Education
Commentary
Who’s Qualified to Run New York City Schools? Pitfalls From a Lack of Knowledge
Lacking an official background in public education is different than a lack of knowledge of critical educational issues. An education leader can succeed without the former, but not the latter. As a business executive, Joel Klein brought useful management ideas to the job of chancellor. He knew that employees have ...
Education
Lessons from Florida for California’s New Legislators
California’s new state education boss, Tom Torlakson, has his work cut out for him. He might start by explaining to parents why Florida, a demographically similar state, continues to outpace California in student achievement. On that score the Golden State still sputters around the bottom of national rankings. California apologists ...
Commentary
School Choice on Trial
School choice plans are proliferating around the nation, and today the Supreme Court will hear a case that could stop them cold on dubious legal grounds. In Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn, the question is whether a scholarship tax credit program that has operated in Arizona since 1997 ...
Commentary
Economc Study Funded by Prop. 23 backers questioned
The report had a tantalizing hook: “Proposition 23 will create 1.3 million jobs by 2020,” including 150,000 jobs next year. Proponents of the campaign to roll back the state’s landmark greenhouse gas reduction law touted the nonprofit Pacific Research Institute’s study in an Oct. 5 news release as “good news ...
Education
Lance Izumi on Fox and Friends
Lance T. Izumi, Koret Senior Fellow and senior director of Education Studies at the Pacific Research Institue, appeared on FOX & Friends to discuss the failure of many middle class schools to adequately prepare their students for future jobs and higher education. He discusses his appearance in Davis Guggenheim’s new ...
Commentary
Florida’s lesson: School choice builds success
Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, and retired administrator Larry Aceves want to be California’s superintendent of public instruction. Voters should ask the candidates why Florida, though demographically similar to California, continues to trounce the Golden State in student achievement. Two years ago, significant numbers of Florida’s low-income and minority fourth-graders outscored ...
Commentary
New Study Shows Arizona Tax Credits Serve Low- and Moderate-Income Families
Arlington, Va.—On November 3, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the next big school choice case. A new study released today, which examines the Arizona choice program at the center of the legal fight, finds that the primary beneficiaries of the choice program are overwhelmingly students from low- and moderate-income ...
Commentary
Speech: Washington Doesn’t Know Best: The Perils of Federal Control of Education
Lance T. Izumi delivered a speech on Federal control of education on October 6, 2010 at St. Vincent’s College in Latrobe, PA. Download a full transcript of the speech here. In order to appreciate the full dangers of the Obama administration’s attempt to centralize education policymaking and decisionmaking in Washington, ...
Commentary
SQ 744 would cut services, add administrators
State Question 744 would disastrously reduce state services, consuming almost 15 percent of the current budget in its third year. Will it improve student test scores? Almost certainly not: 10 years of annual increases in education funding have accompanied declining test scores. Money won’t buy high test scores. The Pacific ...
Education
Back Stories to Waiting for Superman
Waiting for Superman, touted by Oprah, Bill Gates and other celebrities, is now playing California theatres. Academy Award winner Davis Guggenheim directed the film, best documentary at the Sundance Film Festival. Several back stories, and the star, will not be apparent on the big screen. Waiting for Superman follows five ...
Who’s Qualified to Run New York City Schools? Pitfalls From a Lack of Knowledge
Lacking an official background in public education is different than a lack of knowledge of critical educational issues. An education leader can succeed without the former, but not the latter. As a business executive, Joel Klein brought useful management ideas to the job of chancellor. He knew that employees have ...
Lessons from Florida for California’s New Legislators
California’s new state education boss, Tom Torlakson, has his work cut out for him. He might start by explaining to parents why Florida, a demographically similar state, continues to outpace California in student achievement. On that score the Golden State still sputters around the bottom of national rankings. California apologists ...
School Choice on Trial
School choice plans are proliferating around the nation, and today the Supreme Court will hear a case that could stop them cold on dubious legal grounds. In Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn, the question is whether a scholarship tax credit program that has operated in Arizona since 1997 ...
Economc Study Funded by Prop. 23 backers questioned
The report had a tantalizing hook: “Proposition 23 will create 1.3 million jobs by 2020,” including 150,000 jobs next year. Proponents of the campaign to roll back the state’s landmark greenhouse gas reduction law touted the nonprofit Pacific Research Institute’s study in an Oct. 5 news release as “good news ...
Lance Izumi on Fox and Friends
Lance T. Izumi, Koret Senior Fellow and senior director of Education Studies at the Pacific Research Institue, appeared on FOX & Friends to discuss the failure of many middle class schools to adequately prepare their students for future jobs and higher education. He discusses his appearance in Davis Guggenheim’s new ...
Florida’s lesson: School choice builds success
Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, and retired administrator Larry Aceves want to be California’s superintendent of public instruction. Voters should ask the candidates why Florida, though demographically similar to California, continues to trounce the Golden State in student achievement. Two years ago, significant numbers of Florida’s low-income and minority fourth-graders outscored ...
New Study Shows Arizona Tax Credits Serve Low- and Moderate-Income Families
Arlington, Va.—On November 3, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the next big school choice case. A new study released today, which examines the Arizona choice program at the center of the legal fight, finds that the primary beneficiaries of the choice program are overwhelmingly students from low- and moderate-income ...
Speech: Washington Doesn’t Know Best: The Perils of Federal Control of Education
Lance T. Izumi delivered a speech on Federal control of education on October 6, 2010 at St. Vincent’s College in Latrobe, PA. Download a full transcript of the speech here. In order to appreciate the full dangers of the Obama administration’s attempt to centralize education policymaking and decisionmaking in Washington, ...
SQ 744 would cut services, add administrators
State Question 744 would disastrously reduce state services, consuming almost 15 percent of the current budget in its third year. Will it improve student test scores? Almost certainly not: 10 years of annual increases in education funding have accompanied declining test scores. Money won’t buy high test scores. The Pacific ...
Back Stories to Waiting for Superman
Waiting for Superman, touted by Oprah, Bill Gates and other celebrities, is now playing California theatres. Academy Award winner Davis Guggenheim directed the film, best documentary at the Sundance Film Festival. Several back stories, and the star, will not be apparent on the big screen. Waiting for Superman follows five ...
