Member Since 2011

Robert Pondiscio


Robert Pondiscio is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he focuses on K–12 education, curriculum, teaching, school choice, and charter schooling. Before joining AEI, he was a policy analyst and education reform expert at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an education policy think tank. He previously worked for the Core Knowledge Foundation and as an adviser and civics teacher at Democracy Prep Public Schools. He writes and speaks extensively on education and education-reform issues, with an emphasis on literacy, curriculum, teaching, and urban education. After twenty years in journalism, including senior positions at TIME and BusinessWeek, Robert became a fifth-grade teacher at a struggling South Bronx public school in 2002. He subsequently served as vice president for the Core Knowledge Foundation. Robert’s articles and op-ed columns on education have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, the New York Daily News, Education Next, and many other publications. A frequent speaker and expert guest on education issues, he has appeared on the Fox News Channel, CNN, and elsewhere.

Published Articles & Media

Side effects

If Education Advocacy Were More Like Pharmaceutical Ads

Imagine the disclaimers and warnings about potentially harmful side effects of today's promising practices and reform initiatives.

AFT Misses a Chance to Demand that Teachers Get Support They Need

Teachers are angry about inadequate training and poor curricula.

Teach Students to Love America

Infusing children with a love of reading is laudable, but a love of country is indispensible.

Kids as Political Props

Sen. Dianne Feinstein revealed the hollow core of fashionable ideas about civic education and "action civics" when she refused to play along with student "activists" who confronted her.

New Evidence Bolsters the Argument for Arts Education

An arts education experiment finds measurable academic, social, and emotional outcomes, but do we really need a randomized control trial study to justify the arts as an essential part of a well-rounded education?

New ‘Knowledge Mapping’ Tool Evaluates English Language Arts Curricula

Tool allows education leaders to see the degree to which their curriculum builds critical background knowledge and aligns with their vision and priorities.

School Choice Supporters Weigh Bold Move in Florida

But some lawmakers prefer to push the choice agenda incrementally

How Researchers and Policymakers Can Support Better Practices in Schools

Shifting ed reform’s focus to improving practice is an acknowledgment that underperformance is not a failure of will, but a lack of capacity.

If You Want a Content-Rich Curriculum for All, Don’t Ignore School Choice

School choice is not a distraction from the critical work of convincing educators that all children benefit from access to rich, curricular content.

A Closer Look at Improving Student Engagement by Letting Students Choose Their Tasks

Choice and relevancy are two arrows in the teacher’s quiver to engage and push children to academic heights. But there are lots of others.

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