Education stimulus funds largely met the goal of saving or creating jobs for K-12 teachers and other education personnel, according to a summary of three years of survey research by the Center on Education Policy at the George Washington University (CEP). However, ongoing state budget shortfalls have slowed state implementation of education reforms tied to Read more about Stimulus Funds Saved Education Jobs, Encouraged Common Core[…]
The College Board recently released four new publications, addressing issues from the presidential election to expanding opportunities for historically underserved groups in public institutions of higher education. Each of the publications underscores the country’s current economic issues and the raging debate over education reform. The Common Core aims to prepare all students for college and Read more about New Publications from the College Board[…]
Governor Mike Dayton vetoed a proposal to overhaul teacher layoff rules earlier this month, a top priority for the state’s Republican lawmakers. In defense of his veto, the governor said the measure was “an example of prejudice against public school teachers” that singled out hard-working teachers by negating long-establish[ed] bargaining rights, replacing them “with only Read more about Minnesota Governor Vetoes Teacher Tenure Overhaul[…]
Andrew Rotherham weighed in on this question last week. Although polls show that 67% of voters in swing states said education was “extremely important” to them, President Obama and Mr. Romney haven’t talked much about education. Why? Rotherham believes it is because “education reform doesn’t fit well with the overall argument either candidate is making Read more about Why Aren’t Obama and Romney Talking About Education?[…]
On February 28, the House Education and the Workforce Committee approved (in a 23-16) vote GOP-backed legislation reauthorizing portions of ESEA. Two bills, introduced by Rep. John Kline (R) of Minnesota, scale back the role of the federal government in education and give states more wiggle room in designing K-12 policy. This is a dramatic Read more about House Panel Re-Authorizes Portions of ESEA[…]
The Education Commission of the States (ECS), a national, nonpartisan education organization, has released a report detailing the issues the Commission believes will be center stage in education policy debates this year. The report is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all pertinent education issues, but rather aims to “stimulate thinking around how Read more about 12 for 2012: Issues to Move Education Forward[…]
See below for two upcoming opportunities: “Education 2012: What the Election Year Will Mean for Education Policy” Date: Wednesday, February 1, 2012 Time: 9:00-11:00am EST* *This event can be attended in-person for those in the Washington, DC area at the American Enterprise Institute, but it will also be livestreamed for those who wish to participate Read more about The Elections and Education: Discussions of ESEA and NCLB[…]
It’s that time of year again, when the President makes his State of the Union address to Congress. Rather than watching in silence this year, shake things up by playing State of the Union Bingo, brought to you by the Alliance for Excellent Education! We don’t know yet whether President Obama’s 2012 agenda will include Read more about State of the Union Bingo 2012[…]
Time Magazine has named its picks for the top education activists to watch in 2012. So who are some of these potential movers and shakers (in no particular order)? 1. Catharine Bellinger and Alexis Morin: Two students who founded Students for Education Reform (SFER) in 2009, with the goal of mobilizing college students around the Read more about TIME’s “12 Education Activists for 2012”[…]
The final budget for the Department of Education was finalized late last month, which will take the agency through September 30, 2012. Overall, the Department’s funding was cut by about $153 million over last fiscal year (total funding $71.3 billion), but President Obama was able to fend off the complete annihilation of programs such as Read more about Education and the FY 2012 Budget[…]
A recent Huffington Post article describes the new education lobby: ambitious, expansive, and mainly created by hedge fund managers and former government officials. In some ways, it is modeled on large, single-issue lobbying organizations like the NRA and AARP. The newer lobbying groups are focusing on teacher evaluations using student performance data, merit pay, better Read more about The New Face of the Education Reform Lobby[…]
In this week’s School of Thought blog, Andrew Rotherham discusses the disparities in public education across the country. If the goal of the Occupy movement is to improve social mobility, then there is “no better example of how the system is rigged against millions of Americans than the education our children receive…today zip codes remain Read more about Occupy…your school district?[…]
With the presidential election cycle entering its final year, many observers have been speculating on the role education will play in the outcome. As state budgets begin to contract further due to the drying up of federal stimulus funds, the way these cuts affect education spending could potentially swing voters in ways they would not Read more about Education and the 2012 Election[…]
This month, twenty-five education advocacy organizations released a “statement of principles” addressed to Sens. Harkin and Enzi and Reps. Kline and Miller. The statement focused on the role of teacher quality in the reauthorization of ESEA and urged the congressmen to “make every effort possible to spur states and school districts to advance new policies Read more about Education Advocates Release “Statement of Principles” on ESEA Reauthorization[…]
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) released his draft proposal for the reauthorization of ESEA on October 11. To date, the proposal has been met with mixed reactions across the country. Civil rights groups assert that the proposal to scrap Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is a giant step backwards when it comes to accountability for poor and Read more about Harkin Releases Proposal for ESEA Reauthorization[…]
The Center for Education Reform (CER) recently launched their new, interactive website, which they hope will become the central hub for all things related to education reform. The CER, founded in 1993 to help bridge the gap between education policy and practice, says that it re-designed their site in order to “serve [the public’s] daily Read more about The Center for Education Reform Launches New Hub[…]