This spring, parents and grandparents throughout the nation will be misting up as the chords of “Pomp and Circumstance” play and the children and grandchildren they have cherished and nourished walk across the stage to receive their diplomas. Sadly, however, for every three high-school students who earn their degrees, one peer will fail to graduate. Families play a significant role in a child’s academic success: Parental presence and involvement can make the difference between a youth’s academic accomplishment or failure. Students from intact families are more likely to attain more … More
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The push to nationalize the content taught in public schools across the country should be of great concern to state leaders. The Common Core national standards effort represents a massive federal overreach into what is taught in local schools, further removing parents from the educational decision-making process, and likely to cost state taxpayers $16 billion over seven years just to implement. As more details emerge about the content and quality of the Common Core national standards backed by federal funding and the Obama Administration, questions about the coherence, international competitiveness, … More
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Claire Waites, an Alabama school teacher who joined the local teachers union to obtain liability insurance, was pressured by her union to donate to the NEA Fund for Children. In reality, she found out later that the funds went to political action groups chosen by the union—which turned out to be in support of John Kerry in 2004 and Barack Obama in 2008. Waites was furious and recently testified about the situation on the House floor. As it stands, the law empowers unions over employees when conflict arises. This is … More
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Claire Waites, an Alabama school teacher who joined the local teachers union to obtain liability insurance, was pressured by her union to donate to the NEA Fund for Children. In reality, she found out later that the funds went to political action groups chosen by the union—which turned out to be in support of John Kerry in 2004 and Barack Obama in 2008. Waites was furious and recently testified about the situation on the House floor. As it stands, the law empowers unions over employees when conflict arises. This is … More
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Claire Waites, an Alabama school teacher who joined the local teachers union to obtain liability insurance, was pressured by her union to donate to the NEA Fund for Children. In reality, she found out later that the funds went to political action groups chosen by the union—which turned out to be in support of John Kerry in 2004 and Barack Obama in 2008. Waites was furious and recently testified about the situation on the House floor. As it stands, the law empowers unions over employees when conflict arises. This is … More
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Claire Waites, an Alabama school teacher who joined the local teachers union to obtain liability insurance, was pressured by her union to donate to the NEA Fund for Children. In reality, she found out later that the funds went to political action groups chosen by the union—which turned out to be in support of John Kerry in 2004 and Barack Obama in 2008. Waites was furious and recently testified about the situation on the House floor. As it stands, the law empowers unions over employees when conflict arises. This is … More
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Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently said that the idea that the Obama Administration is working to implement national standards and tests “is a conspiracy theory in search of a conspiracy.” Duncan can deny that the federal government is on the verge of creating a national curriculum—an unprecedented federal overreach—but as George Will argued last Friday, the Obama Administration can’t ignore “those pesky things called laws.” By the Pioneer Institute’s count, the Administration is running afoul of three federal laws in particular: the General Education Provisions Act, the Department of Education Organization … More
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In yesterday’s “Room for Debate” feature, The New York Times asks whether public-school teacher compensation should be increased. The answer we give, based on our recent report, is that teachers already receive more compensation than comparably skilled private-sector workers. If the current compensation bonus has yet to increase the quality of the teacher workforce, it is not clear how an additional raise would produce better results. Public school districts should focus on maximizing the value of their existing resources rather than spending even more money inefficiently. But why is there … More
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