Wisconsin, a state of stark political contrasts, is the most recent state to face a contentious debate about whether to move forward with Common Core. A state with a strong base of liberals as well as one of the most notable conservative governors in Scott Walker, Wisconsin adopted Common Core Read more
The new mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, the city’s first Democratic mayor since 1993, won his election in a landslide victory, gaining over 73% of the vote. His election means that there will be a traditional liberal, and one who has been outspoken about education issues, taking Read more
Education Week recently conducted two very helpful interviews with prominent members of Congress who deal with education, one from each side of the aisle. These interviews allow Rep. George Miller, D-California and Rep. John Kline, R-Minnesota to offer their predictions on the education agenda for Congress in 2014. Although Kline, Read more
A few weeks ago, the state of Florida, while stopping short of withdrawing from participation in Common Core, revoked its participation in PARCC, the joint state-run assessment service employed by many states to assess how students are meeting the demands of the new Common Core curriculum.The Council for Chief State Read more
The Common Core makes for strange allies. On the “for” side, there is the Obama Administration, teachers’ unions, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. On the “against” side is the Tea Party, some prominent Republican members of Congress, as well as the Democratic Progressive Read more
While criticism of the Common Core State Standards has largely come from expected conservative sources, such as the Republican National Committee, which this blog discussed here, other conservative voices have spoken up in support of Common Core. In an opinion piece, entitled “GOP fear of Common Core education standards unfounded”, Read more
Anne Hyslop at the New America Foundation has pointed out the new partisan tone of debate that has emerged around the Common Core Standards. Hyslop makes clear that the Common Core state initiative is just that—a state led initiative. While the Obama Administration has indeed supported Common Core and has Read more
Last month, the Democratic Party in California held a three day convention. The convention, at which the California Teachers Association was prominently represented, sparked a wave of rhetoric that reveals at least a temporary rift among some members and former members of the Democratic Party in California. The rift concerns Read more
The Think Twice Think Tank charges that “state grades” reports are mainly helpful to understand the policy agenda of those creating the grades, not as a means to understand the policies of state education departments. The Think Twice think tank review project, part of the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) Read more
Jason Delisle and Clare McCann at Ed Money Watch have put together a very helpful breakdown of what all of the Congressional complications surrounding the budget mean for education. We have shortened their summary into a few definitions of key terms to understand: Continuing Resolution: As of now, the US Read more
Last month’s election results mean four more years of the Obama Administration, with an Education Department headed by Secretary Arne Duncan. But what exactly does that mean for funding, federal policy and local implementation related to education? In this month’s issue brief, we explore the meaning for both K-12 and Read more
The upcoming election day of November 6, 2012 promises to have a significant impact on education policy around the country. Under the larger discussion of fiscal policy, which has consumed much of the Presidential campaigns of both President Obama and Governor Romney, the issue of education has risen to the Read more
In a new report from the American Enterprise Institute, author Alexander Russo reflects on Teach For America’s struggles in the era of NCLB. The key points of Left out of No Child Behind: Teach for America’s Outsized Influence on Alternative Certification are below. Teach for America, one of the nation’s Read more
In a recent blog post, John Merrow reflects on this year’s “Education Nation” summit, an annual conference organized and hosted by NBC News: NBC News put on its third iteration of Education Nation earlier this week and did an even better job this year. I suppose that could be considered Read more
Last week, Education Secretary Arne Duncan addressed an audience at the National Press Club. His remarks were focused on current education reforms and the estimated success of programs already in place. “Today, we are asking much more of ourselves and much more of each other – and everyone is stepping Read more
Since the end of the recession three years ago, 300,000 educators have lost their jobs—7,000 in the last month alone, according to a new White House report. These startling numbers have led the Obama administration to sound the alarm on education spending cuts across the country. In Investing in Our Read more