Lance T. izumi
Commentary
Is Arizona Waiting for “Superman”?
Waiting for Superman follows several students seeking to escape underperforming inner city schools in New York, Los Angeles, and elsewhere. The filmmakers weave heartbreaking personal drama into an overall presentation of the flaws of the nation’s education system. Together, these themes are incredibly powerful and mutually reinforcing. To their credit, ...
Commentary
Assessing a Teacher’s Value
What are the benefits and pitfalls of using student test scores to measure a teacher’s effectiveness? Help the Parents Lance T. Izumi is the senior director of education studies at the Pacific Research Institute. The “value-added” assessments are useful in analyzing teacher performance, but they can be made better. The ...
Commentary
That sucking sound is LAUSD doing business as usual
WHEN the Los Angeles Unified School District unveiled its opulent $578 million Robert F. Kennedy High School, the most expensive government-run K-12 school in this nation’s history, it was not just an isolated PR disaster. Rather, it was only the latest evidence that the floundering district is like a vacuum ...
Commentary
Educating illegal immigrants is costly
As the debate on illegal immigration rages in Washington and state capitals, it’s troubling to see both sides rely on emotional rhetoric to the detriment of facts. The impact of illegal immigration on public education is a case in point. No one can deny that increasing numbers of children of ...
Commentary
Less bang for education bucks
California’s public education establishment continually argues that the state ranks near the bottom in funding K-12 education. A just-released study by the U.S. Census Bureau pokes a giant hole in these claims. Those trying to portray California as miserly when it comes to education funding often cite figures put out ...
Commentary
What Canada can teach the U.S. about education
Canadians, particularly those of conservative persuasion, love to compare Canada with the United States, which has a lot to learn in the key area of K-12 education. As the United States struggles with mounting deficits and debt, Americans would be well served to look north if they want to raise ...
Commentary
Viewpoints: School test scores mask failure
With graduation season in full swing, the cover story in the June issue of Sacramento Magazine rates the 66 high schools in and around California’s capital. The ratings rely on the state’s school-performance scoring system which, unfortunately, masks a key reality. The “best” schools, largely in middle-class or affluent neighborhoods, ...
Commentary
The real lesson in Obama’s education policies
In a recent column, David Brooks, who fills the center-right slot on the New York Times opinion page, asserts that the Obama administration’s education agenda adheres to a “measured vision of a limited but energetic government.” Citing the president’s $4.5 billion Race to the Top (RTTT) education-funding program, Mr. Brooks ...
Charter Schools
N.Y. Times misses the real lesson of charter schools
A recent lengthy New York Times article on charter schools, which are deregulated publicly funded schools of choice, came to the conclusion that the record of these schools was mixed, with some charters doing better than regular public schools, while others perform about the same or worse. That’s no surprise ...
Commentary
Big mistakes by ‘big ideas’ critic
Apostasy is always news if the apostates are well-known persons on the right, and the case of noted New York University education historian Diane Ravitch is no exception. Mrs. Ravitch, who used to support bold reforms such as school choice, is making headlines condemning those “big ideas” as bad policy. ...
Is Arizona Waiting for “Superman”?
Waiting for Superman follows several students seeking to escape underperforming inner city schools in New York, Los Angeles, and elsewhere. The filmmakers weave heartbreaking personal drama into an overall presentation of the flaws of the nation’s education system. Together, these themes are incredibly powerful and mutually reinforcing. To their credit, ...
Assessing a Teacher’s Value
What are the benefits and pitfalls of using student test scores to measure a teacher’s effectiveness? Help the Parents Lance T. Izumi is the senior director of education studies at the Pacific Research Institute. The “value-added” assessments are useful in analyzing teacher performance, but they can be made better. The ...
That sucking sound is LAUSD doing business as usual
WHEN the Los Angeles Unified School District unveiled its opulent $578 million Robert F. Kennedy High School, the most expensive government-run K-12 school in this nation’s history, it was not just an isolated PR disaster. Rather, it was only the latest evidence that the floundering district is like a vacuum ...
Educating illegal immigrants is costly
As the debate on illegal immigration rages in Washington and state capitals, it’s troubling to see both sides rely on emotional rhetoric to the detriment of facts. The impact of illegal immigration on public education is a case in point. No one can deny that increasing numbers of children of ...
Less bang for education bucks
California’s public education establishment continually argues that the state ranks near the bottom in funding K-12 education. A just-released study by the U.S. Census Bureau pokes a giant hole in these claims. Those trying to portray California as miserly when it comes to education funding often cite figures put out ...
What Canada can teach the U.S. about education
Canadians, particularly those of conservative persuasion, love to compare Canada with the United States, which has a lot to learn in the key area of K-12 education. As the United States struggles with mounting deficits and debt, Americans would be well served to look north if they want to raise ...
Viewpoints: School test scores mask failure
With graduation season in full swing, the cover story in the June issue of Sacramento Magazine rates the 66 high schools in and around California’s capital. The ratings rely on the state’s school-performance scoring system which, unfortunately, masks a key reality. The “best” schools, largely in middle-class or affluent neighborhoods, ...
The real lesson in Obama’s education policies
In a recent column, David Brooks, who fills the center-right slot on the New York Times opinion page, asserts that the Obama administration’s education agenda adheres to a “measured vision of a limited but energetic government.” Citing the president’s $4.5 billion Race to the Top (RTTT) education-funding program, Mr. Brooks ...
N.Y. Times misses the real lesson of charter schools
A recent lengthy New York Times article on charter schools, which are deregulated publicly funded schools of choice, came to the conclusion that the record of these schools was mixed, with some charters doing better than regular public schools, while others perform about the same or worse. That’s no surprise ...
Big mistakes by ‘big ideas’ critic
Apostasy is always news if the apostates are well-known persons on the right, and the case of noted New York University education historian Diane Ravitch is no exception. Mrs. Ravitch, who used to support bold reforms such as school choice, is making headlines condemning those “big ideas” as bad policy. ...
