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BlogsTake a Closer Look at the “Mississippi Miracle”
Mississippi educators and leaders can take justifiable pride in the progress that students have made. Throughout the 80s and 90s, Mississippi, one of the poorest states in the Union, was a reliable last-place finisher in national education scores such as NAEP. But in recent years, the state has led the nation in reading gains.
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Research Wednesday
Gloria Mark and her book “Attention Span”
This week’s evidence comes from Microsoft researcher and University of California professor Gloria Mark in her book “Attention Span”.
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Research Wednesday
The Latest on the US Department of Education Funding and Enrollment Drops
The Latest on the US Department of Education Funding and Enrollment Drops
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Research Wednesday
An Unusual Take on Cheating with AI
An Unusual Take on Cheating with AI – Two interesting articles from May 2025 were published on cheating with AI.
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Research Wednesday
Teacher Education Programs and Evidence-based Teaching Practices
This week’s evidence, published on April 8, 2025, concerns teacher education programs and their use (and failure to use) of evidence-based teaching practices. It is interesting to contrast teacher education in Finland and Norway—the subjects of this study—with teacher education in the US.
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Research Wednesday
THE FAMILY DYNAMIC: A Journey Into the Mystery of Sibling Success, by Susan Dominus
In this provocative new book (2025), THE FAMILY DYNAMIC: A Journey Into the Mystery of Sibling Success, by Susan Dominus, the author examines the families of exceptional siblings, from those who excelled in medicine, chess, politics, and other fields.
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Research Wednesday
Student Engagement
Student engagement is a hot topic with many teachers despairing that students display an alarming degree of disinterest and disengagement in school. More than 130 studies in this meta-analysis revealed that engagement and academic achievement are very related.
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Research Wednesday
Take Care when Implementing the Science of Reading.
Take Care when Implementing the Science of Reading.
The science of reading has taken the nation by storm, with more than half the state legislatures mandating adopting a curriculum based on the science of reading.
In this April 29, 2025, article in Education Week, Scott Gaynor, the head of an independent school, suggests caution in several areas.
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Research Wednesday
Math Education
While the Thomas Fordham Foundation has been critical of me, especially about my writing on grading policies, I always try to learn from them, and this week was an especially good report on math education. Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin (Matt Giani, Ph.D., Franchesca Lyra, Adam Tyner, Ph.D.) studied the impact on students who took calculus or statistics.
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Research Wednesday
Fearless Leadership
Here is a quick excerpt from my new book, Fearless Leadership, that might be useful in your discussions with school and district leaders. It has to do with how leaders and governing board members can deal with public participation in board meetings:
We follow the principle to first seek to understand, and then seek to be understood.
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Research Wednesday
The Continued Impact of Chronic Absenteeism
The continued impact of chronic absenteeism:
A terrific report (January 16, 2025) from researchers at Johns Hopkins demonstrates that the lingering effects of school closures during the pandemic remain years after schools reopened. Chronic absenteeism overwhelms faculty and staff, and the negative effects are not only on those students who fail to come to school, but also on students who attend school.
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Research Wednesday
Professional Development
I have attempted to separate these updates from politics, but this week’s news went over the line. The Administration is asking the Supreme Court to approve the Administration’s decision to cancel professional development for teachers that has already been approved by Congress.
Creative Leadership Blog
Dr. Douglas Reeves and colleagues regularly publish on relevant topics for busy educators. Whether it is a book, article, or blog, each contain facts and practical next steps for practitioners. As with all our resources, please share with colleagues and communities.