ICYMI - The New World Order of Education: A new book about pro wrestling’s uber-villains offers instructive parallels to our education cage matches.

"When it comes to cognition and other school-related skills, however, we grow sheepish about the role of our genes—and for good reason."

"Under the leadership of then-Superintendent Mike Miles, Dallas in 2015 switched to a salary system based on a sophisticated evaluation of teacher effectiveness."

"But recently, other outlets have found that Republicans now have a slight edge on this traditional Democratic stronghold."

"Charter schools have been a school choice success but a limited one, facing increasing challenges through the years with overregulation and limited growth."

"WorkTexas is Feinberg’s attempt to right the ship with programs to introduce individuals to the trades and land good jobs."

"Everyone thinks the issue with AI is that just about every student is cheating their way through college. Yes and no."

Joshua Goodman, an Associate Professor of Education and Economics at Boston University, is this week's guest on the Education Exchange podcast.

"After more than 50 years of calls for improvement in U.S. public schools, this needs to change. And two district school systems demonstrate one way to do it."

"Although 80 percent of parents report their children attend traditional public schools, only half that number prefer a traditional public school inside or outside of their assigned district when given the choice."

"In a 6–3 decision, the court granted the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian parents’ request for an injunction protecting their right to opt their children out of instruction on gender and sexuality that violates their religious convictions. "

"Fewer than 1 percent of students who score below basic in 8th-grade reading go on to earn a four-year college degree compared with almost 23 percent of students who score proficient and 43 percent of students with advanced scores."

"Nobody is surprised to learn that the Washington Commanders pay players differently based on position and performance. Yet finding that this also holds true for D.C. public school teachers generally comes as a shock."

"The DEI surge and attendant backlash were fueled by self-promoters (think Ibram X. Kendi or Robby Starbuck) who mastered a popular shtick. It almost doesn’t matter whether they know what they’re talking about (i.e. if they’re lousy 'in the ring')."

"At a time when voting is at historic highs, politics has become entertainment, and ideologically-motivated murder has become a GoFundMe cause, 'action civics' is the last thing we need."

"If elections do not hold officials accountable for performance, and if community engagement is low, then local control may be more symbolic than substantive—an empty vessel we continue to praise without asking whether it delivers."

"When it comes to handling education issues, voters have consistently placed more confidence in Democrats than Republicans, according to surveys conducted by The Winston Group since 1999."

"We see two roads forward for education choice. Down the well-travelled road, we see the potential 'charter-ization' of private school choice. Down the other, the less-traveled road of Frost’s imagining, we see a truly decentralized education system."

"To no one’s surprise, the Supreme Court agreed with the parents in Mahmoud v. Taylor, among the most high-profile cases of the court’s 2025 term."

"Polling data show Americans overwhelmingly believe K–12 education at the national level is on the wrong track; however, they express much higher confidence in their local schools."