#976: A new hub for smarter education policy, with Doug Harris

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Doug Harris, director of the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH), joins us to discuss a new website aimed at advancing evidence-based education policy and supporting more effective decision-making in schools.

Then, on the Research Minute, Meredith Coffey examines new data from Massachusetts that reveal lasting post-pandemic shifts in school enrollment, particularly in the middle grades and in higher-income districts.

Recommended content: 

• “AEFP Live Handbook of Education Policy Research” —Association for Education Finance & Policy (AEFP)
• “School Enrollment Shifts Five Years After the Pandemic” —Abigail Francis and Joshua Goodman, EdWorkingPapers (June 2025)
• “Analyzing homeschooling demographics and families’ definitions of student success” —Jeff Murray, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• “Fixing IES” —Chester E. Finn, Jr., Thomas B. Fordham Institute

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at [email protected].