Education
Commentary
Helping Our Troops and Their Families
Children with special needs whose parents are in the Armed Services may soon be eligible for academic opportunity scholarships. Unfortunately, the National Coalition for Public Education (NCPE) is mounting a militant campaign against opportunities for those children. The Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2011 (S. ...
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
California’s Aspiring Education Bosses Face Reform Issues
California’s Aspiring Education Bosses Face Reform Issues By Evelyn B. Stacey, policy fellow in Education Studies Californian is now a finalist in the federal Race to the Top process. That has forced candidates for State Superintendent of Public Instruction to confront key reform issues. “The idea we can’t hold people ...
Commentary
Why the `Race to the Top’ will change nothing in state
CALIFORNIA is now a finalist in the federal “Race to the Top” education contest. Californians might want to hold off on the champagne because even if the state wins little change will be forthcoming. The contest is also misleading.
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
National Standards Still Don’t Make the Grade
Adopting the final draft of proposed national education standards in English language arts (ELA) would result in a significant weakening of the intellectual demands placed on Massachusetts and California students in language and literature, according to a review published jointly by the Pacific Research Institute and Pioneer Institute. In Part ...
Commentary
How California can improve its plunging graduation rates
The average national high school graduation rate, from 1997 to 2007, rose 3.1 percentage points to 68.8 percent, according to a recent report from Education Week. California’s graduation rate, meanwhile, dropped 4.7 percentage points to 62.7 percent. Only Nebraska and Nevada posted worse declines, and the problem is not limited ...
Helping Our Troops and Their Families
Children with special needs whose parents are in the Armed Services may soon be eligible for academic opportunity scholarships. Unfortunately, the National Coalition for Public Education (NCPE) is mounting a militant campaign against opportunities for those children. The Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2011 (S. ...
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 ...
California’s Aspiring Education Bosses Face Reform Issues
California’s Aspiring Education Bosses Face Reform Issues By Evelyn B. Stacey, policy fellow in Education Studies Californian is now a finalist in the federal Race to the Top process. That has forced candidates for State Superintendent of Public Instruction to confront key reform issues. “The idea we can’t hold people ...
Why the `Race to the Top’ will change nothing in state
CALIFORNIA is now a finalist in the federal “Race to the Top” education contest. Californians might want to hold off on the champagne because even if the state wins little change will be forthcoming. The contest is also misleading.
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 ...
National Standards Still Don’t Make the Grade
Adopting the final draft of proposed national education standards in English language arts (ELA) would result in a significant weakening of the intellectual demands placed on Massachusetts and California students in language and literature, according to a review published jointly by the Pacific Research Institute and Pioneer Institute. In Part ...
How California can improve its plunging graduation rates
The average national high school graduation rate, from 1997 to 2007, rose 3.1 percentage points to 68.8 percent, according to a recent report from Education Week. California’s graduation rate, meanwhile, dropped 4.7 percentage points to 62.7 percent. Only Nebraska and Nevada posted worse declines, and the problem is not limited ...
