Topics

Education Policy, Academic Research, and Public Opinion

William G. HowellAEI Future of American Education Project, Working Paper 2007-01

The core of a good idea

There's plenty not to like about No Child Left Behind, and its various loopholes and limits are getting lots of attention as Congress works to reauthorize the law. One issue that has finally moved to the fore is the watering down of the k-12 curriculum--a process that began long ago but has become more acute under NCLB-generated pressures.

Transitions

In recent few days, two vital armies in the idea wars announced plans to change generals. First, Chris DeMuth will leave the command of the American Enterprise Institute by the end of 2008, after 22 remarkable years at the helm of this crucial Washington-based think tank and research organization.

A Nobel but naive notion on failing schools

It was Al Gore who said seven years ago, in a nationally televised debate with George W.

Sickos in the classroom

If your child's teacher was previously disciplined for inappropriate behavior, you would insist, as a parent, that you had the right to this information. The Ohio Department of Education, however, might disagree. The Columbus Dispatch is running a series of exposés showing that the department has sealed from public disclosure 80 cases of educators who were disciplined.

Don't tweak it, transform it

Liam Julian's review of my book, Feds in the Classroom: How Big Government Corrupts, Cripples, and Compromises American Education, offered the kind of dismissive response to libertarian thought that's al

Loose lips sink scholarships?

Call Patrick Fitzgerald. We've got a mole in the Government Accountability Office, an anti-voucher mole at that. The Washington Post this week reported on a leaked draft GAO evaluation of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program, which is spending $12.9 million annually to send 1,900 low-income students to private schools.

Hope in the bayou?

Most 24-year-olds struggle to pull themselves out of bed in the morning. When Bobby Jindal was 24, he was struggling to reform Louisiana's healthcare system.

Are Private High Schools Better Academically Than Public High Schools?

Center on Education PolicyOctober 2007

Thorough and efficient...and unfair?

A lot has been written about the fiscal impact of charter schools on traditional districts (see here, here, and

Political Education 101: Children cannot vote

Politicians in Ohio, Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal, all too often use education and children as pawns for adult interests. Exhibit A is the recent lawsuit brought by Attorney General Marc Dann against three Dayton charter schools.

Sticks and stones may break my bones but guns can definitely kill me

In Cleveland, last week we were reminded, horrifically--again--that schools can be very scary places.

Delusions of mediocrity

Media attention of the Fordham Institute and Northwest Evaluation Association's new report, The Proficiency Illusion, had politicians lecturing and education officials in Washington, D.C.

Cincinnati schools have tough choices but big opportunities

The Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) is at a critical juncture. There's a levy on the ballot in November and three school board seats to be filled. The district also is searching for a new superintendent.

The onus on SCOTUS

Yesterday, eight Supremes agreed to disagree, four to four, about a key special education case, allowing a lower court's ruling to stand while setting no precedent whatsoever for the country. That's a shame; U.S. schools could use some clarity about the oft-ambiguous Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

To our libertarian friends

Neal McCluskey's new book, Feds in the Classroom, is the latest "strict-libertarian" contribution to the world of education reform. Which is to say, sadly, not much of a contribution.

Op-ed page flimflam

Last week, we wrote that Bob Herbert's New York Times columns are "either off-base or banal." He repaid us by referring to our new study, The Proficiency Illusion, in an off-base manner, as part of his banal October 9th piec

Interpreting 12th-Graders' NAEP-Scaled Mathematics Performance Using High School Predictors and Postsecondary Outcomes From the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS: 88)

Leslie A. Scott, Steven J. Ingels, and Jeffrey A. OwingsNational Center on Education StatisticsSeptember 2007

Mobilizing the Private Sector for Public Education: A View from the Trenches

Harry Anthony Patrinos and Shobhana Sosale, eds.September 2007

K-8 Charter Schools: Closing the Achievement Gap and Supporting Charter School Excellence Through Quality Authorizing

Innovations in Education SeriesU.S. Department of EducationSeptember 2007Innovations in Education SeriesU.S. Department of EducationJune 2007

Leave no (none, zero, nada) child behind?

Passed by Congress in late 2001 and signed by President George W. Bush one year after his inauguration, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is the most ambitious federal education statute ever.

Mass failure

In 2005-06, a significantly higher percentage of white teacher candidates in Massachusetts passed the required Communications and Literacy Skills exam than their black and Hispanic counterparts. The state's Educational Personnel Advisory Council--a tasty morsel of bureaucratese, that--has been asked to determine whether this gap reflects bias in the test.

From the Orange Bowl to the Big Apple

Seems that lightning has struck once again in Florida. After making some of largest early-grade NAEP improvements in the nation, the Sunshine State is now attempting to beef up its accountability system for high-school students. And in a shocking display of common sense, politicians in Tallahassee are looking beyond their state's borders for good ideas.

The scoop on the PIE Network

Here's a question making the rounds of Ohio education policymakers: What's this "PIE Network" we keep hearing about?

The last Achieve report's impact may temper expectations for the new one

Buckeye state policymakers are currently mulling over recommendations from Achieve, Inc. to create a "world-class education system in Ohio" (see here).

Let them eat carrot cake

There is no question that an obesity epidemic is running rampant among Ohio school children-nearly 21 percent of Ohio's third graders are overweight. But what role, if any, should schools have in curbing this disturbing trend?

Instruction to Deliver: Tony Blair, Public Services and the Challenge of Achieving Targets

Ohio can learn a lot from the United Kingdom. Both are former industrial powerhouses that are experiencing, firsthand, the pain of a shrinking manufacturing-based economy. Both see education as the key to navigating this change and in preparing all children for success in a globe-spanning knowledge- and innovation-based economy.

Good teaching knows no boundary

Many students get a little queasy walking into math class so Granville schools are especially happy to have Sue Hoben on the high school teaching staff. Students actually seek out her algebra and trigonometry classes.

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