Milton Friedman died today at 94. The Nobel-prize winning economist was, among innumerable other accomplishments, the intellectual father of school choice in America. We mourn his passing even as we celebrate his life and work.
Making sense of mid-term elections is akin to making sense of the opening break in a pool game. Casual observers sometimes believe that if the person breaking puts several balls into the pockets, he has the inside track on winning. But experienced players know it's how the remaining balls set up that determines the victor.
Not only did the Democratic Party take control of Congress in last week's election; it also captured a majority of the nation's governorships. And not just on the coasts; Democrats Chet Culver and Bill Ritter won open seats in Iowa and Colorado, and Democratic incumbents held onto their jobs in Illinois, Wisconsin, Kansas, and Oklahoma.
NEA President Reg Weaver must have been flying high without much oxygen when he lauded Southwest Airlines' no-merit-pay policy.
The muddle coming from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) is troubling.
Left-leaning folks who rail against vouchers better start stretching, because justifying their uncompromising stance is going to take added verbal gymnastics. Already this crew is hard-pressed to explain its opposition to lifting low-income and minority students out of failing urban schools, improving public schools through competition, and trying to level the educational landscape.
Hon. George MillerChairman-to-be, House Committee on Education & the WorkforceUnited States CongressDear Mr. Chairman:
The charter school menagerie is bright and varied, and so too are the people who run it. Take Steve Barr, for example.
Passionate about increasing excellent schooling options for all children? Here's a chance to work with one of the leading charter school networks in the nation. The KIPP Foundation is seeking an accomplished leader to create a cluster of KIPP schools in Columbus, Ohio.
Too many of America's youngsters--Ohioans among them--are still being left behind.
The charter community in the Buckeye State recently received some welcome news (see here and here ).
Few can argue that college completion rates are depressingly low. Just 35 percent of the 4.1 million students entering high school will go on to earn a college degree. Luckily, pursuing a rigorous academic curriculum in high school (as set forth in Governor Taft's Ohio Core plan) greatly increases the likelihood high school students will obtain a college degree.
It's no secret that Ohio's school funding system is deeply troubled (see here and here).
Bryan Hassel, Charter School Leadership CouncilFebruary 2005
I appreciated last week's Gadfly editorial ("Urban tragedy," Oct.
"Makes no sense at all.... A truly dumb idea." A commentary on Mike Tyson's recent announcement that he wants to fight women? Nope.
Schools in Garfield, New Jersey, boast the latest in high-priced amenities, including a spanking new $40 million middle school.
Any number of things can be said about next week's election and I will forbear from most of them. But one issue has surfaced that is genuinely alarming for education reformers: indications that some Democratic candidates (and office holders) are turning against standards-based reform and moving to roll back the assessment regimen that plays a crucial role in it.
Last week the Department of Education announced new rules that clear the way for public school districts to open single-sex schools and classrooms. Since then, a flood of criticisms from women's groups and some civil rights organizations has spewed forth.
DC College Access Program, DC Education Compact, DC Public Schools, DC State Education OfficeOctober 2006
Student Walter Petryk must have known when he donned a Hitler costume this past Tuesday morning that administrators at Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences wouldn't be pleased. Probably for that precise reason, or because he had grown a mustache for the occasion, he did it anyway.
The Fordham Report 2006: How Well Are States Educating Our Neediest Children? appraises each state according to thirty indicators across three major categories: student achievement for low-income, African-American, and Hispanic students; achievement trends for these same groups over the last 10-15 years; and the state's track record in implementing bold education reforms. It finds that just eight states can claim even moderate success over the past 15 years at boosting the percentage of their poor or minority students who are at or above proficient in reading, math or science.
Paul T. Hill, Lydia Rainey, and Andrew J. RotherhamCenter on Reinventing Public Education's National Charter School Research ProjectOctober 2006
Susan Sclafani and Marc S. TuckerCenter for American ProgressOctober 2006
This October, the Halloween treats came early for supporters of Ohio's 300 charter schools. In a 4-3 decision handed down Tuesday, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the state's charter school program, much maligned by critics, is indeed constitutional. The ruling is consistent with decisions by other state courts across the nation.
