Opinion Blog


Rick Hess Straight Up

Education policy maven Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute think tank offers straight talk on matters of policy, politics, research, and reform. Read more from this blog.

Education policy maven Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute think tank (AEI), author of books like The Same Thing Over and Over, Letters to a Young Education Reformer, and A Search for Common Ground, offers straight talk on matters of policy, politics, research, and reform. Rick’s takes are his alone and do not represent AEI or Education Week. Follow Rick on Twitter at @rickhess99.

The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Student Achievement Opinion Schools Experienced a 'Lost Decade.' How They Can Recover
Recent NAEP results underscore concerns about student achievement. A charter school founder suggests what to do.
Rick Hess, March 4, 2025
9 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Mathematics Opinion Learning Math Shouldn't Be a 'Hellish Experience'
A former business executive and book author created a free platform for teachers and families to promote math fluency for students.
Rick Hess, February 25, 2025
8 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Reading & Literacy Opinion How a Podcast About Reading Promoted Sweeping Instructional Changes
Emily Hanford catalyzed the "science of reading" push but has mixed feelings about some reforms that followed.
Rick Hess, February 18, 2025
8 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Classroom Technology Opinion How ‘Innovation’ Fails Education
"Innovation” is mostly an unserious distraction from the real work of rethinking education.
Rick Hess, February 11, 2025
7 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Policy & Politics Opinion How Blind Partisanship Harms Schooling
No one political party enjoys a monopoly on truth, good intentions, or rightness
Rick Hess, February 4, 2025
9 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
School Choice & Charters Opinion Teachers Might Embrace Private School Choice. Here's Why
School choice is often discussed in terms of student impact. But what's in it for teachers?
Rick Hess, January 28, 2025
10 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Federal Opinion ‘Budget Reconciliation’ Sounds Like Wonkspeak. But It Matters for Schools
It won’t enable the Trump administration to make cuts to K-12 programs or abolish the Ed. Department, but it will have other implications.
Rick Hess, January 21, 2025
9 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Federal Opinion Betsy DeVos Has Advice for the Next Secretary of Education
In an interview, Trump's first education secretary shares hard-won lessons from her tenure.
Rick Hess, January 14, 2025
10 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Policy & Politics Opinion 2025 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence: Top 10 Lists
Where scholars rank within their discipline may be more telling than where they are in the overall rankings.
Rick Hess, January 9, 2025
1 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Policy & Politics Opinion The 2025 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings Unveiled
The rankings recognize the university-based scholars in the United States whose influence shaped educational practice and policy.
Rick Hess, January 8, 2025
2 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Policy & Politics Opinion The 2025 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Scoring Formula
Rick Hess will unveil the 2025 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings tomorrow. Here is the methodology used to generate those rankings.
Rick Hess, January 7, 2025
9 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Policy & Politics Opinion What It Takes to Be an Effective Education Scholar
The 2025 RHSU Scholar Rankings will be released soon. How do the top scholars come by their influence?
Rick Hess, January 6, 2025
4 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Policy & Politics Opinion The 10 Most Popular RHSU Columns of 2024
Academic rigor, abolishing the Education Department, and finding common ground were all hot topics this year.
Rick Hess, December 17, 2024
2 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
States Opinion The Age of 'Adulthood' Varies by State. This Matters for Your Students
States set different limits on when kids can do different things. What does this mean for education?
Rick Hess, December 12, 2024
8 min read