Education

This week, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce will consider the last two major remaining portions of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), when they mark-up the Student Success Act and the Encouraging Innovative and Effective Teachers Act.

Last week school choice advocates and parents were dealt a serious setback by House Republicans in their attempt to move control of education policy to states and local school districts. With the introduction of H.R.

It is not often that President Obama borrows from the Republican playbook to push a policy that some Republican Members of Congress have been advocating for years. In his State of the Union address last month and later at an address at the University of Michigan, President Obama put colleges on notice that unless they find ways to reduce college tuition and make college more affordable, then his administration will reduce federal funds to campus-based student aid programs.

On the eve of his third State of the Union address, President Obama will go before Congress to remind them that unless they abide by his wishes and enact policies on his terms, he will do it for them.   And in many areas, he already has.  Under the guise, “We can’t wait for Congress to do its job.  If they won’t act, I will.” the President and his henchmen have defied Congress over and over.     Whether it is making recess appointments of controversial individuals without going through the congressional vetting process, granting waivers by the Secreta

Ten years ago this week, Pres. George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act into law, marking a new era for elementary and secondary education in the United States. On this anniversary, it’s important to check in, assess where we are, and chart where we should go. Margaret Spellings, secretary of education under President Bush, recently stated, “Like it or hate it, the law has been a game-changer.” Much has been accomplished due to NCLB, notably an illumination of our education problem-areas, but there is still a lot of work to be done going forward.

What makes a school successful?  While there are numerous theories on this topic, most experts agree that involved parents, highly motivated, qualified teachers and principals with excellent leadership abilities are the key ingredients for strong academic results.  Why does one school with similar racial and economic student characteristics thrive and the one across the street struggles?   Can the leadership at these two schools be so different as to affect the academic outcomes of their students?  The answer is yes. 

How did the Secretary of Education overestimate that 82 percent of schools would fail to meet requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act by such a wide margin? The real number of schools that would fail is less than half, 48 percent, or 34 percentage points less than Secretary Duncan’s estimate.

Last week, President Obama met with college and state university system leaders at the White House to discuss college affordability and productivity. Called on short notice, the meeting indicates the president’s interest in expanding the discussion from student loans to college costs and quality. Despite initial signs of a ballooning student-debt crisis, the president’s solution to the impending burst in the higher-education bubble and the eroding public confidence in the merits of a college degree is more federal intervention.

Secretary Duncan, usually supportive of reforms that teachers unions have resisted, has endorsed the latest union proposal on teacher quality.  The National Education Association (NEA), the country’s largest labor union with over 3 million members, released a three point plan which recommends the following:  

• Raising the bar for entry into the teaching profession