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Commentary

Obama ‘Preschool For All’ Unlikely To Live Up To The Hype

An outline released by the White House contends that President Barack Obama’s universal preschool proposal will “improve quality and expand access to preschool” by, among other things, using federal funding incentives to require states “to meet quality benchmarks that are linked to better outcomes for children.” There is justifiable skepticism, ...
California

Is The Fix In Higher Taxes And Less School Accountability

Supporters of Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax-hike ballot measure, Proposition 30, argue that the added tax revenues are needed so schools can, among other things, turn out high-achieving students. The head of the San Diego teachers union claims that without revenues to pay for programs and personnel, “our schools are struggling ...
California

Lessons for California from Chicago teachers strike

WITH teachers in Chicago on strike, it’s tempting for Californians to view it as a phenomenon of the rough-and-tumble politics of the Windy City with little application to the Golden State. True, some issues, such as the high wage demands of the teachers union, are Chicago-specific. But in many other ...
California

Jerry Brown using kids as bait, again

It’s become a cliché that whenever governments want more money from taxpayers, officials insist the added burden must be borne “for the children.” With 50 years in the game, Gov. Jerry Brown knows that clichés work. So, Thursday he kicked of his campaign for Proposition 30, which would increase state ...
Commentary

An Ominous Political Trend for Common Core’ites

When it comes to the Common Core, I see great potential value in states choosing to embrace common, high-caliber reading and math standards, if these are implemented with conviction and attention to how they will interact with current reforms. That said, seems to me there’s a huge chance that the ...
Commentary

Obama also centralizing education

In his insightful analysis of the Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act, former Congressional Budget Office director Douglas Holtz-Eakin concluded that Americans “did not want a costly government intrusion that threatened private coverage and promised a legacy of debt to the next generation.” Such expensive federal invasions, however, ...
California

Win some, lose some on bill signing

We take selective note of bills signed or vetoed the past week by Gov. Jerry Brown. Commendably, the governor vetoed Senate Bill 1235, by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. It would have required the state superintendent of public instruction and the Department of Education to “provide training and ...
Commentary

Two sides of Obama’s federal takeover of education

If states adopt his Common Core standards, they will be exempt from the onerous provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandates. Waivers recently granted by President Obama to 10 states allowing them to escape the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act are themselves filled with prescriptive ...
Commentary

Common Core and Universal Design for Learning

If states adopt his Common Core standards, they will be exempt from the onerous provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandates. I was having a cup of inflation-stricken chili that looked a few ounces smaller than before—the Michelle food-police with her holier-than-thou dictates of nutrition must have convinced the ...
Commentary

How Much Will Implementing the Common Core State Standards Cost South Carolina?

The Pioneer Institute, American Principles Project and Pacific Research Institute released a study of how much it will cost the 45 states and the District of Columbia to implement the Common Core State Standards. President Obama offered up $4.35 billion in stimulus money through his Race to the Top program. ...
Commentary

Obama ‘Preschool For All’ Unlikely To Live Up To The Hype

An outline released by the White House contends that President Barack Obama’s universal preschool proposal will “improve quality and expand access to preschool” by, among other things, using federal funding incentives to require states “to meet quality benchmarks that are linked to better outcomes for children.” There is justifiable skepticism, ...
California

Is The Fix In Higher Taxes And Less School Accountability

Supporters of Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax-hike ballot measure, Proposition 30, argue that the added tax revenues are needed so schools can, among other things, turn out high-achieving students. The head of the San Diego teachers union claims that without revenues to pay for programs and personnel, “our schools are struggling ...
California

Lessons for California from Chicago teachers strike

WITH teachers in Chicago on strike, it’s tempting for Californians to view it as a phenomenon of the rough-and-tumble politics of the Windy City with little application to the Golden State. True, some issues, such as the high wage demands of the teachers union, are Chicago-specific. But in many other ...
California

Jerry Brown using kids as bait, again

It’s become a cliché that whenever governments want more money from taxpayers, officials insist the added burden must be borne “for the children.” With 50 years in the game, Gov. Jerry Brown knows that clichés work. So, Thursday he kicked of his campaign for Proposition 30, which would increase state ...
Commentary

An Ominous Political Trend for Common Core’ites

When it comes to the Common Core, I see great potential value in states choosing to embrace common, high-caliber reading and math standards, if these are implemented with conviction and attention to how they will interact with current reforms. That said, seems to me there’s a huge chance that the ...
Commentary

Obama also centralizing education

In his insightful analysis of the Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act, former Congressional Budget Office director Douglas Holtz-Eakin concluded that Americans “did not want a costly government intrusion that threatened private coverage and promised a legacy of debt to the next generation.” Such expensive federal invasions, however, ...
California

Win some, lose some on bill signing

We take selective note of bills signed or vetoed the past week by Gov. Jerry Brown. Commendably, the governor vetoed Senate Bill 1235, by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. It would have required the state superintendent of public instruction and the Department of Education to “provide training and ...
Commentary

Two sides of Obama’s federal takeover of education

If states adopt his Common Core standards, they will be exempt from the onerous provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandates. Waivers recently granted by President Obama to 10 states allowing them to escape the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act are themselves filled with prescriptive ...
Commentary

Common Core and Universal Design for Learning

If states adopt his Common Core standards, they will be exempt from the onerous provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandates. I was having a cup of inflation-stricken chili that looked a few ounces smaller than before—the Michelle food-police with her holier-than-thou dictates of nutrition must have convinced the ...
Commentary

How Much Will Implementing the Common Core State Standards Cost South Carolina?

The Pioneer Institute, American Principles Project and Pacific Research Institute released a study of how much it will cost the 45 states and the District of Columbia to implement the Common Core State Standards. President Obama offered up $4.35 billion in stimulus money through his Race to the Top program. ...
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