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  • Education

    Return education control to states and localities, and let all parents choose their children’s schools.

    SAT Scores at Historical Low; Education Spending at Historical High

    SAT scores among the nation’s test-takers are at a 40-year low. As The Washington Post reports: Reading scores on the SAT for the high school class of 2012 reached a four-decade low, putting a punctuation mark on a gradual decline in the ability of college-bound teens to read passages and … More

    Union Strong-Arming Rewarded in Chicago

    The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) has ended its seven-day strike, agreeing to a contract negotiated by the union and the school district. At the expense of 350,000 children and taxpayers throughout the state, the union has won big. The union secured a 3 percent salary increase in the first year, … More

    Chicago Teachers Union President: Teachers Want “Anything More They Can Get”

    As the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) strike continues into its second week, 800 union delegates are preparing to vote on an agreement today. While CTU President Karen Lewis—who led the walkout on September 10—backs the speculative agreement, she admits that the delegates “very well could” vote against it and continue … More

    Chicago Teachers’ Strike Contradicts Principle of Public Service

    Students at Chicago schools are spending another day at home today, after a 700-page court filing against the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) was sidelined for later consideration. Teachers walked off the job soon after the school year began, frustrating Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) and thousands of Chicago parents. “This continued … More

    VIDEO: Teachers’ Unions in Their Own Words

    You may have heard: Chicago teachers are on strike. Some facts you may not have seen (unless, of course, you’ve been reading the Foundry): the average Chicago teacher makes $71,000 a year before benefits. That’s $24,000 more than the average Chicago resident, and second only to New York City in teachers’ … More

    Texas Should Steer Clear of NCLB Waivers

    In a “surprise” move, Texas announced last Thursday that it would seek a No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver from the U.S. Department of Education. The Obama Administration’s waivers, touted under the banner of providing “flexibility” and “relief” from the onerous provisions of NCLB, in reality replace the federal overreach … More

    Chicago Teachers’ Retirement Benefits Are Extravagant

    When Chicago teachers began their strike on Monday, critics rightly pointed out that the city already pays one of the highest average teacher salaries in the nation. Even more important, however, is the generous retirement package received by Chicago public school teachers. A Chicago teacher who retired in 2011 after … More

    Chicago Teachers Union Strike: A Parent’s Perspective

    This week marked the second week of school in Virginia for my two elementary-level children. And as I began to navigate the “get to know you” phase of the new school year, I had a dismaying new perspective on the current teacher union strike in Chicago. There are a lot … More

    It’s Time to Break ‘The Machine’

    Reason TV and The Moving Picture Institute recently came out with a new video called “The Machine.” ”The Machine” highlights the correlation between the taxpayers, politicians, and the education unions. It works like this: Taxpayers send money to the government, which then uses it to pay for government education employees. Teachers are forced to pay … More

    FACT CHECK: Secretary Arne Duncan on Education Cuts

    During remarks to attendees in Charlotte last week, Education Secretary Arne Duncan claimed that the budget passed by the House of Representatives would mean “fewer teachers in the classroom, fewer resources for poor kids and students with disabilities, [and] fewer after school programs.” However, the House budget does not designate … More