An education columnist for the Washington Post, Jay Mathews, joins Education Next editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss Mathews' new book, "An Optimist’s Guide to American Public Education," and The Challenge Index, Mathews' annual ranking of American high schools. An excerpt from the book, "What I Learned in 23 Years Ranking America’s Most Challenging High Schools," by Mathews, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/what-i-learned-in-23-years-ranking-americas-most-challenging-high-schools/

An assistant professor at American University, Claudia Persico, joins Education Next editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss Persico's new research, which investigates whether students of color are being properly identified for special education. "Segregation and Racial Gaps in Special Education," written with Todd E. Elder, David Figlio, and Scott Imberman, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/segregation-racial-gaps-special-education-new-evidence-on-debate-over-disproportionality/

A professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, Daniel T. Willingham, joins Education Next editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how findings in education research can be better translated to help teachers in a live classroom setting. Willingham's article, "Making Education Research Relevant: How researchers can give teachers more choices," co-written with David B. Daniel, is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/making-education-research-relevant-how-researchers-can-give-teachers-more-choices/

The President of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Mike Petrilli, joins Education Next editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how education may remain changed since the Covid-19 pandemic, when teachers might return to schools full time, and why cameras in the classroom may be here to stay. Petrilli's article, "A Post-Covid Case for Classroom Cameras," is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/post-covid-case-classroom-cameras-pandemic-ends-keep-teachers-cameras-on/

The executive director of the Center for Assessment, Scott Marion, joins Education Next editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the uncertainty surrounding annual math and reading assessments this spring, and what schools can do to maintain instruction and accountability in 2021.

The executive vice president of 50Can, Derrell Bradford, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the ongoing school closures amid to Covid-19, and how this is essentially an extension of teacher union activism of the past few years. Bradford's blog post, "A Rolling National Teacher Strike Is Why Schools Are Closed," is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/rolling-national-teacher-strike-is-why-schools-are-closed/

The president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, joins Education Next editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss efforts to reopen public schools, including President Joe Biden's goal to re-open K-8 schools within the administration's first 100 days.

An Associate Professor of Education and Economics at Boston University, Joshua Goodman, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how remote learning during a pandemic affects the snow day calculus.

The Director of the Center for the Study of Government and the Individual at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Joshua Dunn, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how parents have filed lawsuits in efforts to open schools for in-person instruction, and how the Supreme Court might eventually weigh in on these cases. Dunn's article, "As Unions and Public Officials Push to Keep Schools Closed, Parents Fight Back," is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/unions-public-officials-push-keep-schools-closed-parents-fight-back/

A research scientist for the Collaborative for Student Growth at NWEA, Megan Kuhfeld, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss Kuhfeld's new study, which tracks student reading and math scores during the Covid-19 pandemic. Kuhfeld's blog post, "Reading Suffered Less Than Expected During Pandemic, New Fall 2020 Student Data Show," is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/reading-suffered-less-than-expected-during-pandemic-new-fall-2020-student-data-show/

An assistant professor of education at the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education, David Quinn, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss Quinn's new research, which investigates how standardized grading rubrics can help combat racial biases in schools. Quinn's article, "How to Reduce Racial Bias in Grading," is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/how-to-reduce-racial-bias-in-grading-research/

A senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, Beth Akers, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the prospects of student loan forgiveness in a Biden presidential administration.

A Distinguished Senior Fellow and President Emeritus at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Chester E. Finn, Jr., joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss Sen. Lamar Alexander's impact on K-12 education over more than 50 years in government. Finn's article, "Leadership Makes a Difference: Lamar Alexander and K–12 Education," is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/leadership-makes-difference-lamar-alexander-and-k-12-education

The director of national research at EdChoice, Michael Q. McShane, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the controversy surrounding for-profit charter schools.

The Director of the Center for the Study of Government and the Individual at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Joshua Dunn, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the lasting impact of the Supreme Court's Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue decision. They also discuss Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation hearing and her potential effect on the court.

A professor at Harvard University and the director of the Democratic Knowledge Project, Danielle S. Allen, and the CEO of Amplify, Larry Berger, join Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss Portrait of a Tyrant, a video game designed for students to learn about the Declaration of Independence. The game is available for free at portraitofatyrant.com.

Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West is joined by the author of “Teaching in the Online Classroom,” Doug Lemov, and by educators Hilary Lewis and Hannah Solomon, to discuss how teachers and students can best adapt to an online learning environment.

The former executive director of the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board, Scott Pearson, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss what lessons Pearson learned during his time in that role. A blog post by Pearson, "5 Things We Learned in D.C. About How to Advance Charter Schools," is available now. https://www.educationnext.org/5-things-we-learned-d-c-how-to-advance-charter-schools/

A professor of economics and education at the University of Virginia, Sarah Turner, joins Education Next Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss how canceled college admission tests and test-optional policies in the wake of Covid-19 are affecting equity in college admissions.

Two editors of the new book Religious Liberty and Education: A case study of Yeshivas vs. New York, joined Education Next editor in chief Martin West to discuss the book. The guests were the director of policy for EdChoice, Jason Bedrick, and a distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, Jay P. Greene.