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.
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.
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.
Edited by Chris Patterson, Director of Research, Texas Public Policy FoundationDecember 2003
James Tooley, Pauline Dixon, and James Stanfield, Adam Smith Institute2003
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 . . .
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.
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
Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, Harvard University September 2003
The SEED school (Schools for Educational Evolution and Development) in Washington, D.C.
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.
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.
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.
Robert Holland, Lexington InstituteDecember 2003
Basmat Parsad, Laurie Lewis, and Bernard Greene, National Center for Education StatisticsNovember 2003
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.
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.
One never ceases to be amazed by the inanity of many so-called "experts" in testing and instruction.
