A functional consensus is emerging among the nation’s boldest education leaders, producing not identical policies, but a set of vital principles that drive approaches shaped to the needs of each of their communities. It’s a set of principles born of extensive work, with the needs of students at the center. Read more
In at least 10 U.S. cities, a new partnership schools model is emerging. This “third way” governance strategy can break through contentious district-charter divides and could help improve struggling schools or increase the number of high-quality neighborhood options. The Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) has released a new brief Read more
There are many flavors of school choice—vouchers, education savings accounts, tax-credit scholarships, and charters, to name a few. Voucher is the word on everyone’s mind at the moment and it’s a politically loaded term. Many of the other types of choice people hear about—education savings accounts and tax-credit scholarships—are just Read more
Education is not getting much attention on the presidential campaign trail, but that doesn’t mean the next administration won’t face a variety of opportunities and challenges in the education sector. In fact, the relative silence is misleading. Given the changes and competing pressures buffeting America’s education system, leaders in the Department of Read more
In the late 1970’s, education research was deemed a pseudoscience by many in the field due to a lack of clear data and results that pointed to effective practice. In response, researchers began designing field experiments to test the effectiveness of programs and practices. In recent years, as concern over Read more
A recent survey by the Association of American Educators asked its members about how they felt about education reform. The survey asked its members about current issues in education including School Choice, Virtual Education and Technology, Testing and Assessments, Teacher Preparation and Leadership, and the 2016 Presidential Election. The results Read more
The American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think-tank that covers education issues, has a new series of videos out addressing the course of education reform in the United States. Following is an excerpt from their description of the series: Our schools are failing the most vulnerable kids. Everyone’s heard the scary Read more
A suburban Colorado county, Douglas County, has taken conservative school reform efforts farther than any other large school district has before. Douglas county, which has 65,000 students, making it larger than Washington DC schools and as large as Detroit schools, has pursued an aggressive program of school vouchers and market-based Read more
An example of the ongoing battle in some states about how much autonomy should be given to Charter Schools recently occurred in Maryland. The soon to be opened Frederick Classical Charter School (FCCS) hoped to hire 9 new teachers that fit its model of classical education. In Maryland, however, the 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 Center for Education Reform has just issued its annual Charter School Law Report Card, and most states do not make the grade. The majority of states, according to the report, are only making “satisfactory” progress, and only 13 states have “strong” charter school laws. Among the nation’s 43 states 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