John Fensterwald
John Fensterwald, staff writer, joined EdSource in 2012. Before that, he was editor and co-writer for The Educated Guess website, a leading source of California education policy reporting and opinion, which he founded in 2009. For 11 years before then, John wrote editorials for the Mercury News in San Jose, with a focus on education. He worked as a reporter, news editor and opinion editor for three newspapers in New Hampshire before receiving a Knight Fellowship at Stanford University in 1997. His wife is a retired elementary school teacher, and his daughter is a neurology resident at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine.
All articles by John Fensterwald
Stanford-Harvard 'scorecard' translates California's test scores into months of missed learning
'Education Recovery Scorecard' shows vast disparities among districts by converting results on NAEP and state tests into a common measure: how much learning declined during the pandemic.
John Fensterwald
October 28, 2022
2022 California standardized test results wipe out years of steady progress
Smarter Balanced scores fell sharply in both math and English language arts, indicating it could take years for students to fully recover from the pandemic.
John Fensterwald And Daniel J. Willis
October 24, 2022
Scores nationwide crater on national math test, California’s not quite so much
Scores for the nation and California took a historic drop in fourth and eighth grade math on the National Assessment for Educational Progress or NAEP. There was some good news, too, for California, despite the pandemic.
John Fensterwald
October 23, 2022
School choice advocate, CTA opponent Lance Christensen would be a very different state superintendent
Christensen faces long odds to defeat much better financed incumbent Tony Thurmond, but he assumes parents frustrated by pandemic school closures will vote for change.
John Fensterwald
October 19, 2022
College Corps, with California's first state-run tutoring initiative, is off and running
3,200 college students from 46 campuses will receive $10,000 stipend; half will tutor in 33 school districts, after-school programs in service programs modeled after AmeriCorps and Peace Corps.
John Fensterwald
October 10, 2022
Fresno Unified gets 'game-changing' $20 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott
Superintendent Bob Nelson doesn't know why his district is the only K-12 district in California, along with 1,200 nonprofits nationwide, to receive a grant, other than the message, Keep up the good work.
John Fensterwald
October 5, 2022
Linda Darling-Hammond wins major prize for her education research and its impact
California State Board of Education president wins prestigious Yidan Prize for her education research at Stanford.
John Fensterwald
September 28, 2022
Thousands of California teachers say they are stressed, burned out
Although many educators surveyed by the California Teachers Association said they are thinking about leaving the field, research suggests not so many actually will.
John Fensterwald
September 27, 2022
State delays public release of English, math and science test score results to later this year
Delaying the public release of Smarter Balanced tests taken last spring undermines the urgency of addressing setbacks in learning during the pandemic.
John Fensterwald And Thomas Peele
September 22, 2022
California school organizations urge veto of latest bill to remove lead in school water
They point to high cost of removing lead pipes proposed by pipe fitters union, drafter of the bill. Others argue the standard for treatment remains hazardous for kids.
John Fensterwald
September 16, 2022
Gov. Newsom quashes bill to provide more funding for Black students
An unstated reason was Prop. 209, banning preferences by race; governor promises more funding somehow for state's lowest performing student group next year
John Fensterwald
September 2, 2022
State Supt. Thurmond to restart literacy task force, aims for 'comprehensive' approach
Announcement at a press conference accompanies the release of a free, engaging dual-language resource for families in California.
John Fensterwald
September 1, 2022
California does little to ensure all kids read by third grade
A national push to change the teaching of reading shows contrast between other states and California's hands-off approach.
John Fensterwald
August 26, 2022
Oakland, with among lowest ratio of fully prepared, rightly assigned teachers, has a strategy to address teacher churn
The district is hoping a "grow your own" approach to recruiting teaching candidates from the community will pay dividends OUSD. But living costs are high, and nearby districts can compete with offer higher salaries.
John Fensterwald
August 4, 2022
Teachers’ retirement investments record negative return for first time since Great Recession
Inflation, market volatility, war in Ukraine factor in -1.3% return; a one-year setback, following a record gain the year before, alone won't force an increase in school districts' pension contributions.