Opinion
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Alito Nomination Favored by School Choice Advocates
Opinion -President George W. Bush's current nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Samuel Alito, has a record on school choice that advocates find encouraging. -
California Voters Reject Education Reforms
Opinion -In a California special election on November 8, a slate of four education reform initiatives--all of which would have affected the future of the state's beleaguered K-12 schools--were rejected by voters. -
K-12 Education Reforms Not Working, Manufacturers Say
Opinion -Despite educational reforms implemented over the past eight years, students graduating from public schools are still largely unprepared for the workforce, according to the latest annual employer survey published in November 2005 by the National -
Rationing Looms for Milwaukee Choice Program
Opinion -The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP)--the nation's oldest and largest school voucher program--faces an uncertain future after reaching a statutory enrollment cap of 14,751 students in September 2005. -
Report Finds Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in Federal E-Rate Program
Opinion -On October 18, 2005, the U.S. -
School Choice Has a Friend on Capitol Hill
Opinion -Following the results of the 2004 presidential election in the United States, United Press International reported many houses in Malerkotla, a township in the Punjab state of India, were illuminated and residents were distributing sweets and dancing to -
Denver Voters Approve Merit Pay for Teachers
Opinion -Denver voters easily approved a $25 million property tax increase to fund a new merit-pay program, known as the Professional Compensation System for Teachers (ProComp), in Colorado's statewide elections November 1. -
Education a Top Priority at State Policy Network Meeting
Opinion -More than 300 people attended the State Policy Network's (SPN) 13th Annual Meeting in Charleston, South Carolina, September 29-October 1--the organization's largest meeting since its founding in 1992. -
Ambition and Ability Don’t Meet for High School Seniors, Study Says
Opinion -According to an October report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 69 percent of U.S. high school seniors in 2004 expected to complete college with a four-year degree or higher. -
D.C. Charters: History, Analysis, and Recommendations for the Future
Opinion -The Progressive Policy Institute's (PPI) 21st Century Schools Project released a study in early October outlining the history of the charter school movement in Washington, D.C. and issuing several recommendations for improvement. -
Massachusetts Governor Proposes Merit Pay System for Teachers
Opinion -Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) has proposed a package of education reforms--including merit pay for some public school teachers--for consideration this fall by the Massachusetts legislature. -
Colleges of Education Urgently Need Reform, Psychologist Says
Opinion -Dr. G. Reid Lyon is probably best known for his role as a research psychologist and advisor to President George W. -
Report Debunks Voucher Myths, Calls for School Choice
Opinion -A report recently released by the Maryland Public Policy Institute endorses and explains school vouchers in a way designed especially to provide guidance for policymakers. -
California Charter School Prepares Hispanic Students for College
Opinion -Our School: The Inspiring Story of Two Teachers, One Big Idea, and the School That Beat the Odds Joanne Jacobs (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005) 256 pages, ISBN: 1403970238, $16. -
D.C. Families Celebrate School Choice
Opinion -As the Washington, DC School Choice Program was kicking off its second year of operation with full-capacity enrollment, more than 500 participating parents and children gathered at Vermont Avenue Baptist Church in the District of Columbia on October 5 to -
Top Five Myths About School Vouchers
Opinion -Myth #1: Vouchers siphon money away from public schools. -
Arizona Child Advocates Want Better Education for Foster Kids
Opinion -Children in foster care often move from one place to another several times a year, changing schools with each move. Such disruption in education is detrimental to a child's learning and social development. -
Better Teachers Want Better Pay in Texas
Opinion -More than 100 education reformers from across Texas attended a "Professional Pay for Professional Educators" panel discussion October 26 in Austin, hosted by the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), a local research and policy organization. -
Chicago Sports Upset: Student-Athletes Edge Out Peers Academically
Opinion -Good news about student athletes in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) was publicized in Mayor Richard M. Daley's "Principal for a Day" news conference October 27. -
Chronically Failing Schools Face Weak Sanctions
Opinion -Although the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) calls for severe sanctions, including remedies such as state takeover and restructuring, against schools that chronically fail to meet certain performance benchmarks, the reality is that over the past -
Fla. Tax Credit Program Grows
Opinion -The Florida Corporate Tax Credit (CTC) Scholarship Program has enrolled 15,000 students this year--a 33 percent increase since 2003--making it the seventh-largest school choice program in the country. -
Heartland Institute Fellow Leads Project on Unintended Consequences
Opinion -Unintended consequences abound in politics and government, and in the private sector as well. Increased expenditures by school districts fail to bring the expected improvements in student achievement. High tax rates produce less revenue than lower rates. -
Legislators Debate Education Help for Hurricane Victims
Opinion -As one hurricane after another battered America's southern shores in the late summer and early autumn of this year, Capitol Hill swayed back and forth over the policy implications for the education of students affected by Hurricane Katrina. -
Milwaukee School Choice Spurs Investment
Opinion -The growth of school choice in Milwaukee has led to more than $118 million in spending on new and remodeled schools in Milwaukee since the citywide voucher program began in 1990.
