School Choice
Commentary
Where’s Weyermuller: Is School Choice the Answer?
“Not as good as you think” is the title of an extensive Illinois education study released this week in Chicago. The subtitle is: “Why Middle Class Parents In Illinois should be Concerned about Their Local Public Schools.” The author Lance Izumi introduced the 152 page study at a breakfast sponsored ...
California
Killing fair play for charter schools
Recently, the enemies of school choice won a significant victory. A small, but very important, amendment to the California Education Code, Assembly Bill 2225 by Assemblyman Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach, died in the Assembly education committee voted down by Democrats in a party-line vote. This bill merely said that ...
Commentary
Suburban Schools Not Actually That Good, Studies Find
The schools middle-class families send their kids to arent as good as parents think, say two recently released studies from different sources. A national study released in May found that U.S. students whose parents have college degrees perform worse than peers from comparable families in other countries. In the United ...
Commentary
Obama the populist?
From his State of the Union to follow-up speeches in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Tennessee, Barack Obama is playing the populist on issues ranging from the minimum wage to unemployment benefits to retirement savings. He sides rhetorically with the little guy, victimized by big forces and big institutions. Yet, when ...
Commentary
Missed opportunity for school choice
On the surface it looked innocuous: a State Senate committee recently approved Senate Bill 693, which gives a tax credit to new teachers for classroom expenses they incur. The behind-the-scenes story, however, is much sadder: in exchange for this mild reform, the bill’s author, Sen. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, had ...
Commentary
A New Strategy to Improve Math and Science Learning
Governor Jerry Browns new budget proposes an additional $10 billion for K-14 education, but he also wants public school districts to increase and improve services for low-income students, foster youth, and other at-risk children. While commendable, there is bill in the State Assembly that seeks to address the needs of ...
Commentary
Ronald Reagan’s Education Legacy
SACRAMENTO, CA – While Ronald Reagan’s foreign policy changed the face of the world, it shouldnt be forgotten that his leadership also dramatically changed the face of issues at home. Top among those was education. In 1983, the Reagan administration released the groundbreaking report A Nation at Risk. Using a ...
California
Educational Impact of the Khan Academy and Provides Recommendations for Greater Adoption in California
The Pacific Research Institute, a free-market think tank based in San Francisco, released a new report today highlighting the successes of the Khan Academy, including improved learning and significant cost savings. The report also discusses the bureaucratic obstacles that hold back its expansion in California and makes recommendations for removing ...
Commentary
Republican Rx: Parental Choice in Education
In the aftermath of Mitt Romneys defeat, Republicans are scrambling to find a winning electoral formula. While the punditry class advises the GOP to cave in on immigration and social issues, the bigger and better opportunity for Republicans to increase their voter base and divide the Democrats would be to ...
California
Win some, lose some on bill signing
We take selective note of bills signed or vetoed the past week by Gov. Jerry Brown. Commendably, the governor vetoed Senate Bill 1235, by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. It would have required the state superintendent of public instruction and the Department of Education to “provide training and ...
Where’s Weyermuller: Is School Choice the Answer?
“Not as good as you think” is the title of an extensive Illinois education study released this week in Chicago. The subtitle is: “Why Middle Class Parents In Illinois should be Concerned about Their Local Public Schools.” The author Lance Izumi introduced the 152 page study at a breakfast sponsored ...
Killing fair play for charter schools
Recently, the enemies of school choice won a significant victory. A small, but very important, amendment to the California Education Code, Assembly Bill 2225 by Assemblyman Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach, died in the Assembly education committee voted down by Democrats in a party-line vote. This bill merely said that ...
Suburban Schools Not Actually That Good, Studies Find
The schools middle-class families send their kids to arent as good as parents think, say two recently released studies from different sources. A national study released in May found that U.S. students whose parents have college degrees perform worse than peers from comparable families in other countries. In the United ...
Obama the populist?
From his State of the Union to follow-up speeches in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Tennessee, Barack Obama is playing the populist on issues ranging from the minimum wage to unemployment benefits to retirement savings. He sides rhetorically with the little guy, victimized by big forces and big institutions. Yet, when ...
Missed opportunity for school choice
On the surface it looked innocuous: a State Senate committee recently approved Senate Bill 693, which gives a tax credit to new teachers for classroom expenses they incur. The behind-the-scenes story, however, is much sadder: in exchange for this mild reform, the bill’s author, Sen. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, had ...
A New Strategy to Improve Math and Science Learning
Governor Jerry Browns new budget proposes an additional $10 billion for K-14 education, but he also wants public school districts to increase and improve services for low-income students, foster youth, and other at-risk children. While commendable, there is bill in the State Assembly that seeks to address the needs of ...
Ronald Reagan’s Education Legacy
SACRAMENTO, CA – While Ronald Reagan’s foreign policy changed the face of the world, it shouldnt be forgotten that his leadership also dramatically changed the face of issues at home. Top among those was education. In 1983, the Reagan administration released the groundbreaking report A Nation at Risk. Using a ...
Educational Impact of the Khan Academy and Provides Recommendations for Greater Adoption in California
The Pacific Research Institute, a free-market think tank based in San Francisco, released a new report today highlighting the successes of the Khan Academy, including improved learning and significant cost savings. The report also discusses the bureaucratic obstacles that hold back its expansion in California and makes recommendations for removing ...
Republican Rx: Parental Choice in Education
In the aftermath of Mitt Romneys defeat, Republicans are scrambling to find a winning electoral formula. While the punditry class advises the GOP to cave in on immigration and social issues, the bigger and better opportunity for Republicans to increase their voter base and divide the Democrats would be to ...
Win some, lose some on bill signing
We take selective note of bills signed or vetoed the past week by Gov. Jerry Brown. Commendably, the governor vetoed Senate Bill 1235, by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. It would have required the state superintendent of public instruction and the Department of Education to “provide training and ...
