Education
Blog
CAPITAL IDEAS – Dim View: New PRI Poll Shows Just 4 out of 10 Voters Rate their Local School Boards Positively
As school boards grapple with issues ranging from poor student achievement scores in reading and math on state and national tests to widespread student behavior and discipline problems to ideological controversies, the public is less than happy with the performance of their school boards in the face of these challenges. ...
Commentary
Read about science of reading legislation
Read Lance Izumi in the NY Post: How politics is getting in the way of teaching kids to read
The inability of America’s children to read proficiently is frightening. On the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) fourth-grade reading exam, 66% of students taking the exam failed to achieve at the proficient level. The results were even worse on the eighth grade reading exam, with 69% of students ...
Charter School
Lance Izumi – The Great Classroom Collapse
Lance Izumi, senior director of PRI’s Center for Education, joins us to discuss his latest book The Great Classroom Collapse, which investigates the implosion of rigor and learning in America’s schools. He shares the stories of some of the parents, teachers, and policymakers he profiles in the book and discusses ...
Book
New PRI Book Explores The Great Classroom Collapse Leaving Students Unprepared for College and the Workforce
SACRAMENTO – With student test scores showing that the academic performance of America’s school children in the basic subjects are at record lows, the nonpartisan Pacific Research Institute today released The Great Classroom Collapse – a new book investigating the implosion of rigor and learning in schools nationwide and profiling ...
Blog
Read the latest on teachers' unions
Teacher Shortages in Schools? Blame the Teachers’ Unions
A just-released analysis by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) says, “there are at least 55,000 vacant teaching positions nationally.” However, contrary to the conventional belief that these vacancies are spread across the board, the NCTQ analysis observes, “The reality is, teacher shortages do exist—in specific subjects, regions, and ...
Blog
Why High School Graduates Turn Out to Be College Illiterates
Education Week recently pointed out that high school graduates’ “college readiness has reached historic lows, according to several metrics—including the lowest scores in 30 years on the ACT and declining scores on the SAT, the two primary standardized tests used for college admissions.” The ACT measures college readiness in English ...
Classroom Ideology
Read the latest on equity grading in public schools
Equity grading is just grade inflation dressed in woke clothing
As standardized student test scores plunge, some school districts are responding by masking student knowledge deficiencies through equity grading, which is little more than grade inflation dressed up in woke clothing. There is little doubt that student learning across the country is at a dire level. On the 2022 National ...
Blog
Producing Democratic Citizens: Private Schools Do Better Than Public Schools
As college campuses across the country descend into chaos, with authoritarian mobs violently taking over buildings, attacking police, and vandalizing property, Americans rightly wonder why so many young people are engaging in grossly undemocratic behavior. New research provides a clue, with public schools scoring significantly below private schools in forming ...
Education
How Lowered Academic Standards Hurts California’s Students, Economy – 2024 Sacramento Policy Conference
From PRI’s 2024 Sacramento policy conference, senior director of education studies Lance Izumi moderates a panel discussing the implosion of academic rigor in California’s schools, and how that affects California’s students – particularly those most vulnerable – and impacts the state’s economic competitiveness. A preview of his upcoming PRI book ...
Blog
Learn About Latest Ineffective Education Spending
Lawsuit Settlement Forces Accountability on California’s Spending for Student Learning Loss
After sharply criticizing Governor Gavin Newsom’s unaccountable education spending proposals, I was happily surprised to see my criticisms vindicated in a recent court settlement that will force the state to finally demonstrate that its spending programs actually produce positive outcomes for students. In Governor Newsom’s proposed 2024-25 budget, he included ...
CAPITAL IDEAS – Dim View: New PRI Poll Shows Just 4 out of 10 Voters Rate their Local School Boards Positively
As school boards grapple with issues ranging from poor student achievement scores in reading and math on state and national tests to widespread student behavior and discipline problems to ideological controversies, the public is less than happy with the performance of their school boards in the face of these challenges. ...
Read about science of reading legislation
Read Lance Izumi in the NY Post: How politics is getting in the way of teaching kids to read
The inability of America’s children to read proficiently is frightening. On the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) fourth-grade reading exam, 66% of students taking the exam failed to achieve at the proficient level. The results were even worse on the eighth grade reading exam, with 69% of students ...
Lance Izumi – The Great Classroom Collapse
Lance Izumi, senior director of PRI’s Center for Education, joins us to discuss his latest book The Great Classroom Collapse, which investigates the implosion of rigor and learning in America’s schools. He shares the stories of some of the parents, teachers, and policymakers he profiles in the book and discusses ...
New PRI Book Explores The Great Classroom Collapse Leaving Students Unprepared for College and the Workforce
SACRAMENTO – With student test scores showing that the academic performance of America’s school children in the basic subjects are at record lows, the nonpartisan Pacific Research Institute today released The Great Classroom Collapse – a new book investigating the implosion of rigor and learning in schools nationwide and profiling ...
Read the latest on teachers' unions
Teacher Shortages in Schools? Blame the Teachers’ Unions
A just-released analysis by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) says, “there are at least 55,000 vacant teaching positions nationally.” However, contrary to the conventional belief that these vacancies are spread across the board, the NCTQ analysis observes, “The reality is, teacher shortages do exist—in specific subjects, regions, and ...
Why High School Graduates Turn Out to Be College Illiterates
Education Week recently pointed out that high school graduates’ “college readiness has reached historic lows, according to several metrics—including the lowest scores in 30 years on the ACT and declining scores on the SAT, the two primary standardized tests used for college admissions.” The ACT measures college readiness in English ...
Read the latest on equity grading in public schools
Equity grading is just grade inflation dressed in woke clothing
As standardized student test scores plunge, some school districts are responding by masking student knowledge deficiencies through equity grading, which is little more than grade inflation dressed up in woke clothing. There is little doubt that student learning across the country is at a dire level. On the 2022 National ...
Producing Democratic Citizens: Private Schools Do Better Than Public Schools
As college campuses across the country descend into chaos, with authoritarian mobs violently taking over buildings, attacking police, and vandalizing property, Americans rightly wonder why so many young people are engaging in grossly undemocratic behavior. New research provides a clue, with public schools scoring significantly below private schools in forming ...
How Lowered Academic Standards Hurts California’s Students, Economy – 2024 Sacramento Policy Conference
From PRI’s 2024 Sacramento policy conference, senior director of education studies Lance Izumi moderates a panel discussing the implosion of academic rigor in California’s schools, and how that affects California’s students – particularly those most vulnerable – and impacts the state’s economic competitiveness. A preview of his upcoming PRI book ...
Learn About Latest Ineffective Education Spending
Lawsuit Settlement Forces Accountability on California’s Spending for Student Learning Loss
After sharply criticizing Governor Gavin Newsom’s unaccountable education spending proposals, I was happily surprised to see my criticisms vindicated in a recent court settlement that will force the state to finally demonstrate that its spending programs actually produce positive outcomes for students. In Governor Newsom’s proposed 2024-25 budget, he included ...
