Checker Finn, president emeritus of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to talk about the future of Head Start and why he thinks the troubled federal preschool program needs rebuilding, not destroying. They discuss the Trump administration’s approach to Head Start, the program’s longstanding weaknesses, and what meaningful reform could look like.

Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a new two-year experiment with Khan Academy’s AI tutor, Khanmigo. The study finds modest gains in math achievement, but students rarely engaged deeply with the AI tutor, raising questions about whether the improvement came from the AI itself or simply from structured practice on Khan Academy.

Recommended content:

• The Trump team gives Head Start the DOGE treatment —Chester E. Finn, Jr., Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• Reroute the Preschool Juggernaut —Chester E. Finn, Jr., Hoover Press (2009)
• Head Start Program Performance Standards —U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families
• Transformative for the motivated and mere meh for the unmotivated: How AI will and won’t affect learners —Sean Geraghty and Mike Goldstein, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• One Click Away: AI Tutoring with Khanmigo in a Two-Year School Experiment —Philip Oreopoulos and Nina Low, EdWorkingPapers (2026)

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Mike Petrilli is solo once again to revisit the college-for-all debate and consider whether the backlash has become an overcorrection. He considers the risks of steering academically underprepared students toward four-year degrees, the growing enthusiasm for career pathways, and whether today’s push away from college could discourage some students who might actually succeed there.

Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a new study examining more than two decades of state pre-K expansion and what it reveals about balancing access, spending, and program design.

Recommended content:

• Has the pendulum swung too far away from college for all? —Michael J. Petrilli, SCHOOLED
• Notice of Intent to Submit Federal Ed-Flex Waiver Requests— State of Alabama Department of Education
• Hey, Claude, should I go to college? —Michael J. Petrilli, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• Returns to Four-Year Higher Education —Doug Webber and Celeste K. Carruthers, Live Handbook of Education Policy Research
• Who should go to college? More students may benefit than we think —Matt Barnum, Chalkbeat
• Honest talk about who should go to college —Michael J. Petrilli, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• 23 Years of State Pre-K Expansion: How States Balance Investment, Access, and Quality in the Modern Era —Casey Moran, Mindy L. Rosengarten, Eunho Cha, Jade M. Jenkins, Kenneth A. Dodge, Allison Friedman-Kraus, W. Steven Barnett, and Tyler W. Watts, EdWorkingPapers (2026)

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Andrew Camp and Collin Hitt join Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss Moving Target: The Success and Failure of Missouri’s Charter School Funding Surge, a new Fordham report by David, Andrew, and Collin. They examine Missouri’s effort to close the charter funding gap, how schools used the additional money, and why true funding parity remained out of reach. They also discuss the effects on staffing, teacher retention, and student achievement.

Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews new research from Ohio on whether the threat of third-grade retention can improve reading achievement by prompting schools to provide struggling students with additional literacy support.

Recommended content:

• Moving Target: The Success and Failure of Missouri’s Charter School Funding Surge —Andrew M. Camp, Collin Hitt, and David Griffith, for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• The Impact of Increasing Funding for High-Performing Ohio Charter Schools: The Quality Community School Support Fund, 2019–23 —Stéphane Lavertu, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• Charter School Funding: Inequity’s Next Frontier —Sheree Speakman, Chester E. Finn, Jr., and Bryan C. Hassel, for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• Why Ohio’s third-grade retention law worked (until lawmakers killed it) —Vladimir Kogan, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• The Effect of Retention Threat on Student Learning Gains: Evidence from Ohio —Sarah Souders and Robert Bifulco, EdWorkingPapers (July 2026)

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Congressman Josh Harder joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss his push to revive the National Reading Panel and advance the READ Act. They consider whether a new panel could update the evidence base on reading instruction, how federal funding might encourage stronger implementation of science-of-reading reforms, and whether literacy could help rebuild a bipartisan federal role in education policy without repeating the mistakes of past reforms.

Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a new study on how adding AP courses may affect school enrollment, socioeconomic integration, and academic tracking.

Recommended content:

• Is the Senate’s READ Act a Reading First redux?— Michael J. Petrilli, SCHOOLED
• READ Act section-by-section summary—Senate HELP Committee
• From the Teacher’s Desk: A Science of Reading Progress Report—David Griffith and Brian Fitzpatrick, for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• Can Uncle Sam help kids read? | Episode 1023 of The Education Gadfly Show
• Tracking to Retain Higher-Income Students: Evidence from the Addition of Advanced Courses—Farah Mallah, EdWorkingPapers (July 2026)

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Mike Miles, superintendent of Houston Independent School District, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to talk about his new book, By Design: How to Transform School Systems, and how districts can use systemic thinking and accountability with support to improve schools.

Then, on the Research Minute, Brian Fitzpatrick reviews new research on how classroom context can affect teacher evaluations, and how schools can use the logic of value-added models to develop better evaluations.

Recommended content:

• By Design: How to Transform School Systems —Mike Miles
• State takeovers are back —Michael J. Petrilli, SCHOOLED
• Texas’s controversial takeover of Houston’s schools—Daniel Buck, for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• Classroom Composition Affects Teacher Performance Ratings —William Delgado and Lauren Sartain, EdWorkingPapers (April 2026)

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Tyrone Holmes, chief impact officer at Curriculum Associates, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the growing parent backlash against education technology and why i-Ready has become one of its most visible targets. They unpack the differences among i-Ready’s assessments, teacher-led resources, and personalized online instruction; consider concerns about screen time and overuse; and discuss why teachers and schools need to communicate more clearly with families about how these tools are being used.

Then, on the Research Minute, Brian Fitzpatrick reviews a new study tracking the effects of Massachusetts charter schools over two decades and examines why their benefits rose, receded, and then rebounded.

Recommended content:

• There’s more to the i-Ready story —Kelly Sia for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• There’s actually more to the i-Ready story: A rebuttal —Daniel Carr for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• Are Chromebook carts the answer? —Michael J. Petrilli, SCHOOLED
• Can schools escape the digital delusion? | Episode 1026 of The Education Gadfly Show
• How “No Excuses” charter schools went off the rails, with Steven Wilson | Episode 961 of The Education Gadfly Show
• Two Decades of Massachusetts Charter School Effects —Geoffrey Kocks, Blueprint Labs (2026)

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David Griffith talks with neuroscientist and educator Jared Cooney Horvath, author of The Digital Delusion, about whether schools have put too much faith in classroom technology. They discuss what the evidence says about screen-based instruction, why school-sanctioned devices and platforms deserve more scrutiny, and whether artificial intelligence is making the ed-tech problem better or worse.

Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a new study on Texas’s Teacher Incentive Allotment and why performance pay may not be enough to steer effective teachers toward higher-need schools.

Recommended content:

• The Digital Delusion: How Classroom Technology Harms Our Kids’ Learning - And How To Help Them Thrive Again —Jared Cooney Horvath
• Let’s debate LA’s screen time policy —Michael J. Petrilli, SCHOOLED
• Are Chromebook carts the answer? —Michael J. Petrilli, SCHOOLED
• Teacher Sorting and Preferences over School Disadvantage: Evidence from Performance Pay in Texas —Patrick L. Massey, EdWorkingPapers (2026)

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Mike Petrilli takes the mic to consider whether America’s schools need a renewed sense of urgency around raising achievement and closing gaps. He revisits the test-based accountability era, debates whether its biggest contribution may have been less about policy mechanics and more about shifting the national “vibes,” and argues that today’s education leaders may need to be much clearer about what it means to put students first.

Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a new American Enterprise Institute report tracking post-pandemic chronic absenteeism and warning that elevated absence rates may be turning into a long-term condition.

Recommended content:

• The one where Ross gets rebuked by reformers —Michael J. Petrilli, SCHOOLED
• On NCLB, Wiener and Petrilli fight to a draw —Robert Pondiscio, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• The Impact of No Child Left Behind on Student Achievement —Thomas S. Dee and Brian A. Jacob, NBER
• From Attendance Crisis to Chronic Condition? Tracking Post-Pandemic Chronic Absenteeism into 2025 —Nat Malkus, American Enterprise Institute (2026)

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our show? We would love to hear them. Send them to thegadfly@fordhaminstitute.org