In Defense of the SAT — Eliminating College Admissions Exams Only Worsens Entrenched Inequities

This article was originally posted on The 74, and can be found here. By Dr. Prateek Dutta Last week, two events that seemed to have little to do with each other made headline news. Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband pleaded guilty to bribing officials in order to get their children admitted into a selective university in

Advocating for Immigrants & Their Families in a Time of Uncertainty

By Crisanta Duran, New York State Director So many of us have been left reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, but while all our communities have felt the effects, immigrant families have been particularly vulnerable. In New York City alone, our immigrant population comprises nearly half of the workforce, keeping our city running

Early Signs of States’ CARES Act Education Spending Priorities

By Nicholas Munyan-Penney and Charles Barone As Congress continues discussions on the next round of COVID funding, it’s still largely unclear how states are planning to spend the $16.2 billion in the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) and Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) funds under the CARES Act. States have been eligible to

COVID-19 RESPONSE: DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT

By Nicholas Munyan-Penney and Charles Barone See full report here Starting the next school year with diagnostic assessments is a straightforward way to gain critical data after unprecedented disruptions to instruction, a solution recently endorsed by the Florida Association of District School Superintendents in a new set of re-opening recommendations, as well as by the

ERN Releases Statement on the HEROES Act

Education Reform Now Chief Policy Officer Charles Barone and Director of Strategic Initiatives for Policy Michael Dannenberg released the following statement in response to the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act: “As states struggle with plummeting revenues and students experience what are certain to be significant learning losses, we commend Speaker Pelosi and

Happening Now: Looking for Leaders of Color in NOLA

We’re excited to announce that our Leaders of Color leadership training program will be coming to New Orleans, Louisiana, this Summer. Apply here and learn the skills and tools needed to run for public office. You can be the change in your community. Who:  Education Reform Now’s Leaders of Color Initiative What: Leadership training for Public

Phase IV COVID-19 Bill Recommendations

By Michael Dannenberg Leading education policy wonks offered and discussed their recommendations for a Phase IV COVID-19 bill in a Twitter chat (#CARES4Ed) led by Education Reform Now a couple of weeks ago. Online participants included influential voices at the Alliance for Excellent Education, Bellwether Education Partners, Center for American Progress (CAP), The Education Trust,

Leaders of Color Launches NY Chapter

Dr. Damary Bonilla-Rodriguez Joins as Director NEW YORK, N.Y. (April 23, 2020)—Education Reform Now (ERN) announced today the launch of its Leaders of Color New York Chapter, with an inaugural cohort of 12 aspiring political and education leaders, representing the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Long Island, and Harlem.  ERN’s Leaders of Color training program

Distance Learning in the time of COVID 19

By Nicholas Munyan-Penney Every state in the U.S. has either ordered or recommended the closure of public elementary and secondary schools and at least a dozen have ordered or recommended that schools remain closed through the end of the academic year. To help districts stem the dramatic loss of learning time for students, most states

Online Students Deserve a Real Education

By James Murphy & Michael Dannenberg Millions of college students and professors are getting their first taste of online college this spring as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. It’s telling there have been no loud cries to keep this ad-hoc learning going next semester and beyond, but that remains a possibility, so we need