Monday, November 26, 2007

Good Enough for Government Work 

Schools get credit for "close enough"

Filed As:  Education (k-12)

While schools and states complain about No Child Left Behind (and I'll admit, there are serious shortcomings with the law), they manipulate loopholes all the time. The latest example of this comes from Alabama.

Without the help of at least one provision of the federal No Child Left ... more »»

• posted by John LaPlante
• 11:26 am
• 1 comment

Friday, November 16, 2007

Fewer Students, More Funding 

Filed As:  Education (k-12)

In the business world, companies that fail to perform disappear. Think of Braniff Airlines, Montgomery Ward, and other has-been household names.

But in Pennsylvania (and elsewhere) schools that fail to attract customers ... get more money. Says Jake Hauk, of the more »»

• posted by John LaPlante
• 12:24 pm
• 0 comment

Monday, November 12, 2007

Hip, Hip Hurray! We'll All Get an A! 

Grade inflation for schools

Filed As:  Education (k-12)

We know that grade inflation is a problem. But the problem isn't just that an "A" isn't what it used to be. It's that the performance of schools themselves is systematically overstated.

The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation made in its recent report, more »»

• posted by John LaPlante
• 12:21 pm
• 1 comment

Monday, November 19, 2007

Illusive Goal of 100% Proficiency 

Filed As:  Education (k-12)

The Allegheny Institute's Jake Haulk and Frank Gamrat chide the Pennsylvania Board of Education for spending $650,000 of taxpayer money on yet another education study (PDF)

The two warn that the recommendations, meant to show ... more »»

• posted by John LaPlante
• 12:11 pm
• 0 comment

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

The Moral Case for School Choice 

Filed As:  Education (k-12)

There are many reasons for enacting school choice. Improving educational achievement and saving money are two of the big ones. But Richard John Neuhaus points us to another one that doesn't get as much play as it should: more »»

• posted by John LaPlante
• 10:48 am
• 0 comment

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Get Off the Bus, Gus 

Filed As:  Education (k-12)

This is troublesome on so many levels. An "anti-sprawl" group (those who want everyone to live in densely settled neighborhood) says that too many kids in Maryland ride on the school bus for too long. ... more »»

• posted by John LaPlante
• 6:04 am
• 0 comment

Monday, November 12, 2007

The Weak Link of School Choice 

Distrust of markets

Filed As:  Education (k-12)

Why does school choice advance in legislative venues but suffer defeat after defeat when put to a public vote?
That's the question I thought of when reading Pete DuPont's OpinionJournal.com op-ed on the Utah voucher ... more »»

• posted by John LaPlante
• 12:11 pm
• 0 comment

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Let My People Go 

School boards part of the problem

Filed As:  Education (k-12)

School boards are supposed to look out for the interests of the public. Too often, they look out for the interests of the status quo school system.

The South Carolina-based group Clergy for Education Reform issues a challenge to the state's school board association:

Columbia, SC - ... more »»

• posted by John LaPlante
• 10:07 am
• 1 comment

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Vouchers Repealed 

Filed As:  Education (k-12)

Ouch. The first universal voucher program in the nation came to Utah. And after yesterday's public vote, it's history.

But the cause of and interest in school choice is not, says Andrew ... more »»

• posted by John LaPlante
• 9:01 pm
• 0 comment

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Lessons from Utah 

Filed As:  Education (k-12)

Utah's universal voucher program was strangled in the crib on Tuesday, by a vote of 62 to 38 percent. Total votes numbered 497, 651. Given the number of registered voters,... more »»

• posted by John LaPlante
• 9:44 am
• 0 comment