State Policy

Expanding Choice in Elementary and Secondary Education

An upcoming Brookings Institution report — "Expanding Choice in Elementary and Secondary Education" — will make interesting reading. The preview for a release event says that the report will discuss “how to expand school choice to increase equity and create a market within the public sector for school quality.” Given the expertise and background of the panelists who will present next week, how they define equity, the public sector, and school quality will be quite significant.

Victory Puts New Orleans in the Spotlight

The Saints’ thrilling victory over the Vikings in overtime Sunday night in the Superdome...

The NCTE on College Readiness

After the Common Core project released its first draft of standards for English Language Arts last summer, the National Council of Teachers of English had a "review team" issue a report on the document to be submitted to the project as it worked its way through subsequent versions. Apart from the immediate aim of steering the core standards in certain directions, the document also offers a vision of English education that strangely downplays the fundamental principle of the project, namely, college and career readiness.

A Clearer Picture on Charter Schools

The effectiveness of charter schools in raising student achievement has become an intensely debated issue. When we last considered this topic, the Department of Education was pushing charter schools but dueling studies introduced uncertainty. A new study by CREDO clears up the uncertainty.

Racing to National Tests?

While everyone obsesses over the competition among the states for Race to the Top funding, the Education Department is readying a separate competition for less than one-tenth as much money that may nonetheless prove far more consequential for American education over the long term.

The Minnesota Re-Education of Educators

Readers may have heard about recent developments of the Teacher Education Redesign Initiative at the University of Minnesota. It's a project to revise the training of teachers, and it has infuriated conservative, libertarian, and First Amendment groups. Among the elements of the process is the Task Force for Race, Culture, Class, and Gender, which issued its recommendations in September. The Outcomes of the document read like a parody of academic identity politics, but they stand loud and clear in black and white.

Data Dreams Can Come True

States applying for Race to the Top grants receive points for building statewide longitudinal...

Virtual Schooling Takes Off among Top Tennis Players

For some, virtual schooling is a way to supplement regular schooling. For others, virtual...

No Recession for Schools

The Winter 2010 issue of Education Next is just  hitting newsstands (and subscribers’ mailboxes). ...

A “Race to the Top” Flip-Flop

The Wall Street Journal editorial page has already taken the Administration to task for backing away from some of its tougher “Race to the Top” provisions, but check out this morsel, thanks to Education Daily...

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