Putting the Sides Together: Twelve Perspectives on Texas Public School Finance
Eric OsbergEdited by Chris Patterson, Director of Research, Texas Public Policy FoundationDecember 2003
Old college buyout
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.
Pork or tofu?
Chester E. Finn, Jr.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.
Removing the wrong barrier
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.
High school drop-off
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
IKEA 101 for cavemen
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.
Charter school accountability
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 . . .
A Tale of Two Systems of Delivering Higher Education
Eric OsbergRobert Holland, Lexington InstituteDecember 2003
Remedial Education at Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions in Fall 2000
Carolyn ConnerBasmat Parsad, Laurie Lewis, and Bernard Greene, National Center for Education StatisticsNovember 2003
The trials of an urban boarding school
The SEED school (Schools for Educational Evolution and Development) in Washington, D.C.
On still leaving no child behind
Chester E. Finn, Jr.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.
CA teachers support schools cuts - at a price
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.
More bad news for CO vouchers
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.
New front in the math wars
One never ceases to be amazed by the inanity of many so-called "experts" in testing and instruction.
Accepting the inevitable in NYC
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.
To glimpse NCLB's future, look to the past
Michael W. KirstAt 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.
Telling the Whole Truth (or Not) About Highly Qualified Teachers
Chester E. Finn, Jr.The Education TrustDecember 2003
Beating the system
There are many ways that states, schools, and districts can work to "beat" No Child Left Behind.
No Child Left Behind? The Politics and Practice of School Accountability
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Paul Peterson and Martin West, editors, The Brookings Institution 2003
The Impact of High-Stakes Accountability on Teachers' Professional Development: Evidence from the South
Eric OsbergBarnett Berry, Laura Turchi, and Dylan Johnson, Southeast Center for Teaching Quality, Inc.; Dwight Hare and Deborah Duncan Owens, Mississippi State University; and Steve Clements, Kentucky Professional Standards BoardNovember 2003
The NEA's New Year's resolutions
This coming year, I have resolved to quit smoking, lose weight, and spend more time with my children. I strongly suspect that, by late January, my waistline will continue to expand like a special-ed budget, my lungs will still be in hock to Phillip Morris, and my children will still weep for their absentee father and curse the day he met the slave driver who employs him.
Revenge of the nerd
From our neighbor to the north, a heart-warming story of the nerd striking back. Andrew Ironside, an unpopular, bookish, unathletic high school senior in Ontario, was elected valedictorian by his classmates, who thought it would be funny to put him in the spotlight. A classmate introduced him at the ceremony by saying cruelly, "I'm pretty happy to say I've spent time with almost all of you.
Leaving high achievers behind
Faced with budget shortfalls and No Child Left Behind requirements, many states are looking to cut funding for gifted and talented classes to free up extra cash for programs aimed at struggling students.
Legal battles and student safety
In November, we reported on a Brookings conference, "Is law undermining public education?" (see http://www.edexcellence.net/gadfly/issue.cfm?issue=122#1533 for more details), where education reformers and researchers gathered to discuss ways that excessive litigation has tied school districts in knots.
Head of the Class: Characteristics of Higher Performing Urban High Schools in Massachusetts
Carolyn ConnerCenter for Education Research and Policy at MassINCFall 2003
State-Funded Pre-Kindergarten: What the Evidence Shows
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Department of Health and Human ServicesDecember 2003