Education Next

In the challenging world of school reform, this journal aims to provide clear and reliable information. It highlights valuable research, solid ideas, and well-reasoned arguments without bias. While there is a need for significant change in K–12 education in America, Education Next does not support any specific program, campaign, or ideology. Instead, it follows the evidence wherever it leads.

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We Need a Post-BS Civics Education

1 week ago | educationnext.org | Frederick M. Hess

We need a post-BS civics. In 2025, public officials seem unhealthily consumed by social media celebrity while longstanding civic norms are casually shattered. I don’t believe the problems are because of civics education but a post-BS civics could be part of the solution. I mean, the U.S. owes $36 trillion in debt, is borrowing $2 trillion a year, and is spending $1 trillion a year just on interest payments.
WorkTexas Enlists Multiple Partners to Give Disengaged Youth a Second Chance

2 weeks ago | educationnext.org | Caralee J. Adams

Yerlin Rivera had struggled academically in high school. She fell in with the wrong crowd, got into trouble, and dropped out. After working two jobs for a year—at Chick-fil-A and a Mexican restaurant—she wanted to finish her education. Rivera lacked so many credits that she would have had to start over as a freshman at a traditional high school, something that did not appeal to her at age 17.
Five Thoughts on Reforming the Institute of Education Sciences

2 weeks ago | educationnext.org | Frederick M. Hess

Months after DOGE gutted the federal Institute of Education Sciences (IES), Linda McMahon’s Department of Education is pivoting to the work of reforming it. That won’t be easy. DOGE reduced IES to rubble, laying off almost every IES staffer and canceling pretty much every contract while making little obvious effort to distinguish the good from the bad or the useful from the useless. The upside is a chance to rebuild a more agile, cost-effective, valuable agency. But again, not easy.
Which Books Belong in Classrooms? Which Don’t?

3 weeks ago | educationnext.org | Frederick M. Hess

A big frustration with policy is that it can feel far removed from the real work of schooling. Why is that? What can we do about it? Such questions seem well worth digging into today, and I can’t think of anyone better to dig with than Andy Rotherham, the author of the Eduwonk blog, big-time education consultant, a member of Virginia’s board of education, and a former special assistant for education to President Bill Clinton.
The Education Exchange: Public Broadly Supports School Choice Despite Persistent Partisan Gaps

3 weeks ago | educationnext.org | Paul Peterson

Paul DiPerna, the Vice President of Research and Innovation for EdChoice, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how public opinion has shaped the conversation around school choice in the United States.
Trump’s Big Middle School Commencement Address

3 weeks ago | educationnext.org | Frederick M. Hess

White House transcript of President Donald J. Trump’s remarks to Riverwood Middle School 8th grade commencement, June 2, 2025. Good morning. You’re very lucky to have me here. Very lucky. I’m one popular cookie. That’s so true. I am. Lots of other middle schools wanted me. But I’m here. So, congratulations. I’m thinking, if your teachers are smart, they’ll have you write about how fortunate you are to have me here. Just an idea. I don’t know for sure. It’s what I would do if I were a teacher. But I’m not.
The Education Exchange: Who Are the Homeschoolers?

1 month ago | educationnext.org | Paul Peterson

Survey data reveal surprising demographic diversity among homeschooling families Angela R. Watson, a senior research fellow at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Watson’s recent research on how homeschooling has grown, and how students and parents measure success. Follow The Education Exchange on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here on Education Next. — Education Next May 27, 2025
The Centennial of Pierce v. Society of Sisters

1 month ago | educationnext.org | Paul Peterson

Pierce v. Society of Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary is a landmark court decision worthy of a centennial celebration by those engaged in the school choice movement. Announced by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 1, 1925, it guarantees parents the right to send their children to a private school. Yet a realistic appraisal must appreciate Pierce more as a precursor for what came later than for what the opinion itself declared.
Mississippi Can’t Possibly Have Good Schools - Education Next

1 month ago | educationnext.org | Tim Daly

And yet it does. Are we ready to deal?
Boys Are Struggling in School. What Can Be Done?

1 month ago | educationnext.org | Frederick M. Hess

In recent years, the academic struggles of America’s boys have gained heightened visibility. The leading scholar on this count may be Richard Reeves, Brookings Institution scholar and the founding president of the American Institute for Boys and Men. His book Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male is Struggling, Why it Matters, and What to do About It was named one of 2022’s best books by The New Yorker and The Economist and a summer reading selection last year by former President Barack Obama.