Tomorrow, the highly anticipated math and reading scores of our nation’s 4th and 8th graders will be released as part of the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Often referred to as the nation’s “report card,” the NAEP provides a snapshot of the educational performance of students throughout the country, which can be used to track progress over time and inform education policy. But don’t hold your breath for any drastic increase in student achievement. Sadly, tomorrow’s results, like the results of the past 40 years, could end up …
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 choice. As Jobs noted in a 1995 interview with the Smithsonian Institution: “Equal opportunity to me more than anything means a great education.” He added that “the customers of education” are ultimately “the parents” and that “what we need to …
A new poll from the Manhattan Institute reveals 77 percent of Hoosiers rate Indiana’s government as “efficient.” That’s the highest percentage of any state surveyed and a stark contrast to neighboring Illinois’ 23 percent. Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN), now serving in his seventh year as the state’s CEO, has clearly left his mark on Indiana. This year, with Republicans in control of the state legislature, he’s continued to reform government, enacting landmark education reforms. Daniels shared stories of his policy accomplishments in a wide-ranging speech last week at Heritage. He’s …
President Barack Obama is slated to give a speech tomorrow lauding the benefits of granting waivers to states for the burdensome provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Obama, unhappy with the pace at which Congress is undertaking NCLB reauthorization, has decided to grant the conditions-based waivers to states to fulfill his own timeline and push his own policy preferences. States have felt the federal heat from provisions in NCLB that require all children to be proficient in reading and math by 2014. And as that deadline approaches, many states could find the …
Today, Representative Rob Bishop (R–UT) introduced the A-PLUS bill, which allows states to opt out of the myriad programs funded under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and use their money for priorities they deem most important. As Heritage Foundation analyst Lindsey Burke notes: There are some 60 competitive grant programs and approximately 20 formula grant programs that fall under NCLB.… The complex application processes of many grant programs waste time and resources that could be better employed in the classroom. A report from the Office of Management and Budget found …
Click here to join the chat! we are joined by Heritage’s Education expert, Lindsey Burke. She is taking your questions about the advances in school choice and other opportunities for educational freedom. 2011 has been called the “Year of School Choice“. 13 new school choice programs have been created in various states, and just yesterday, President Obama acknowledged how important school vouchers were to his success in life saying that he “wouldn’t be president if someone hadn’t helped provide some scholarships for my school.” If you would like to be …
Florida, already an education reform leader, took further steps this week to expand educational opportunity and provide more school choice for families. Governor Rick Scott (R), who on Monday signed five bills to broaden educational opportunities for K–12 students, remarked: “Everything we can do to encourage more choice, we should be doing it.” And Governor Scott is serious about expanding options. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Scott’s bills increase students’ options in a variety of ways, providing more choice between charter, public, virtual, and private schools. Charter School Choice. High-performing …
We are joined by Education Policy Analyst Lindsey Burke and she will take your questions about what can be done about federal education policy. Ask a question in the form below Lunch with Heritage feat. Lindsey Burke
On Thursday, the Indiana Senate approved what could become the nation’s largest school voucher program. If signed by Governor Mitch Daniels (R), the plan will allow Indiana children throughout the state to use a scholarship to attend a private school of their choice. The proposal, which has already made it through the Indiana House once, must now go back to the House of Representatives since the Senate enhanced the bill’s school choice options by adding a $1,000 tax deduction to the measure to help parents pay for private school or …
Educating students is no easy task, so the last thing schools need is Washington bureaucrats telling them what to do. Unfortunately, federal red tape has increased with every passing decade since the enactment of the first Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1965 (today known as No Child Left Behind). That’s why Senators Jim DeMint (R–SC) and John Cornyn (R–TX) introduced the A–PLUS Act: a conservative approach to No Child Left Behind (NCLB). This new legislation, introduced April 14, would allow states to opt out of the notorious compliance burden …
