Teachers Unions
California
Prop. 30 hikes taxes without fixing K-12 systemic flaws
As Gov. Jerry Brown scurries around the state to save Proposition 30, his ballot measure to increase state sales and income taxes, voters are expressing skepticism that the tax revenues raised by the initiative will be spent wisely. They have reason to worry because Prop. 30 includes no reform of ...
California
Is The Fix In Higher Taxes And Less School Accountability
Supporters of Gov. Jerry Browns tax-hike ballot measure, Proposition 30, argue that the added tax revenues are needed so schools can, among other things, turn out high-achieving students. The head of the San Diego teachers union claims that without revenues to pay for programs and personnel, our schools are struggling ...
California
Lessons for California from Chicago teachers strike
WITH teachers in Chicago on strike, it’s tempting for Californians to view it as a phenomenon of the rough-and-tumble politics of the Windy City with little application to the Golden State. True, some issues, such as the high wage demands of the teachers union, are Chicago-specific. But in many other ...
Commentary
An Ominous Political Trend for Common Core’ites
When it comes to the Common Core, I see great potential value in states choosing to embrace common, high-caliber reading and math standards, if these are implemented with conviction and attention to how they will interact with current reforms. That said, seems to me there’s a huge chance that the ...
Commentary
Obama also centralizing education
In his insightful analysis of the Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act, former Congressional Budget Office director Douglas Holtz-Eakin concluded that Americans “did not want a costly government intrusion that threatened private coverage and promised a legacy of debt to the next generation.” Such expensive federal invasions, however, ...
Commentary
Two sides of Obama’s federal takeover of education
If states adopt his Common Core standards, they will be exempt from the onerous provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandates. Waivers recently granted by President Obama to 10 states allowing them to escape the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act are themselves filled with prescriptive ...
Commentary
We Know Which Teachers to Fire
A study of 2.5 million students by Harvard and Columbia researchers strongly indicates that individual teacher quality based on student test scores significantly impacts students life outcomes. While that should be enough evidence for school districts to consider using testing data to help inform firing, tenure and pay policies, the ...
California
Voters wary of teacher unions
Californians are a little schizophrenic on how they look on the state’s public schools, based on the findings of a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll of registered voters. On raising taxes, including their own, 64 percent said they would do so to “increase funding for California schools,” while 32 ...
California
California: The anti-education-reform state
Across America, state after state has enacted bold, far-reaching systemic education reforms. In contrast, California has not only failed to enact such fundamental reforms, but has actually gone backwards and passed laws that reduce accountability, protect special interests and preserve the status quo. In Indiana, Gov. Mitch Daniels signed legislation ...
California
California Ignores Parents, Empowers Reactionaries
Many states are passing progressive legislation to empower parents and students with choice in education. California, on the other hand, is considering legislation that ignores the needs of students and makes the most powerful anti-choice force in the state even more powerful. In the nation’s capital, Congress has revived the ...
Prop. 30 hikes taxes without fixing K-12 systemic flaws
As Gov. Jerry Brown scurries around the state to save Proposition 30, his ballot measure to increase state sales and income taxes, voters are expressing skepticism that the tax revenues raised by the initiative will be spent wisely. They have reason to worry because Prop. 30 includes no reform of ...
Is The Fix In Higher Taxes And Less School Accountability
Supporters of Gov. Jerry Browns tax-hike ballot measure, Proposition 30, argue that the added tax revenues are needed so schools can, among other things, turn out high-achieving students. The head of the San Diego teachers union claims that without revenues to pay for programs and personnel, our schools are struggling ...
Lessons for California from Chicago teachers strike
WITH teachers in Chicago on strike, it’s tempting for Californians to view it as a phenomenon of the rough-and-tumble politics of the Windy City with little application to the Golden State. True, some issues, such as the high wage demands of the teachers union, are Chicago-specific. But in many other ...
An Ominous Political Trend for Common Core’ites
When it comes to the Common Core, I see great potential value in states choosing to embrace common, high-caliber reading and math standards, if these are implemented with conviction and attention to how they will interact with current reforms. That said, seems to me there’s a huge chance that the ...
Obama also centralizing education
In his insightful analysis of the Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act, former Congressional Budget Office director Douglas Holtz-Eakin concluded that Americans “did not want a costly government intrusion that threatened private coverage and promised a legacy of debt to the next generation.” Such expensive federal invasions, however, ...
Two sides of Obama’s federal takeover of education
If states adopt his Common Core standards, they will be exempt from the onerous provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandates. Waivers recently granted by President Obama to 10 states allowing them to escape the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act are themselves filled with prescriptive ...
We Know Which Teachers to Fire
A study of 2.5 million students by Harvard and Columbia researchers strongly indicates that individual teacher quality based on student test scores significantly impacts students life outcomes. While that should be enough evidence for school districts to consider using testing data to help inform firing, tenure and pay policies, the ...
Voters wary of teacher unions
Californians are a little schizophrenic on how they look on the state’s public schools, based on the findings of a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll of registered voters. On raising taxes, including their own, 64 percent said they would do so to “increase funding for California schools,” while 32 ...
California: The anti-education-reform state
Across America, state after state has enacted bold, far-reaching systemic education reforms. In contrast, California has not only failed to enact such fundamental reforms, but has actually gone backwards and passed laws that reduce accountability, protect special interests and preserve the status quo. In Indiana, Gov. Mitch Daniels signed legislation ...
California Ignores Parents, Empowers Reactionaries
Many states are passing progressive legislation to empower parents and students with choice in education. California, on the other hand, is considering legislation that ignores the needs of students and makes the most powerful anti-choice force in the state even more powerful. In the nation’s capital, Congress has revived the ...
