Education

California

Killing fair play for charter schools

Recently, the enemies of school choice won a significant victory. A small, but very important, amendment to the California Education Code, Assembly Bill 2225 by Assemblyman Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach, died in the Assembly education committee – voted down by Democrats in a party-line vote. This bill merely said that ...
Commentary

Suburban Schools Not Actually That Good, Studies Find

The schools middle-class families send their kids to aren’t as good as parents think, say two recently released studies from different sources. A national study released in May found that U.S. students whose parents have college degrees perform worse than peers from comparable families in other countries. In the United ...
Education

Not as Good as You Think

Why Middle-Class Parents in Illinois Should Be Concerned about Their Local Public Schools — Parents know how important good schools are when deciding where to live. That’s why many are willing to stretch their budgets for a home near a “good” school. But parents should not be convinced by tree-line ...
Charter Schools

CTA Attacking Charter Schools Again

If it’s spring then it must be time for the California Teachers Association (CTA) to make another one of its frontal assaults on charter schools, the independent public schools that promise better results in exchange for greater freedom to operate. The CTA’s chosen vehicle this time around is Democratic Assembly ...
Business & Economics

The Fallacies of Government-Run Broadband

There is no doubt that an effective broadband infrastructure is essential for the 21st century U.S. economy. This is why the misinterpretations of a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report are so problematic. The policy recommendations that are being derived from these incorrect interpretations, if followed, would significantly inhibit the ...
Education

Lance Izumi on Education Reform

Charter Schools

The War on Charter Schools

Newly installed New York mayor Bill de Blasio ignited a nationwide firestorm of protest by his decision to close down three charter schools, which are independent, mostly nonunionized, deregulated public schools run by parents, nonprofits, and others. Yet there has been very little national notice of a similar recent action ...
California

Common Core: Little evidence to back its big changes

Despite its huge impact on the future of education in California, most Californians are only now learning about the Common Core national education standards that the state adopted several years ago. The reason for this inexcusable lag is because the Common Core creation, adoption and implementation process has lacked transparency. ...
California

Teachers Union Cheers Victory Over Poor Latino Childern

During a 1954 congressional hearing, U.S. Army counsel Joseph Welch famously asked Senator Joseph McCarthy, “Have you no sense of decency?” The same question may be asked of the California Federation of Teachers (CFT), which featured a splashy cover photo and story on its February/March magazine that celebrated the defeat ...
California

Digital Learning Conference 2014

On December 4th, 2013, in San Diego, the Paci?c Research Institute convened school board members from around California to learn more about the digital-education revolution that is sweeping the country.The conference was developed by Lance Izumi, senior director of PRI’s Education Center. The four workshops were led by prominent computer ...
California

Killing fair play for charter schools

Recently, the enemies of school choice won a significant victory. A small, but very important, amendment to the California Education Code, Assembly Bill 2225 by Assemblyman Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach, died in the Assembly education committee – voted down by Democrats in a party-line vote. This bill merely said that ...
Commentary

Suburban Schools Not Actually That Good, Studies Find

The schools middle-class families send their kids to aren’t as good as parents think, say two recently released studies from different sources. A national study released in May found that U.S. students whose parents have college degrees perform worse than peers from comparable families in other countries. In the United ...
Education

Not as Good as You Think

Why Middle-Class Parents in Illinois Should Be Concerned about Their Local Public Schools — Parents know how important good schools are when deciding where to live. That’s why many are willing to stretch their budgets for a home near a “good” school. But parents should not be convinced by tree-line ...
Charter Schools

CTA Attacking Charter Schools Again

If it’s spring then it must be time for the California Teachers Association (CTA) to make another one of its frontal assaults on charter schools, the independent public schools that promise better results in exchange for greater freedom to operate. The CTA’s chosen vehicle this time around is Democratic Assembly ...
Business & Economics

The Fallacies of Government-Run Broadband

There is no doubt that an effective broadband infrastructure is essential for the 21st century U.S. economy. This is why the misinterpretations of a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report are so problematic. The policy recommendations that are being derived from these incorrect interpretations, if followed, would significantly inhibit the ...
Education

Lance Izumi on Education Reform

Charter Schools

The War on Charter Schools

Newly installed New York mayor Bill de Blasio ignited a nationwide firestorm of protest by his decision to close down three charter schools, which are independent, mostly nonunionized, deregulated public schools run by parents, nonprofits, and others. Yet there has been very little national notice of a similar recent action ...
California

Common Core: Little evidence to back its big changes

Despite its huge impact on the future of education in California, most Californians are only now learning about the Common Core national education standards that the state adopted several years ago. The reason for this inexcusable lag is because the Common Core creation, adoption and implementation process has lacked transparency. ...
California

Teachers Union Cheers Victory Over Poor Latino Childern

During a 1954 congressional hearing, U.S. Army counsel Joseph Welch famously asked Senator Joseph McCarthy, “Have you no sense of decency?” The same question may be asked of the California Federation of Teachers (CFT), which featured a splashy cover photo and story on its February/March magazine that celebrated the defeat ...
California

Digital Learning Conference 2014

On December 4th, 2013, in San Diego, the Paci?c Research Institute convened school board members from around California to learn more about the digital-education revolution that is sweeping the country.The conference was developed by Lance Izumi, senior director of PRI’s Education Center. The four workshops were led by prominent computer ...
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