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  • national standards

    Al Gore-ithms, SpongeBob, and Global Warming

    In late July, the Department of Education held a reading event as part of it’s “Let’s read! Let’s move!” initiative. During the event, D.C. schoolchildren were given free copies of SpongeBob Goes Green, a book based on the Nickelodeon cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants. According to the publishers: SpongeBob decides to speed … More

    Washington in a Flash: Boehner Goes Back to the Drawing Board

    With the Obama administration’s debt deadline less than a week away, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is reworking his two-stage debt plan after the Congressional Budget Office revealed it cut less than advertised. The House isn’t expected to vote until Thursday or Friday. Meanwhile, conservatives remain highly suspicious. Heritage Action announced its opposition … More

    State-Based Reform, Not National Standards, Key to Better Education

    “America’s economic strength and standing in the world economy are directly linked to our ability to equip students with the knowledge and skills to succeed in the 21st-century economy….We must insist on standards that will prepare our high-school graduates for the demanding challenges they will face.” So wrote former Florida … More

    Education Department Violates Law, and States Say “No” to National Standards

    Last week, more than 100 education leaders signed a manifesto against the federally supported national education standards and tests backed by the Obama Administration. And in recent weeks, two states—Minnesota and South Carolina—have proposed legislation to prohibit implementation of the standards. While Minnesota has already adopted the English/language arts standards, … More

    Opposition to Obama’s Push for National Education Standards Keeps Growing

    Opposition to the Obama Administration’s push for national standards and tests is growing. Yesterday, more than 100 education leaders—professors, policy leaders, public policy heads, former Members of Congress, and others—released a manifesto opposing Washington’s unprecedented overreach into what is taught in local schools. Closing the Door on Innovation charges that … More

    Race to the Top Receives More Funding in Six-Month Spending Deal

    Race to the Top, President Obama’s signature education program, has been spared in the race to cut spending. As part of the new six-month spending deal, the program will receive $700 million in new funding, according to details released by House Republicans early this morning. That’s just shy of the … More

    Governor Bush to Hold Class in Florida

    This Friday, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush will join President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan at Miami Central High School to discuss President Obama’s education agenda. Bush, whose sweeping education reform agenda led to monumental gains in student achievement in Florida, told the Miami Herald that he plans to … More

    VIDEO: National Academic Standards Pose Threat to Local Control of Education

    One by one, all but seven states have succumbed to pressure to adopt national academic standards. But in a recent bid to retain local control, members of a regional school board in Massachusetts asked state officials to reconsider that decision, according to Education Week. The Massachusetts school board expressed concerns … More

    The Lone Star State’s Good Reasons for Going It Alone on Education Standards

    Texas Governor Rick Perry was at The Heritage Foundation on Monday to speak on his new book FED UP! Its message is bringing limited, constitutional governance back to Washington and the role that state governments should play in that restoration. In his speech, the Governor stressed that the election was … More

    Local Control Is the Key to Education Reform

    Greater federal control is not the answer to improving the nation’s education system. And Rep. John Kline (R–MN) agrees. Speaking of the current push for states to adopt national education standards—specifically the federal government tying federal Race to the Top (RTTT) and Title I funding to states’ adoption of the … More