National School Choice Week Comes to Colorado Capitol
On January 26, the Independence Institute joined 13 other local groups in co-sponsoring a first-time National School Choice Week rally at the Colorado State Capitol.
Video: Colorado Celebrates School Choice Week 2015
On January 26, 2015, a diverse group of students, parents, teachers, and school leaders gathered at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver to kick off National School Choice Week. Featured speakers – including a K-12 scholarship recipient, former school board member, high school teacher, and Democratic and Republican state legislators – highlighted the power of […]
AG Slaps Down State Board Waivers on PARCC Testing
Last month, we talked about some State Board of Education weirdness that resulted in a vote to allow districts to apply for waivers from the first half of the state’s new PARCC tests. Called the Performance-Based Assessment, this portion of PARCC is administered in March. Since then, we’ve seen some entertaining fireworks at board meetings […]
New ESA Momentum Could Make 2015 “Year of School Choice: Part II”
One bit of wisdom I’ve gleaned in my young life is that when it comes to movies, the sequel is most often not as good as the original. There are exceptions, yes, but it’s a good rule of thumb. When it comes to education policy, though, I fully hope and expect the trend to be […]
Overcoming the Gloom, Focusing on the Sunshine of #SchoolChoice
Well, the Brookings Institution this week released its latest edition of the Education Choice and Competition Index. Might I add the acronym ECCI (ecky?), awash in a sea of edu-acronyms through which yours truly has to doggy paddle day after day, is just a bit too much fun to say. And say. And say again. […]
Analyst Shares Insights, Lessons from Lobato School Funding Case
In a School Reform News story about Kansas’ school funding battle in the courts, senior policy analyst Ben DeGrow shared his thoughts on a similar case in Colorado, Lobato, that resulted in a Supreme Court loss for those trying to get additional funding: Had the courts imposed such a mandate, it would have required a […]
Amy Oliver Show: K-12 Testing, Funding Take Stage at State Capitol
Chalkbeat Colorado statehouse reporter Todd Engdahl lays out the big K-12 education debates at the Capitol — from standardized testing to school finance and student data privacy.
Today’s Policy Field Trip to Senate Ed and the Discussion to Come
As you all know, I love policy field trips. And I especially love those field trips when they are about something as fun as school choice. Maybe that’s why I had so much fun at today’s Senate Education hearing. Well, the very end of it, anyway; I showed up a little late. My little legs […]
Performance Pay Pioneers: Harrison’s “Effectiveness and Results” Raises the Bar
IP-1-2015 (January 2015)
Should I Get My Hopes Up about Colorado Course Choice Once More?
Hopes were a little high last May when I offered K-12 online pilot program ideas in the wake of House Bill 1382′s adoption. My Education Policy Center friends have been talking about the promise of Course Choice and course-level funding for a few years now. It sure would be nice to see Colorado take even […]
Tom Coyne Smart Jeffco Whistle Bomb
Every now and then, an op-ed drops from the sky like one of those whistle bombs in the movies. The resulting explosion gets folks all riled up, and usually leads to some highly entertaining (though not terribly productive) conversations. Today is one of those days, with a Denver Post op-ed that sees Jeffco’s Tom Coyne outlining […]
Testing Issue Isn’t as Easy as “1, 2, 3,” But You’ve Got to Start Somewhere
Have you ever watched a big person prepare to do some public speaking behind a microphone? Or maybe you’ve done it yourself. Almost always, when someone asks if the microphone is working, the person leans into the device and says something like, “Testing, testing… 123, testing.” Well, I’m worried that little rote phrase may take […]
