Opinion
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Parents Want Standards and Student Testing
Opinion -Despite well-publicized protests by teachers and students against the imposition of academic standards and standardized tests, a new survey finds the vast majority of parents--the paying customers for educational services--support the way higher -
What Doesn’t Work
Opinion -The U.S. Department of Education was identified nearly a decade ago, in 1993, as a troubled agency in need of significant reform. -
Precautionary Foolishness
Opinion -In candid moments, partisans of the Kyoto global warming protocol will admit that the theory of catastrophic warming has not been validated by experimental or empirical evidence. -
Ozone hole: Much ado about nada
Opinion -For years, the ozone depletion-impact crowd was worrying about the effects surface ultraviolet radiation would have on the Antarctic ecosystem—though, as we’ve said before, the Antarctica ecosystem, except for a few penguins, consists entirely of -
Global warming would not increase malaria, study finds
Opinion -Global warming alarmists frequently cite future increases in malaria deaths as one of the main reasons we need to stop burning fossil fuels. -
Recentered SAT Yields Apples and Oranges
Opinion -When the College Board artificially "recentered" SAT scores to 500 apiece for the verbal and math sections in 1995, it created a world of doubt about the reliability of its long-term data. -
Is the News About SAT Scores Really That Good?
Opinion -While the College Board took a rosy view of the latest scores on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), independent experts on testing were far more critical. -
Dr. Bruce N. Ames Addresses Sun Exposure
Opinion -Most skin cancers you just cut off, and it isn't much of a problem. But UV (ultraviolet) light from the sun—particularly burns during the first 10 or 15 years of your life—damages DNA and causes skin cancer. -
Clean water rule targets American agriculture
Opinion -U.S. agriculture has been placed in a regulatory "bulls-eye" by the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent decision to revise its Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) rule. The agency’s decision, some observers say, is based on shoddy science. -
California Still Dreaming
Opinion -Ten years ago this month, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted a regulation requiring 10 percent of new cars and light trucks produced for sale in 2003 to have zero emissions. -
Governors Warm to Private Scholarship Plan
Opinion -When the National Governor’s Association assembled at State College, Pennsylvania this summer, the states’ top executives were reminded by retired General Colin Powell and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan of the need for improved education and -
Congress Urged to Put Student Performance First
Opinion -Because the interests of children and parents have been placed second to other interests, too many education reforms have resulted in stagnating academic achievement, inequitable achievement gains between white and minority students, and frustration -
Education Reform Caucus Champions School Choice
Opinion -Which countries scored higher than the U.S. on 12th grade math on the Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) in 1995? a. Iceland b. France c. Slovenia d. All of the above True or False. -
NYC Task Force Embraces Bilingual Reform
Opinion -At a public hearing October 17, the Mayor’s Task Force for Bilingual Education in New York City opened the floor to parents, activists, and educators to voice their concerns about bilingual programs. -
Public Schools Don’t Teach Basic Academic Skills
Opinion -"Most of the students who come to us not only lack math and English skills, but they lack basic academic skills. They have no idea what is expected of them at the college level. They don't know how to take notes. They don't read the assigned material. -
Illinois Supreme Court Rules Tort Tax Levied Illegally
Opinion -In a school desegregation case watched nationwide, the Illinois Supreme Court sided with protesting taxpayers and against Rockford School District 205 on October 26. -
12/2000 State Education Roundup
Opinion -Arizona * California * Michigan * Oregon Rhode Island * Texas * Washington ARIZONA English Learners Short-Changed After studying official reports filed with the U.S. -
Disinheriting the wind
Opinion -Not long ago, a remarkable meeting was held in Montauk, on the eastern tip of Long Island, New York. Residents of that area faced the most serious power supply problem in the entire Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) system. -
Who says timber companies don’t care?
Opinion -On September 7, 2000, the Bangor Daily News reported that Fraser Paper Inc., which owns and operates lands in Maine and New Brunswick, is developing a cooperative program with area educators. -
Tax Credits Succeed in Arizona
Opinion -Thirty-four private tuition charities, supported by more than 30,000 people, donated $13.2 million to provide scholarships to nearly 7,000 Arizona students during the 1999-2000 school year. -
How to Decrease Crisis Contagion
Opinion -Many crises or critical incidents within a school or school district cause normal routines to be disrupted. This disruption can include a sense that everything is “out of control,” or that no one is in charge. -
Achievement Gap Widens, But Test Aims to Close It
Opinion -The College Board's report of a three-point increase on the math SAT is equivalent to getting an additional one-third of a question correct, notes test prep expert Dr. Gary Gruber. -
Literacy and Science
Opinion -Unless immediate action is taken to improve the quality of science and mathematics teaching in America's schools, the nation’s continued economic growth is at serious risk, former senator and ex-astronaut John Glenn recently warned. -
Clearing the air
Opinion -In recent years a spirited debate has been conducted in law journals over the reasons why the national government took over environmental regulation in the 1970s.
