A new poll shows that in one of the most liberal of states–California–charter schools are impressing voters by a wide margin, particularly among Latino parents. The Los Angeles Times reports: Among those surveyed in the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll, 52% had a favorable opinion about charters; only 12% had an unfavorable impression. Asked whether charter schools or traditional schools provided a better education, 48% gave superior marks to charters; 24% considered traditional schools more effective. The charter model appealed to Latino parents in particular. Overall, 52% of parents — those who …
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 …
One of the main focuses of the Senate this week has been the re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), known in this iteration as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Heritage has been at the forefront of the opposition to the massive federal overreach in centralizing Education. Click here to Join us right now for our “Lunch with Heritage” chat. We are joined by Senior Education Policy Analyst Lindsey Burke and she takes your questions about what is in the latest re-authorization, and how Obama wants to re-authorize it. Lunch …
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 …
Senator Marco Rubio (R–FL) urged Education Secretary Arne Duncan to remember the constitutional limitations placed on the executive branch in a letter to the Department of Education Tuesday. What prompted Rubio to express his concerns is the Obama Administration’s intention to, on the one hand, grant waivers to states for the onerous provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) while, on the other hand, tying them to even more onerous centralized policy: Our principal concern is that the Executive branch does not possess the authority to force states into compliance …
“No Child Left Behind [NCLB] and the Race to the Top [RTTT] grants are likely to be the high water mark of federal involvement in schools,” says Jay Mathews in a Washington Post editorial this week on why the Obama Administration’s further overreach into national standards will fail. His argument? Washington simply can’t afford to get any more deeply involved in local schools. On that point, Mathews is absolutely right. We also hope he’s right about the collapse of the national standards project, but it will take some effort to …
In a momentous move in March of this year, a Colorado school board voted to implement its first private school choice program. The program allows up to 500 children in Douglas County to attend a private school of their choice. Now, hundreds of students are being blocked from receiving these scholarships due to the decision of a state district judge from Denver to halt the voucher program, claiming that it violates the state constitution. The county school board is planning to appeal the decision. John Carson, president of the Douglas …
It’s back to school time. And this year, students across the nation have more educational opportunity than in any previous year. 2011 has been named “The Year of School Choice,” and for good reason. Forty-two states introduced over 150 pieces of school choice legislation, and 12 states and the District of Columbia enacted plans to broaden school choice. As of this year, 18 states plus D.C. offer some form of private school choice: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, …
Catching you up on clips, commentary and news of the day. Sign up for the daily email update from Scribe. The Year of School Choice – Ed Feulner, The Washington Times Beware: New Obamanomics Plan Ahead – Brian Darling, Human Events Health insurance mandates threaten everyone’s freedom – Chuck Donovan, Daily Caller More Regulation Is the Last Thing Economy Needs – Ramesh Ponnuru, Bloomberg DOJ’s Expanding Power to Seize Assets Sparks Concerns – Nathan Koppel, Wall Street Journal Hugo Chavez Goes for the Gold – Ray Walser, FoxNews.com America is forfeiting …
If you happened to be in Washington, D.C., last weekend, you may have run into the “Save Our Schools Rally”—perhaps more accurately titled “Maintain the Status Quo in Education Rally.” The folks over at Reason TV were on hand to talk with participants of the rally and created this short video (language warning) that highlights the left’s misunderstanding of the problems in America’s education system today. For example, Matt Damon, who spoke at the rally, scoffs at the idea of providing incentives to high-performing teachers or firing poorly performing teachers. …
