Last Tuesday, Senator Tom Harkin (D–IA) introduced a much-anticipated proposal to rewrite No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and has announced that committee markup on the legislation will begin this Wednesday. Those hoping for a package that would follow in the footsteps of the House Education and the Workforce Committee by …
The death of Steve Jobs last week captured the attention of people not only around the nation but around the globe. While Jobs and his products are known worldwide, less well known, as Lori Drummer of the Independent Women’s Forum writes, was this innovator’s “passion” for educational opportunity via school …
For decades now, spending on public education has been increasing significantly, while academic achievement has remained stagnant. What if, instead of pouring money into failing schools, we give the money to parents and allow them to spend it any way they see fit on their children’s education? Well, in states …
While the House is moving to put greater control of education into the hands of parents, the Obama Administration is working to tighten the federal government’s grip on the nation’s schools. Since the 1960s, Washington’s control of the U.S. education system has swelled. And No Child Left Behind (NCLB) only …
“Congress hasn’t been able to do it, so I will.” With this bold statement, President Obama announced last Friday that he would unilaterally replace the provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) with conditions-based waivers. Obama’s waiver strategy is an alarming misuse of executive power that undermines the …
Supporters of the Common Core national standards push are becoming increasingly wary of Washington’s entanglement with what the Obama Administration has been trying to sell as “voluntary.” Writing in National Review Online last week, Checker Finn, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, expressed his concern that the Administration’s No …
For the past few decades, the federal government has continuously increased its power over local schools, through funding with strings attached, with depressing results. Since the 1970′s federal spending on education has nearly tripled, yet student achievement has remained flat and graduation rates have not improved. However, that increased spending …
