Today’s technology means that education can be tailored to the specific needs of each child. Idaho is leading the way in adopting these types of innovations with its statewide initiative to integrate Khan Academy videos into the classroom. The Khan Academy is an online-based learning tool that creates a self-paced …
Indiana has just given every state that agreed to adopt Common Core national education standards and tests a lesson in prudent governance. On Saturday, Governor Mike Pence (R) signed the Common Core “Pause” bill into law, halting implementation of Common Core until state agencies, teachers, and taxpayers better understand the …
This past weekend, Indiana legislators approved a proposal to halt the implementation of Common Core until after preliminary hearings and an in-depth analysis are conducted. The bill now rests on Governor Mike Pence’s (R) desk awaiting his signature. In February, the Indiana state senate voted 38–11 in favor of anti–Common …
Union contracts often pick winners and losers in the workplace. However, teachers unions may soon lose the power to pick losers—at least in Kansas. Legislators there are considering giving unionized teachers the option of negotiating for themselves. The pain of union control is illustrated by Bria Klotz, a former sixth-grade …
School choice is making headlines in multiple states this spring. Several have approved or are considering proposals to expand educational opportunity for families. Texas is going bold by introducing multiple school choice proposals. Heritage’s Lindsey Burke explains that these include: an elimination of the cap on charter schools (only 215 …
How much are we spending on education? Actually, far more than we know—because as it turns out, states are hiding some of the teachers’ benefits. In a new paper, Heritage expert Jason Richwine reveals that “Proper accounting would reveal tens of billions of dollars in extra teacher pension costs, equivalent …
States are reconsidering their support for the Common Core standards. In recent weeks, legislators in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, and South Dakota have attempted to pedal back their state’s involvement with the standards. Noted The Washington Post: “[T]he [Common Core] standards are meeting with growing resistance for reasons including questions about …
The supply of elementary school teachers greatly exceeds the demand for them among public-school districts, according to data collected by Education Week. This fact has a number of implications for education policy, but one of them—not directly mentioned in the article—stands out: If elementary-school teachers are truly “underpaid,” as teacher …
Instagram sold for $1 billion in April, remarkable news for a company that wasn’t even around two years earlier. Meanwhile, sites like Pinterest and Tumblr blossomed. What do they have in common? Images. From pop culture to political campaigns, images helped define 2012. Heritage embarked on a campaign of its own …
