By the Company It Keeps: Kathleen Porter-Magee
Andy Smarick interviews Kathleen Porter-Magee, senior director of the High Quality Standards program and Bernard Lee Schwartz policy fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Andy Smarick interviews Kathleen Porter-Magee, senior director of the High Quality Standards program and Bernard Lee Schwartz policy fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute
The report heard ‘round the ed-reform world
Yesterday, Mike Petrilli argued the conservative case for the Common Core on the Rod Arquette Show
States can do better than the NGSS
Recent events have divided conservative school reformers, but it’s not too late to stitch it back together
Peter Cunningham responds to an anti-Common Core article in the New York Times
Mike asks Deborah the question: Does it "work"?
One of three technical reports on retirement costs and school-district budgets.
When it comes to pension reform in the education realm, it’s hard to stay positive. Here, we’re saddled with a bona fide fiscal calamity (up to a trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities by some counts), and no consensus about how to rectify the situation. No matter how one slices and dices this problem, somebody ends up paying in ways they won’t like and perhaps shouldn’t have to bear. All we can say is that some options are less bad than others.
Mike debunks another set of lies, half-truths, and misinformation from the Pioneer Institute
There are plenty of reasons to be against the Common Core, but the Pinoeer Institute's Jamie Gass and Charles Chieppo miss the mark completely
A question for folks on both sides of the education-reform debate
On Monday, we kick off By the Company It Keeps
Mike Petrilli debates Deborah Meier on Bridging Differences
On the thirtieth anniversary of "A Nation at Risk," Dr. Bennett spoke at the Fordham Institute on the state of American Education
Republicans make a colossal—but reversible—error on the Common Core
The College Board and ACT have entered the ring
As the challenges of education governance loom ever larger and the dysfunction and incapacity of the traditional K-12 system reveal themselves as major roadblocks to urgently-needed reforms across that system, many have asked, “What’s the alternative?”
Alabama’s decision to drop out of both consortia and choose a battery of ACT exams is enormous
Lone Star State moves to lower its own standards
Will the new science standards make the grade?
Andy's picks, from Kansas City to CALDER
When charter schools first emerged more than two decades ago, they presented an innovation in public school governance. No longer would school districts enjoy the “exclusive franchise” to own and operate public schools, as chartering pioneer and advocate Ted Kolderie explained. Charters wouldn’t gain all of the independence of private schools—they would still report to a publicly accountable body, or authorizer—but they would be largely freed from the micromanagement of school boards, district bureaucracies, and union contracts. Autonomy, in exchange for accountability, would reign supreme.
Andy Smarick's pick of the news
Keeping up with education headlines
Online and blended learning alter some of the most basic characteristics of traditional schooling—and the ripples extend much, much farther
In an era of budgetary belt tightening, state and local policy makers are finally awakening to the impact of teacher pension costs on their bottom lines. Recent reports demonstrate that such pension programs across the United States are burdened by almost $390 billion in unfunded liabilities. Yet, most states and municipalities have been taking the road of least resistance, tinkering around the edges rather than tackling systemic (but painful) pension reform. Is the solution to the pension crisis to offer teachers the option of a 401(k)-style plan (also known as a "defined contribution" or DC plan) instead of a traditional pension plan? Would this alternative appeal to teachers? When Teachers Choose Pension Plans: The Florida Story sets out to answer these questions.
Andy Smarick's pick of recent education news
Many proponents of private school choice take for granted that schools won’t participate if government asks too much of them, especially if it demands that they be publicly accountable for student achievement. Were such school refusals to be widespread, the programs themselves could not serve many kids. But is this assumption justified? A new Fordham Institute study—to be released on January 29—provides empirical answers. Do regulations and accountability requirements deter private schools from participating in choice programs? How important are such requirements compared to other factors, such as voucher amounts? Are certain types of regulations stronger deterrents than others? Do certain types schools shy away from regulation more than others?
Options for students, not parents