Fail

Over the past few months, nearly every student in America has gotten a taste of what home-based learning has to offer. As many families have discovered, homeschooling has its ups and downs. On the plus-side, it can allow parents to spend more time with their children, more deeply engage in their children’s schooling, and craft […]

The post Hybrid homeschooling (with Mike McShane) appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

In the world of higher education research, “success” is usually defined as a function of two statistics: enrollment and completion. Going by those two checkpoints, students experience very different chances of success based on their backgrounds and family characteristics. Consider, for example, that students who come from families in the top 20 percent of earners […]

The post Degrees of freedom (with Seth Andrew) appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

For years, the charter school sector enjoyed bipartisan support, counting among its advocates Presidents Clinton and Obama, as well as Presidents Bush and Trump. Yet, in 2020, nearly all democratic presidential candidates advertised their opposition to charters and many called for a moratorium on their expansion. Republicans, by some folks’ estimations, also appear to be less enthusiastic […]

The post The shifting politics of charter schooling appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

To say that the coronavirus pandemic is one of the most significant disruptions our education system has ever faced is hardly an understatement. Back in March, without a warning, 50 million students were shut out of school buildings and asked to engage in new modes of learning. Now, with less than a month left of […]

The post What will it take to get back to school? (with Rick Hess and Candice McQueen) appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

Gov. Jeb Bush joins to discuss the immense leadership challenges COVID-19 has brought to bear against all leaders, from the White House to the schoolhouse.

The post Leadership in the coronavirus pandemic, with Governor Jeb Bush appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

In mere weeks, coronavirus toppled a long-standing pillar of our education system: students receiving in-person instruction from teachers. In the face of this turbulent change, teachers around the country have stepped up to help their students — and their colleagues — adapt to these constraints.  Today, Nat talks with three teacher-leaders who are forging a […]

The post Teacher leadership amid coronavirus appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

Among those whose work has been most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic are teachers. In the course of just a few weeks, nearly all of the nation’s 3.6 million elementary and secondary school teachers have had to reorient their carefully crafted lesson plans for distance learning. What’s more, many of them have had mere days […]

The post Teaching amid the coronavirus pandemic appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

With America's education system upended, school districts are faced with complex concerns. Nat talks with two superintendents about how to confront them.

The post Superintendents and coronavirus (with Josh Starr and Duncan Klussmann) appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

COVID-19 has upended America's school system in unprecedented ways. AEI Fellow John Bailey joins to provide insight from his 2005 work combatting influenza

The post Coronavirus and school closures (with John Bailey) appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

The world of higher education has increasingly come under fire in the past few years. As concerns about rising tuition costs, workplace readiness of graduates, and inequitable admissions practices have become widespread, criticisms of colleges have become more vehement. Minerva is taking these challenges head-on. Founded by former Snapfish CEO Ben Nelson in 2011, the […]

The post Minerva and the future of higher education with Ben Nelson appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus speaks with David Steiner about coherence and fragmentation; why curricula, teacher training programs, and assessments should be aligned (and why they usually aren’t); SEL; where Common Core fell short; E.D. Hirsch and the importance of teaching content; why economics, music, and philosophy should be taken more seriously in secondary education than they usually are; AP exams and CTE; teachers unions, master’s pay premiums, and schools of education; whether school is boring; why American teachers tend to focus more on students and less on subject matter than teachers abroad; the state of the humanities in American education; teaching students Ancient Greek; how not to teach Shakespeare; and more.

David Steiner is Executive Director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, Professor of Education at Johns Hopkins University, and the author of A Nation at Thought: Restoring Wisdom in America's Schools. He was previously Dean at the Hunter College School of Education and the Commissioner of Education for New York State.

Show Notes:

A Nation at Thought: Restoring Wisdom in America's Schools

Arguing Identity: Session Three

Make Sense of the Research: A Primer for Educational Leaders

Don’t Give Up on Curriculum Reform Just Yet

Liberian Education Minister George Werner and Bridge Int'l VP Steve Cantrell talk about how their partnership has helped transform Liberia's school system.

The post Liberian education and Bridge International Academies with George Werner and Steve Cantrell appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

The 2018 Stoneman Douglas shooting was the deadliest school shooting in US history. Author Max Frost offers his take on how to prevent similar tragedies.

The post Why Meadow Died: with Max Eden appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

Dr. Morgan Polikoff of USC joins Nat to discuss the materials teachers use to create engaging lesson plans, much of which is made without oversight

The post Evaluating supplemental curricula with Morgan Polikoff appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

Nat and guest Robert Pondiscio discuss NYC's successful - yet contentious - Sucess Academy Charter Schools, what sets them apart, and the lessons from them

The post Success Academy Charter Schools with Robert Pondiscio appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

Education news was prevalent in 2019. Join Nat Malkus and guests as they cover the year's biggest stories and look ahead to what 2020 will bring

The post 2019 Education Year in Review: with Erica Green, Alyson Klein, and Josh Mitchell appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

Host Nat Malkus talks to former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb about how teen vaping, a growing trend in high schools, affects both students and schools. Substance abuse counselor Milagros Vascones-Gatski and Evie Blad, a reporter from Education Week, also join Nat to discuss ways to address the problem.

The post Teen Vaping with Scott Gottlieb, Mila Vascones-Gatski, and Evie Blad appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

The idea of free college isn’t new. In 2014, President Obama proposed free community college in his State of the Union Address. Both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders had free college plans in the 2016 election, and 2020 Democratic candidates also have plenty of ideas. However, in 2017, New York was the first state to […]

The post Free College in New York with Elsa Magee and Christopher Barto appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

Nat Malkus, Jackie Jodl, and Robert Pondiscio discuss the benefits (and possible pitfalls) of American education's growing trend: Social Emotional Learning

The post Social emotional learning with Jackie Jodl and Robert Pondiscio appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

How can schols go beyond surface level learning? Nat Malkus and Jal Mehta discuss the benefits of deeper learning and how classrooms can better implement its features nationwide

The post Deeper Learning with Jal Mehta appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

Do college rankings help students choose the right college? Nat Malkus talks to Michael Horn about his new book and the roles various people play in students' college decision-making journey

The post Choosing college with Michael Horn appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

Over the last couple years, a number of states have enacted new universal education savings account (ESA) programs. Republicans have led these efforts with near universal opposition from Democrats, but should more Democrats support ESAs, especially because ESAs would seem to more greatly benefit the urban areas that Democrats tend to represent than the rural areas that Republicans tend to represent?

On this episode of The Report Card, four Democrats—Marcus Brandon, Ravi Gupta, Bethany Little, and Graig Meyer—debate whether their fellow Democrats should support ESAs. Nat, Marcus, Ravi, Bethany, and Graig discuss whether ESAs are regressive, whether Democratic voters support ESAs, whether Democrats should focus on private school choice instead of public school choice, and more.

Marcus Brandon is the executive director of CarolinaCAN and was previously a state representative in the North Carolina House of Representatives.

Ravi Gupta is founder of The Branch and was previously the founder and CEO of RePublic Schools, a network of charter schools in the South. 

Bethany Little is a principal at EducationCounsel. She has spent twenty years working in government and non-profit organizations, including the White House and the U.S. Department of Education.

Graig Meyer is a state senator in North Carolina and previously served in the North Carolina House of Representatives.

Note: This episode is adapted from the most recent installment of the American Enterprise Institute’s Education Policy Debate Series, which was held at AEI on February 29. A video recording of the debate can be found here.

host Nat Malkus talks to Jeff Hawkins of the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative and Campbell Scribner at the University of Maryland about the unique challenges and strengths of rural schools, the history of consolidation and local control, and why rural schools perform better than urban and town schools.

The post Rural education with Jeff Hawkins and Campbell Scribner appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

When it comes to teaching reading, most American schools prioritize skill acquisition over background knowledge. Students are asked to find the main idea of a passage without learning the background knowledge that the passage is discussing. However, research shows that background knowledge is more critical to reading comprehension than disembodied skills. In this episode, host […]

The post Is the achievement gap actually a knowledge gap? (with Natalie Wexler and Ashley Berner) appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

In 2000, Charles Best started DonorsChoose.org, a website that allows teachers to request needed materials for classroom projects, and “citizen philanthropists” from across the country could fund their requests. While DonorsChoose has an impact on individual classrooms, the data it produces creates a map of what materials teachers are requesting in every district of the […]

The post Citizen Philanthropists and Education Reform with Charles Best appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

In P-TECH schools, students earn a high school diploma and an associate’s degree tied to the needs of local industry partners that provide workplace experiences.

The post Could the P-TECH schools model close the skills gap? (with Grace Suh) appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

Last year, student loan debt hit $1.5 trillion. From free college to loan forgiveness, there are plenty of ideas to lower student debt.

The post Can income share agreements address college affordability and accountability concerns? (with Beth Akers and Tonio DeSorrento) appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

In this special episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus brings you a debate that took place live at AEI on proposed new Title IX regulations that roll back Obama-era rules.

The post Debate Edition: The right direction on Title IX Sexual Harassment regulations appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus speaks with Rick Hess and Mike McShane about their new book, Getting Education Right: A Conservative Vision for Improving Early Childhood, K–12, and College. Nat, Rick, and Mike discuss what principles a conservative vision for education should be grounded in, whether No Child Left Behind was conservative, why family policy should be part of a conservative vision for education, why now is an opportune time for conservatives to take the lead on education, the pandemic’s effects on the politics of schooling, the culture wars, where conservatives have come up short on education in the past, the value of bipartisanship in education, where civics education has gone wrong, the state of education research, parental rights and parental responsibilities, and more.

Frederick M. Hess is a senior fellow and the director of education policy studies at AEI.

Michael McShane is the Director of National Research at EdChoice.

Show Notes:

Getting Education Right: A Conservative Vision for Improving Early Childhood, K–12, and College

Parents’ Rights, Yes. But Parent Responsibilities, Too

The Party of Education in 2024

Four States That Are Leading the Charge for Conservative Education

During the pandemic, homeschooling rates spiked, reaching unprecedented levels. And although they have fallen some since then, homeschooling rates remain far higher than anything we saw before the pandemic.

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus speaks with Angela Watson about what is driving this change, what we can expect from homeschooling in the coming years, and what we know about homeschooling more broadly.

Angela Watson is a senior research fellow at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy and an assistant research professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Education. She is also the creator of The Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy’s Homeschool Hub and the director of the Homeschool Research Lab.

Show Notes:

Homeschool Hub

Parent-Created "Schools" in the US

Investigating Declining Trends in Arts Field Trip Attendance

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus speaks with Tom Richards about the Florence Academy of Art, what serious art instruction looks like, how K–12 art education can be improved, the differences between music and art instruction, whether artistic talent is innate or can be taught, how art instruction has changed over the last 200 years, Velazquez, showing children art documentaries, why it's important to teach fundamentals before higher order skills, drawing with pencil and paper, the Zorn palette, the importance of coherence and consistency in an educational program, the management of Italian art museums, the proper age at which to start rigorous art training, and more.

Tom Richards is a painter and the director of the Florence Academy of Art.

Show Notes:

The Florence Academy of Art: Instagram, Website, Drawing and Painting Program, Student Gallery, Alumni Gallery

Tom Richards: Instagram, Website

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus speaks with Mike McShane about education savings account (ESA) programs. Nat and Mike discuss the sudden growth in ESA programs over the past year, how ESA programs work, the differences between ESAs and vouchers, the pandemic's effects on school choice, whether interest in ESAs solely comes from the right, the difficulty of starting charter schools, single-sex schools, the quality of education surveys, whether ESAs harm public schools in rural districts, the challenges of implementing ESAs, school choice and Catholic schools, how ESAs affect homeschooling, and more.

Mike McShane is the Director of National Research at EdChoice and the author and editor of a number of books on education policy.

Show Notes:

Implementing K–12 Education Savings Accounts

What is an Education Savings Account (ESA)?

The School Choice Movement Needs To Get Boring

AEI's 2024 Summer Honors Program

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus speaks with Dylan Wiliam about the latest PISA results, education in the US vs. education in the UK, what tutors might learn that classroom teachers might not, where teacher improvement and professional development tend to go wrong, making learning responsive to students, formative assessment, learning English as a second language, charter schools, why educators should think more about de-implementation, AI in education, and more.

Dylan Wiliam is Emeritus Professor of Educational Assessment at University College London.

Show Notes:

Making Room for Impact: A De-implementation Guide for Educators

The Future of AI in Education: 13 Things We Can Do to Minimize the Damage

Creating the Schools Our Children Need

Inside the Black Box

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus reviews the past year in education with Matt Barnum of The Wall Street Journal, Goldie Blumenstyk of The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Alyson Klein of Education Week. Nat, Matt, Goldie, and Alyson discuss AI in education; DEI in higher education; learning loss, chronic absenteeism, and the ESSER funding cliff; the end of race-based admissions; the state of education journalism; the science of reading; which education stories from the past year were over- and under-reported; the Biden administration's SAVE plan; culture clashes in Florida; the 2024 elections; what to expect from the coming year; and more.

Show Notes:

The Daily Tar Heel; Volume 131, Issue 16

Students Hated ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’ Their Teachers Tried to Dump It.

This Online Tutoring Company Says It Offers Expert One-on-One Help. Students Often Get Neither.

Disillusioned: Five Families and the Unraveling of America’s Suburbs

The ‘Science of Reading’ in 2023: 4 Important Developments

What I Learned Covering National Education Issues for Chalkbeat

Ready or Not, AI Is Here

AI Can Mimic Students’ Writing Styles. How Are Teachers Supposed to Catch Cheaters Now?

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus speaks with Carey Wright about her tenure as State Superintendent of Education in Mississippi and the work ahead of her as State Superintendent of Schools in Maryland. Nat and Carey discuss the Mississippi Miracle; how to get teachers to buy in to major interventions; professional development; the purpose of grade retention policies; math instruction; the importance of the education leadership environment in a state; why some state leaders may care less about student achievement than others; state-district relationships; the importance of education data; teacher coaches; the education press; Maryland’s recent NAEP declines; the Blueprint for Maryland's Future; accountability; the relationship between education spending and student achievement; overcoming learning loss; post-pandemic chronic absenteeism; and more.

Carey Wright is State Superintendent of Schools in Maryland. Previously, from 2013 to 2022, she served as State Superintendent of Education in Mississippi.

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus speaks with Brian Jacob and Vladimir Kogan about school board elections. Nat, Brian, and Vlad discuss how effective school board elections are at giving voters local democratic control, whether school board members are rewarded for good performance and punished for bad performance, the margin of victory in school board elections, who runs for school board, how incumbents perform in school board elections, the high rate of school board member turnover, paying school board members, state takeovers, how the pandemic affected school board elections, whether Moms for Liberty has been effective in winning school board elections, school governance, direct democracy, ESSER funding, NCLB, and more.

Brian Jacob is the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Education Policy and professor of economics at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.

Vladimir Kogan is a professor in the department of Political Science at The Ohio State University.

Show Notes:

How Did the COVID-19 Pandemic Influence School Board Elections? (forthcoming) by Brian Jacob

Democratic Accountability or an Electoral Turnstile? Turnover and Competition in Local School Board Elections (forthcoming) by Vladimir Kogan, Stephane Lavertu, and Zachary Peskowitz