Is the Education Department basing its turnaround strategy more on a hunch, rather than on research? Read Catherine Gewertz’s very interesting post about the issue of turning around low-performing schools.

For even more insight into turnaround models, tune in to edweek.org on Thursday, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., as two experts talk about the issue in an online chat. Join Robert Balfanz (of “dropout factory” fame), who is a research scientist at Johns Hopkins University, and Jeffrey Pestrak, the chief academic officer of Mastery Charter Schools, a charter-management organization based in Philadelphia.