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Jonathan Supovitz comments on the drop in Pennsylvania students’ standardized testing scores. Given the pandemic and the challenges of virtual learning, Supovitz says the scores are “not surprising, and it is also entirely consistent with other places in the country.”

Laura Perna speaks about net price calculators and their implications in college admissions. The three buckets that matter for college opportunity are financial aid, academic readiness, and information, she says. Net price calculators are an “important mechanism to help people understand really early on in the process ideally, how much it will actually cost.”

Penn GSE’s newest associate professor on “curricular complexity,” how too many choices can overwhelm students, and the human stories behind big data.

Tina Fletcher figured out her life’s purpose when she met her ninth-grade civics teacher. Mrs. Payne was Black, like Fletcher, and was one of the first teachers of color Fletcher had in her rural Arkansas town. “I knew from that point forward I had to be a social studies teacher,” Fletcher said. “I could see myself.”

Laura Perna said that applying for financial aid can be complicated for students. However, the Alamo Promise program, which provides students in Texas with free tuition and additional services, sends “a clear message with no fine print,” she said.

Penn GSE’s John Fantuzzo discussed the potential issues of the legislation’s lack of roadmap — and how it could serve to make some existing problems worse — with Vox.

As a complex era fuels urgent questions about the state of American democracy, faculty and students at Penn GSE are examining key issues of freedom, voice, and dialogue while helping foster respectful discussion within the classroom and beyond.

Laura Perna discussed how the challenges of constructing debt-free degree programs may be daunting for colleges, but the ends justify the means: The programs create a more socioeconomically diverse student body, to the benefit of everyone.

Laura Perna spoke about how so-called College Promise Programs that reduce the costs of attending college may encourage more students to enroll — but cautioned a number may still be deterred by fears of hidden costs.

The University of Pennsylvania’s IES predoctoral training program, led by Penn GSE’s Brooks Bowden and Rebecca Maynard, has announced this year’s nine awardees.

In new research published in the Journal of Sleep Research, Penn GSE’s Michael A. Gottfried and Texas Tech University’s J. Jacob Kirksey find that a regular bedtime improves kindergarteners’ attendance and decreases the likelihood they will be chronically absent.

Brooks Bowden cautions that while the effect sizes in the ARC Core research study were large compared to studies of older students, there are few similar studies of kindergarteners to provide a basis for comparison.

Laura Perna spoke about efforts to make community college tuition-free. "There's power in the message that tuition is free. Figuring out how much college costs is complicated," she said.

In new research published in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Professor Michael Gottfried, along with J. Jacob Kirksey (Texas Tech University) and Tina L. Fletcher (Penn GSE), concluded that Latinx students with Latinx teachers attend school more, a relationship that does not exist for white students.

In new research published in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Michael Gottfried (Penn GSE), J. Jacob Kirksey (Texas Tech) and Tina L. Fletcher (Penn) examine the impact of having a same-race teacher on attendance.

The decison 'curves, if not cuts off, possibilities' for affected teenagers, Roberto Gonzales said.

"There might be a whole lot of pent up frustration and the retiring, quitting can go up dramatically starting this summer." — Richard Ingersoll

Richard Ingersoll said that it will take year or two to determine if the pandemic drove teachers to quit the profession. “Everything I have seen on this is anecdotal, or conjecture, or for specific school districts,” he said.

Penn GSE’s dean and peers from the Learning Policy Institute advocate for accelerating systems change in the wake of the pandemic.

Richard Ingersoll spoke about the pandemic’s impact on the teaching workforce and suggested that the economy’s recovery could increase teacher turnover and retirements.

‘It’s kind of like one lever that has a lot of dominoes fall into place once it’s pulled,’ says Katie Barghaus.

Richard Ingersoll spoke about how schools and school boards are working to meet demands from parents and lawmakers. “All these demands by parents are very understandable, such as lower class size,” said Ingersoll. “Who wouldn’t want their child to be in a class of 18? And, yes, let’s teach Mandarin and, yes, let’s bring back Latin. There are so many demands but very little recognition of the costs.”

Nominations for the 2021 McGraw Prizes in Education are open through April 15.

Richard Ingersoll said that admission standards for elementary teaching programs are already low, certainly compared to other professions such as medicine and law. The solution presented to address shortages in the national teacher workforce has been to “widen the gate and lower the bar,” but lowering academic standards “any further doesn’t make much sense,” Ingersoll said.

Penn GSE Assistant Professor Brooks Bowden now leads the center.

Richard Ingersoll said cultural misunderstandings about what it takes to be a good teacher have contributed to low wages for educators. “There was this idea that you don’t have to be that smart. It’s not as complex,” he said. “Or as difficult as being an accountant, working with numbers. Or being a dentist, working with teeth.”

Michael Gottfried said it’s difficult to quantify how school is going for students amid the pandemic. “We’re sort of building the plane as we fly it,” he said. “Everything’s up in the air now. Everything’s been disrupted just from the measurement side.”

Gonzales, an expert in how immigration policy shapes the lives of young people, will join Penn GSE and Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences in July.

Richard Ingersoll explained how it was decided that women would teach in public schools 150 years ago. “The argument was, ‘Look, women will learn to be better mothers by practicing on other people’s children,’” he said. “Proponents made the case it was a win-win.”

Rebecca Maynard and Brooks Bowden will lead a $4.6 million training program for doctoral fellows from across the University of Pennsylvania pursuing data-driven education research.

Richard Ingersoll said it’s too early to know if the pandemic will worsen teacher shortages. “Traditionally, employees in general across industries and occupations quit at higher rates in good economic times and at lower rates in bad economic times," he said. "The reason is simple—even if someone dislikes their job, they are loath to quit if there is financial uncertainty, or if there are not other jobs available.”

“Even if you don’t like your job, if there aren’t other options out there, you’re going to be loath to leave. There aren’t a lot of options out there,” said Richard Ingersoll.

Gottfried is the newest member of Penn GSE’s Education Policy Division.

When the COVID-19 pandemic shifted Rand Quinn’s class online this spring, his students decided their main project should change too.

Members of the Penn GSE community have stepped forward amidst the shortage of personal protective equipment brought on by the COVID-19 crisis.

“That’s a big privacy issue, both to lock down your computer and to put some kind of client on your computer to be able to do that," Jonathan Supovitz said.

Penn GSE teacher’s teacher education programs listed among the nation’s best.

Richard Ingersoll weighed in on teacher burnout, which has worsened in recent years. “A lot of it boils down to working conditions,” he said.

Writing in Phi Delta Kappan, Penn GSE Dean Pam Grossman makes the case for creating a common language and set of practices to define professional teaching.

Policymakers will struggle to implement meaningful changes in education unless they ask if a solution is cost effective, writes Rebecca Maynard.

Robert Zemsky discusses market pressures of higher education and his book, The College Stress Test. The conversation around what is happening in higher ed is “caught among extreme visions.” Necessary innovations for systemic change are difficult to pull off, he says.

Richard Ingersoll’s research points out that the overall teaching profession is getting younger.

Six researchers from Penn GSE have made Education Week’s 2020 Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings list.