Bad News for U.S. School Performance; How to Fix “Leaning Tower of PISA”?
Today is PISA Day, and I’m not referring to pepperoni pies or unusual Italian landmarks. The 2012 results from the Program for International Student Assessment are in, and it doesn’t look pretty for the good old USA. At least not on the surface. First, let’s take a quick trip back to September, when I brought […]
Colorado Educators Again to Decide Whether to Request EMO Political Refunds
For Colorado public educators, it’s that time of year again. Union members can keep their membership but still opt to spend their (as much as $63 in) Every Member Option automatic political deduction on their own. The clock is ticking for educators to request one or both refunds before the December 15 deadline.
Thankful for the (Mostly) Good News for Louisiana School Choice Families
‘Tis the season for expressions of gratitude. So I’m glad to say this week that the U.S. Department of Justice has dropped its hollow and shameful attack against a Louisiana school choice program and the parents who benefit from it. So if you see little Eddie smiling and muttering a few extra Thank-You’s than normal, […]
Amy Oliver Show: Looking Back, Looking Ahead on Education Reform
Education Policy Center director Pam Benigno looks back to what motivated her early involvement in K-12 reform and looks forward to student-friendly changes Colorado could adopt, including scholarship tax credits.
Time for “Preschool for All”? Not So Fast, Says New Gold-Standard Research
A few weeks ago I pointed you to a growing body of research that cast serious doubts on the glowing claims about what universal preschool can accomplish. That was before Amendment 66 went down in flames, including a proposal to boost funding for at-risk early childhood education. While shell-shocked tax increase supporters continue to mourn […]
It’s Not Really as Simple as More Students for Better Teachers… Is It?
Sometimes it’s the small ideas that deserve big attention. No single one of these ideas can solve all the problems and shortcomings in education, but reformers and transformers might find pleasing results from one such strategic change. That’s what we find in a newly released Fordham Institute study by Michael Hansen, “Right-sizing the Classroom: Making […]
Open Enrollment: Friday Appreciation
Before heading off into the weekend playground sunset, I ran across this recent piece from former California Democratic state legislator and passionate education reformer Gloria Romero. She touts the 2010 Open Enrollment Act she guided through the state legislature to empower parents, explaining how it can be used as a tool to highlight failing schools […]
Wonks Want to Know: Will Colorado Figure Out the Teacher Licensure Connection?
Guess I should be thankful that the big education issue being talked up for next year’s legislative session is teacher licensure. (It was supposed to be last year, but kind of got lost in the shuffle with that whole Senate Bill 213 debate.) As it usually goes with such things, there’s been a group meeting […]
Survey of Tax Credit Scholarship Parents Gives Insights into School Choices
My eyes gleamed when I saw this new Friedman Foundation report, More Than Scores: An Analysis of Why and How Parents Choose Private Schools. Why? Not only because it used a survey of 754 parents in the Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, but also because it asked really helpful questions to understand why parents make the […]
11/13/13
Education Policy Center Newsletter November 13, 2013
— Center Spreads the Word, Amendment 66 Goes Down
— Scholarship Tax Credits Offer Way Forward
— Union-Favored School Board Candidates Falter
— CEA Political Refund Deadline Approaches
— Raaki Covers 66, Eddie Peeks Around
Column Comes Oh-So-Close to Intriguing Case for Education Transformation
Yes, these are crazy days. But a short blog post is better than none at all. And I felt compelled to reply when I read this new Denver Post column by Alicia Caldwell. Not because she is entirely wrong, but because she errs by coming so close to, but missing, a critical breakthrough: But the […]
From Human Events to Campus TV: Rounding Up Amendment 66
Senior education policy analyst Ben DeGrow chronicled the demise of Amendment 66, the billion-dollar tax increase, for a national audience with a debut column published November 8 in Human Events: Close observers were almost unanimously stunned by the force of the blow that capsized Amendment 66. The proposal to raise state income taxes by a […]
