Should states cover AP exam costs for all students?
A Flypaper review asking whether states should pay AP exam fees for every student. It summarizes Md Twfiqur Rahman and M. Cade Lawson's study of North Carolina's universal AP fee waiver.
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute
A system designed to preserve the status quo: New York City Public Schools’ kindergarten choice program
A Flypaper review of research on New York City's kindergarten school-choice process. It reports findings from Rebecca Shmoys, Sierra McCormick, and Douglas Ready's working paper showing that admission priorities largely explain racial gaps in first-choice matches.
Terrifying families is indeed bad for children
A Flypaper commentary on how immigration enforcement affects children's schooling. It reviews Thomas Dee's study of five Central Valley districts, which found absences rose sharply after the early-2025 raids.
When—and why—legislated school finance reforms don’t increase state education spending
A Flypaper review of research on how states pay for legislated school finance reforms. It walks through the data and methods of Shelby McNeill and Christopher Candelaria's working paper on why some reforms do not raise state education spending.
The causes of teacher strikes and their impacts on student outcomes
A Flypaper research review of a new study on why U.S. teacher strikes happen and what follows them. It describes the strike database and findings from Melissa Arnold Lyon, Matthew Kraft, and Matthew Steinberg's working paper.
Longer-term impacts of remote learning during the height of Covid
A Flypaper review of two studies on the lasting effects of pandemic remote learning. It summarizes Jeremy Singer's Michigan analysis of remote learning and later attendance and Patrick Denice and Shahar Dangur-Levy's study of Massachusetts high school math coursetaking.
The Mississippi Miracle wasn’t a retention-policy mirage
A Flypaper commentary defending Mississippi's reading gains against claims that they are an artifact of third-grade retention. It draws on Sakib Mahmud's working paper on state-mandated retention policies to argue the improvements reflect real learning.