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.
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.
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.
Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, Harvard University September 2003
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 . . .
Edited by Chris Patterson, Director of Research, Texas Public Policy FoundationDecember 2003
James Tooley, Pauline Dixon, and James Stanfield, Adam Smith Institute2003
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
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.
The SEED school (Schools for Educational Evolution and Development) in Washington, D.C.
At 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.
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.
Robert Holland, Lexington InstituteDecember 2003
One never ceases to be amazed by the inanity of many so-called "experts" in testing and instruction.
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.
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.
Basmat Parsad, Laurie Lewis, and Bernard Greene, National Center for Education StatisticsNovember 2003
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.
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.
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.
Paul Peterson and Martin West, editors, The Brookings Institution 2003
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.
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.
There are many ways that states, schools, and districts can work to "beat" No Child Left Behind.
Barnett 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
At the holidays, it's traditional to count your blessings. This essay in the Houston Chronicle reminds us that, whatever its flaws, America remains a bulwark of freedom, a blessing, and a shining ideal. The author, a Cuban mother, is pained when her five-year-old son returns from school singing the praises of five Cuban spies imprisoned in America for espionage.
