Displaying 16201-16230 of 17757 results
Commentary
1.14.2004

Old college buyout

Three universities in Virginia are considering cutting some of their ties to the state as a way of easing regulations and mandates coming from Richmond. William and Mary, the University of Virginia, and Virginia Tech have all seen state aid plummet in recent years even as they chafe under what they consider to be onerous state regulation.

Commentary
1.14.2004

Pork or tofu?

Chester E. Finn, Jr.

Just before Christmas, the New York Times went off on a tear about "pork on the hill," grousing over the omnibus 2004 federal appropriations bill (which the Senate must still vote on this month) because of its 7,000 "special interest provisions," a.k.a.

Commentary
1.14.2004

Removing the wrong barrier

Until last week, out-of-state and newly graduated teachers who wanted to work in North Carolina were required to pass a subject-area test to teach in that state's middle and high school classrooms.

Commentary
1.14.2004

High school drop-off

A fascinating article from The Oregonian outlines one of the most troubling aspects of American education - the dramatic drop-off in pupil achievement from elementar

Commentary
1.14.2004

IKEA 101 for cavemen

If you've ever struggled to decipher a graphics-only IKEA instruction manual while putting together a large piece of furniture with the help of only a miniature wrench (and who hasn't?), you will be relieved to know that Northampton College in England has recently announced a new course: flat-pack furniture assembly 101.

Commentary
1.14.2004

Charter school accountability

The Charter Schools Institute of the State University of New York (SUNY) has recommended that two of New York State's first three charter schools, which were opened five years ago under the state's 1998 charter law, should be granted only partial renewal because of mixed academic results, and that the third should be closed because, based on the "totality of evidence . . .

Commentary
1.7.2004

On still leaving no child behind

Chester E. Finn, Jr.

Happy birthday, NCLB! Bells are ringing today at the White House, the Education Department, and the Capitol as the drafters, enactors, implementers, and enforcers of No Child Left Behind observe the second anniversary of its enactment.

Commentary
1.7.2004

CA teachers support schools cuts - at a price

This week, after closed-door negotiations with union leaders, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger convinced the California Teachers Association to support a $2 billion cut in education spending to help resolve the state's massive budget deficit. The move is part of Schwarzenegger's plan to curb the "spending crisis" that he says caused this huge hole in the budget.

Commentary
1.7.2004

More bad news for CO vouchers

The fate of the nation's second statewide voucher program - the first since the landmark Zelman decision was handed down - was called into question again this week, when Denver judge Joseph E. Meyer upheld his own decision to slap a temporary injunction on the state's fledgling voucher program.

Commentary
1.7.2004

New front in the math wars

One never ceases to be amazed by the inanity of many so-called "experts" in testing and instruction.

Commentary
1.7.2004

Accepting the inevitable in NYC

Last January, Gadfly warned that New York City stood to lose millions in federal dollars if Mayor Bloomberg and schools chancellor Joel Klein insisted on mandating the unproven and academically dubious "Month by Month Phonics" as the citywide reading curriculum.

Commentary
1.7.2004

To glimpse NCLB's future, look to the past

Michael W. Kirst

At the second anniversary of NCLB, it is useful to think about the historical evolution of the law that NCLB is meant to reform - Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Media coverage of all the unresolved problems of NCLB's design and implementation may engender a shortsightedness.

Commentary
12.29.2003

Beating the system

There are many ways that states, schools, and districts can work to "beat" No Child Left Behind.

Commentary
12.29.2003

The NEA's New Year's resolutions

This coming year, I have resolved to quit smoking, lose weight, and spend more time with my children. I strongly suspect that, by late January, my waistline will continue to expand like a special-ed budget, my lungs will still be in hock to Phillip Morris, and my children will still weep for their absentee father and curse the day he met the slave driver who employs him.

Commentary
12.29.2003

Revenge of the nerd

From our neighbor to the north, a heart-warming story of the nerd striking back. Andrew Ironside, an unpopular, bookish, unathletic high school senior in Ontario, was elected valedictorian by his classmates, who thought it would be funny to put him in the spotlight. A classmate introduced him at the ceremony by saying cruelly, "I'm pretty happy to say I've spent time with almost all of you.

Commentary
12.29.2003

Leaving high achievers behind

Faced with budget shortfalls and No Child Left Behind requirements, many states are looking to cut funding for gifted and talented classes to free up extra cash for programs aimed at struggling students.

Commentary
12.29.2003

Legal battles and student safety

In November, we reported on a Brookings conference, "Is law undermining public education?" (see http://www.edexcellence.net/gadfly/issue.cfm?issue=122#1533 for more details), where education reformers and researchers gathered to discuss ways that excessive litigation has tied school districts in knots.