Good day, CharterFolk.
I hope your week is off to a great start. Today Andy and I are delighted to share a WonkyFolk discussion with Macke Raymond, Distinguished Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Founder of CREDO.
Here is a link to the podcast and a transcript of the conversation.
You can also access the conversation here on Youtube.
We’re also available on Spotify, iTunes, or wherever you access your favorite podcasts. An archive of all past recordings is available on our website here.
Like all conversations with Macke, this one was both informative and engaging. I found it particularly important and resonant given the current policy landscape that CharterFolk are contending with. CREDO has been a critical movement resource and asset for nearly two decades, and thinking about how we’ll navigate the years ahead without it is sobering. It’s also a great moment to hear Macke reflect on what she believes has been CREDO’s significance, and what charter school leaders and advocates can learn from the evolving role that academic performance data has played in the charter school movement. It’s equally valuable to hear about Macke’s new work at Hoover, which focuses on identifying new levers to shift the discussion around our generations-long quest to improve our nation’s public schools.
I learned a huge amount in an hour, and I trust you will too. I hope you find a chance to listen to it in its entirety.
We provide below some resources and links related to the topics we discussed.
- CREDO Charter Schools Reports: https://credo.stanford.edu/research-reports/charter-studies/
- Macke’s “Fun House Mirror” Hoover Summit Introduction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeklNPBF9RE
- Previous WonkyFolk CREDO Episode with Macke: https://www.charterfolk.org/wonkyfolk-vol-5-special-credo-episode-with-macke-raymond/
- Hoover Institution K-12 Education Work: https://www.hoover.org/focus-areas/reforming-k-12-education
- Education Futures Council Report: https://www.hoover.org/press/education-futures-council-unveils-report-ours-solve-once-and-for-all
- Andy’s PMC fundraiser mentioned in the episode: https://profile.pmc.org/Andrew-Rotherham
- Tom Dee’s Ed Week Article on Research and Practice: https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-high-quality-research-rarely-informs-classroom-practice-why/2025/09
- Diane Ravitch’s New Autobiography: https://amzn.to/3JfpRne
- Andy’s “Craft versus Politics” Article: https://www.the74million.org/article/rotherham-phonics-whole-language-balanced-literacy-the-problem-isnt-that-we-dont-know-how-to-teach-reading-its-politics/
- ”Buck Up!” on Eduwonk: https://eduwonk.substack.com/p/buck-up
A last special thanks to Macke for making time and for continuing to forge on in support of charter schools and improved public education writ large.