Yes, they are! No, they aren't!

Boys are being left behind, the Economist tells us.

Vouchers for NOLA

Worth keeping an eye on this, especially because "the Senate plan would require schools to administer state tests to voucher students."

Friday funnies

The pressure high school students face to get into top colleges has intensified to the point that it's susceptible to some hilarious satirizing.

Jesus loves No Child Left Behind

Or at least compassionate conservatism, of which NCLB is a cornerstone. So implieth Michael Gerson in this morning's Washington Post.

Higher-ed education

John Hood, president of the John Locke Foundation, writes in National Review a solid, sweeping article about higher education. It's currently available only to subscribers (they, and hackers, may read it here). Some good parts:

Cliche

The problem here elicited is a problem--at??least because it engenders a lot of boring writing--and I'm convinced that it's getting worse. (No, I don't have data to support that.) Today's k-12 system generally ignores writing and today's colleges demand lousy writing, so there you go.

Re: Vouchers for NOLA

It's entirely appropriate that the Louisiana Senate would require schools participating in a possible New Orleans voucher program to "administer state tests to voucher students." That's hardly out of line for other voucher programs.

Re: Vouchers for NOLA

Mike and I can disagree all day, during normal business hours, about the level of transparency we should demand from voucher schools. But in the NOLA case, the issue is "contentious" and might stall the $10 million proposal (although the city's Catholic schools will accept standardized testing--they're desperate).

Extreme Makeover: Ed policy think tank website edition

This Week's Fordham Factor: Health care costs and obese teachers

Mike and Liam discuss Mike's controversial Gadfly article on the burdensome health care costs associated with teacher obesity. httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=fOux-s2t0Xo