Education in America

Universities trying to boost their rankings often use merit-based scholarships — awarded to students with high SAT scores, grades, etc. — to entice students to enroll. The argument for this practice is that it improves the school’s profile, the quality of its students, and need not take away from need-based financial aid. Supporters say need-based […]

Last week President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan officially rolled out the Race to the Top competitive grant program, which will reward $4.3 billion to states that encourage education reform in four areas: implementing standards and assessments, improving teacher quality, building data systems, and putting highly qualified teachers in front of the neediest […]

Although universities produce 14 to 16 times more educational research in a year than advocacy-oriented think tanks, a new study of the media outlets that most influence education news coverage — the New York Times, Washington Post, and Eduction Week — finds that think tank reports are more likely to be cited by reporters. What’s […]

The complicated dance between Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and the national teachers’ unions continued today. On a conference call to officially roll-out the $4.35 billion “Race to the Top” education reform competition, Duncan said states are “ineligible” for the grants if they have laws on the books prohibiting student performance from affecting teacher assessment. […]

Over at Slate, Chris Beam has a great piece about the Obama administration’s proposal to allocate nearly $12 billion to community colleges over the next 10 years; approximately $9 billion will go to funding academic programs and the rest is earmarked for upgrading facilities. The crux of Beam’s argument is that community colleges are more […]

Christopher Sopher sits down with the leaders of the new initiative to create national education standards: The National Governors Association first declared its support for national education standards in 1989, with then-President George H.W. Bush’s blessing. Yet despite efforts during both the Bush and Clinton years, no common standards system ever emerged. Now that could […]

and even strive to create feminism-friendly pornography. Some feminists are anti-marriage altogether. Others advocate open relationships because they are inherently skeptical of sexual monogamy. Ross Douthat is the author of a book and even strive to create feminism-friendly pornography. Some feminists are anti-marriage altogether. Others advocate open relationships because they are inherently skeptical of sexual […]

Amid the excitement over yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling upholding key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, another decision was lost in the shuffle: In Forest Grove School District v. T.A., the Court reaffirmed that local school districts must reimburse the parents of special education students for private school costs. The case concerned a high school […]