It's late August, and thoughts are turning toward getting the kids ready for school. It seems hardly a few weeks ago that school was over for the summer, and here it is time for them to go back. Kids will be in a higher grade than last year, and they are speculating...
When something goes right for the country, we should first thank those who made it possible. And then, enjoy the moment before being overwhelmed again by reports of wars, mud slides, and unemployment. In April, the U.S. Department of Education announced that the...
A blizzard of education reports and studies appears every year. This swirl of information, analysis, and commentary -- some of which is contradictory -- makes it difficult to understand the condition of America's public schools. In short, are the schools getting...
Ideas matter. In education, an under-appreciated but powerful example of the impact of ideas can be found in the influence of Ayn Rand, a Russian-American novelist and polemicist who died in 1982. In Rand's case, her ideas have helped to shape an environment where the...
Many states have reformed their teacher evaluation systems to hold public school teachers accountable for the academic achievement of their students. The hope is that if teachers are measured by the improvement -- or lack thereof -- in their students' achievement,...
"To prepare all citizens to become responsible members of a democratic society" "To develop socialization and citizenship skills in children" "Preparing students for responsible, productive citizenship and imbuing them with values common to one democratic society"...
One in 10 U.S. students in grades preK-12 attends a private school, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education. Surprised it's not a higher share? Perhaps even more surprisingly, the private school share of total enrollments has decreased...
Educators in the Nation's largest state are breathing a deep sigh of relief that public schooling has been freed from the political and economic morass in which it has been mired for over a decade. Bottles of champagne are not yet being popped because educators want...
Daily, members of Congress orate on the need for American schools to improve. Yet today, the legislation authorizing every major federal program to assist education has expired or will soon lapse due to the lack of action by Congress. The only way these programs...
American tourists are often amused when traveling on the London "tube" to hear the announcement at each station to "mind the gap." This attention-getting advice is meant to warn passengers exiting the subway car to step over the space between the car and the platform....
Many people hope that magic solutions can be found to improve low-performing schools. Philanthropists, hedge fund millionaires, and others interested in reform have put their funds and faith in charter schools or virtual learning, as though these approaches have...
Two basic functions are essential to democratic societies: educating the young and defending citizens from attack. But in the U.S. today, quite different attitudes have developed about each of these functions. In a nutshell, our nation's schools are considered...
Mitt Romney has pledged that if elected president he will enact a voucher program that would allow parents of low-income and special needs students "to choose from any district or public charter school, or a private school where permitted by state law." This position...
The classic scene from a sports movie occurs in the locker room at half time when the coach delivers a rousing speech to motivate the players to win. Beneath this cliché lies a basic truth -- that in sports, the desire of the players to do their best is as essential...
Read the press release here!
American schools are not as good as they need to be, according to President Obama, the Republican presidential candidates, business leaders, and many others. It has not been for want of trying to improve education, so the problem must be the way we have gone about it....
In 19th century England, children were told by their parents that if they didn't behave, Father Christmas would bring them coal for Christmas instead of nice presents. Two weeks ago, American children in large urban school districts did not produce the higher test...
Benchmarking is popular in business. After studying the performance of the top companies in a particular arena, other companies emulate the leaders' best practices seeking the same level of success. This method has made its way into education. For example, the new...
During last month's Republican primary debate in Orlando, something very significant -- and dangerous -- happened. All of the candidates agreed that education should not be a concern of the federal government. Romney said the federal government should get out of...
The nation is awash in pessimism. Persistent unemployment, continuing wars, unexpected earthquakes, searing droughts, and drenching hurricanes have dampened the usual optimism of the American people. This week, a ray of sunlight pierced the clouds of doom. According...
A few weeks ago, yet another study showed American students being outpaced in mathematics achievement by students in other countries. In "Teaching Math to the Talented," published in the winter 2011 edition of Education Next, researchers from Stanford and Harvard...
In the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s, private school advocates tried to build support for tuition vouchers, payments of public tax funds for private school tuition. President Richard Nixon most notably endorsed this idea. Proponents of vouchers argued that parents who...
As the United States struggles to recover from the financial collapse of 2008-10, the newest casualty may be the promising reforms taking root in public schools across the country. The irony is that business leaders are calling with greater urgency for improvements in...
Amid the intense debates about how much progress the nation has made in raising student achievement and whether federal investments in education have produced results, one important trend tends to be overlooked -- namely, the notable gains made by African American and...
Federal funding for schools has not been effective, asserted some conservative members of Congress at a recent hearing on extending the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the main national law aiding public education. Soon, it is safe to bet, some members...