Friday’s ed news
Ohio lawmakers have expanded vouchers statewide.
The U.S. Department of Education cancels all nationwide civics and history tests in favor of internet literacy tests.
New Hampshire receives a No Child Left Behind waiver.
Implementing Common Core keeps getting more expensive for California taxpayers.
Wisconsin lawmakers will reconsider a special-needs scholarship this fall, the senate majority leader says.
Human capital contracts, an alternative to student loans, are growing. Meanwhile, federal student loan rates are set to hike for 7 million people.
Charter schools in Missouri outperform the national average.
Thursday’s ed news
The United States officially pays more for education than the rest of the world, but our students still lag.
Nationwide, the number of students on charter school waitlists nears 1 million.
Indiana scales back its participation in Common Core tests.
The Wyoming governor appoints a new state superintendent amid controversy.
Some Coloradans are collecting signatures to raise state taxes by $950 million for education programs.
Kids in religious schools participate in less sex, drugs, and crime, a study finds.
View the best- and worst-paying jobs in education.
Public schools fail because they must be all things to all people, says Nathan Gray.
Wednesday’s ed news
Gov. Chris Christie says there will be no vouchers in New Jersey this year because Democrats would have shut down the state to stop a tiny proposal.
Pennsylvania officials have indicated the state will drop out of the federal Common Core testing groups.
A father finds out that major online education sites don’t encrypt student data. Meanwhile, the U.S. Office of Civil Rights plans a massive increase in personal student data-gathering.
The U.S. Education Secretary gives a major speech on Common Core.
A Michigan court ruled in favor of a student disciplined for expressing views against homosexuality, concluding the school’s anti-bullying policy damages free speech.
A Colorado court orders a school to let a male transgender first grader use the girls’ bathroom.
Government preschool in Iowa shows no lasting benefits to children, a study finds.
A school transportation audit in Montana finds fraud, waste, and drivers with criminal transport records.
Tuesday’s ed news
The U.S. Supreme Court hands down a narrow decision on affirmative action. More.
A rebellion is brewing against the Kansas teachers union, a former teacher says.
A Florida teacher says Common Core will squeeze science, and a Florida legislator says schools will need “hundreds of millions”for Common Core tests.
An education reform bill in Iowa is a winner for kids, says Lloyd Benson IV.
Why a New Hampshire court’s decision on K-12 scholarships is flawed.
Wisconsin‘s new state budget will mean more Teach for America.
Why a study that purports to show Common Core math is internationally benchmarked is instead a sham.
Charter school students, on average, perform slightly ahead of traditionally schooled peers, a new study finds.
Florida’s virtual school has stopped growing quickly, and a new law is to blame.
Musical training may help children learn to read.
Monday’s ed news
Parents weep for joy as Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signs an education savings account expansion.
Education insiders say the e-rate tax increase is a Common Core tax.
Pennsylvania lawmakers talk about bailing out Philadelphia schools.
No state has ever studied whether spending millions on computers for schools actually benefits students, a study finds.
Louisiana lets students pick a la carte online classes.
How statewide union curbs helped a Wisconsin school district.
Alabama’s new school choice law will likely not reach many children.
Minnesota’s education board has raised another obstacle for Teach for America.
Michigan’s public school pension system is broken.
A hybrid online/in-person algebra class doubled student learning, a study says.
China’s system of centralized education planning doesn’t work.
For last week’s School Reform News roundup, click here.
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Image by Mo Riza.
Joy Pullmann is a research fellow on education policy for The Heartland Institute and managing editor of The Federalist, a web magazine on politics, policy, and culture.
