Opinion
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Precipitous Drop Seen in Illinois Reading Scores
Opinion -Although statewide third-grade reading scores on the Illinois Goals Assessment Program have dropped only slightly over the past five years, scores for other grades have suffered what State Schools Superintendent Joseph A. -
President Attacks School Choice
Opinion -Striking back at supporters of educational choice who had cheered Congress’ passage of two choice-friendly amendments to the education spending bill, President Clinton threatened to veto the entire package if either provision were included in the final -
11/1997 School Choice Roundup
Opinion -School choice news from the states. -
Responding to the Critics of Vouchers: What about the Kids?
Opinion -School Reform News contributing editor David Kirkpatrick is uniquely qualified to speak as an advocate of school choice. -
Scholarship Bill Introduced in Delaware
Opinion -Citing state spending that is now 22 percent above the national average and SAT scores that continue to fall, Delaware state representative Deborah H. -
Public Schooling Headed for Chaos
Opinion -Taking his title from a line in Robert Bolt’s play A Man For All Seasons, Stephen Arons’ insightful book, Short Route to Chaos: Conscience, Community, and the Reconstitution of American Schooling (University of Massachusetts Press, 1997), considers the -
11/1997 Parents’ Choice: Information for advocates of educational freedom
Opinion -Choice in the Courts While one school choice lawsuit reached a successful conclusion earlier this year, with the favorable June 23 U.S. -
Survey: Americans Want More Education Options, Better Education Quality
Opinion -Over 80 percent of Americans want more options and better education for their children, according to a new survey released on September 23 by the Washington, DC-based Center for Education Reform (CER). -
President’s Veto Threats Aim to Thwart Educational Choice
Opinion -President Bill Clinton has issued four veto threats since July 29 to thwart legislation promoting choice in education. -
A New Strategy for Property Tax Relief
Opinion -Another year has passed without reform of the state's system of financing schools. Republicans once again stopped a "tax swap" plan to lower property taxes by raising the state income tax, this time despite sponsorship of the plan by Governor Edgar. -
House Moves to Halt ‘Green Army’ Scheme
Opinion -Representative Kevin Brady (R-Texas) has cosponsored (with Representative Richard Pombo, R-California) and won House passage of legislation that expressed the “sense of Congress” that U.S. -
Federal Legislation Advances to Protect Audit Confidentiality
Opinion -During Congress' summer recess, the staff of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-Texas) was hard at work soliciting support for her Environmental Protection Partnership Act (S. -
Cars Aren’t Environmental Bad Guys, Urban Expert Says
Opinion -In an article published in the July issue of Commentary magazine, the status of the family car as the all-purpose environmental scapegoat was vigorously challenged by James Q. Wilson. -
Fuel Cells May Be the Next Thing under Your Hood
Opinion -Two automotive giants are quietly leading the way into what they believe is the next-generation automobile engine: the fuel cell. -
Coal Mining Companies Recognized for Their Land Reclamation Efforts
Opinion -The Office of Surface Mining (OSM) recently announced the winners of the Excellence in Surface Mining Reclamation Awards. In addition, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt announced the National Abandoned Mine and Land Reclamation Awards. -
Farmers and Environmentalists Find They Agree on Some Issues
Opinion -The "dialogue of the deaf" that has so often characterized the relationship between environmentalists and farmers was put aside--at least temporarily -- in a dramatic debate that took place, appropriately enough, in a zoo. -
Media Bias Continues on Environmental Issues
Opinion -Representatives of the establishment media, particularly television reporters, show little inclination to introduce balance in their coverage of environment issues, according to a Virginia-based media watchdog group. -
10/1997 News Briefs
Opinion -American Heritage Rivers Initiative Touted by the Clinton administration as a way to “protect and restore” America’s rivers, this initiative is opposed by many who consider it a threat to local control of water and riparian areas. -
Study: Expansion of TRI Will Facilitate Economic Espionage
Opinion -The Clinton administration's plans to expand the scope of information U.S. -
On the Fast Track to Trade Regulation
Opinion -The Clinton administration's bid for "fast-track"trade negotiating authority has encountered some early opposition from an unusual quarter: ardent proponents of free trade. -
Chicago: Viewing Education through a Performance Prism
Opinion -Appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley, Paul C. Vallas took over as Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Public Schools on July 1, 1995. Within three weeks, Vallas had hammered out a new four-year teachers' contract. -
Battle Looms Over Bilingual Ed
Opinion -Though widely promoted for three decades as a superior strategy for helping non-English-speaking children learn English, the consistently poor results of bilingual education programs nationwide have caused parents and educators alike to reassess the -
School Choice Proposed for Pacific Islands
Opinion -Democratic Governor Froilan C. -
Denver Schools Fail Minorities
Opinion -While white children in Denver rank 10 percentile points above average on standardized tests, Native American and African-American students rank 14 points below, and Hispanic children rank almost twenty points below, at the 31st percentile.