The Heartland Institute

Troublemaker: A Personal History of School Reform Since Sputnik By Chester E. Finn, Jr. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2008 376 pages, hardcover, ISBN 9780691129907, $26.95 If you're looking for a real agitator, someone who declares the emperor naked while everyone else insists he's wearing a robe, T-shirt, turtleneck ...

Choice & Education Across the States ranks state efforts to increase accountability and improve student achievement with four kinds of school choice: vouchers, charters, tax credits, and public school choice. With 23 being the highest possible score on the evaluation, the median score was just five points. However, many states ...

With California facing a cash-strapped state budget, some choice advocates are calling for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to follow his tough reform talk by expanding parental options in education. In his January 2008 State of the State speech, Schwarzenegger touted his intention to be the first governor to use "powers given ...

In the final State of the Union Address of his presidency, delivered January 28 to a joint session of Congress, President George W. Bush renewed his support for private school choices for children of low-income families, but with some new wrinkles. Noting faith-based schools "are disappearing at an alarming rate in many ...

With the 2008 presidential campaign in full swing, the leading candidates of both major parties have outlined vastly differing education policy proposals. Most of the Democratic candidates have assailed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), though some have voiced support for it. On the Republican side, only former Massachusetts ...

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R), state Rep. Ronald Brisé (D-North Miami), and former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek were just a few of the dignitaries who came together on December 10 to thank corporate sponsors for their donations to fund K-12 scholarships for low-income families at the "Building Futures, Bridging Gaps" rally at Miami ...

In an effort to reduce education costs and expand opportunities for students, North Carolina has introduced Learn and Earn, a program allowing students to earn a high school diploma and an associate of arts degree in five years. Learn and Earn is unique because it allows students to jumpstart their college educations or ...

If 2008 presidential hopefuls want a piece of the Latino voting pie, they must concentrate on their educational agendas and focus on the future of America's public education system, according to the results of a national poll released July 23. Latinos nearly unanimously identified education as a "very important priority" for ...

As I write this, it's summer. Across Chicago, tens of thousands of students have left high school for good. About half of them have graduated with a degree, on to a career in college or the workforce. The other half have dropped out, or will do so very soon. Chicago isn't unique. Schools across Illinois are struggling ...

Teaching Defiance: Stories and Strategies for Activist Educators Michael Newman San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006 305 pages, hardcover, ISBN 0-7878-8556-2; $35 This is a book that seeks to transform adult education--all those courses aiming either to train (computer courses, language skills, etc.) or entertain (e.g., art classes ...

Over the past year the idea of extending the school day and year has gained favor among those who are looking for the new ideas of improve North Carolina's struggling public schools. While the General Assembly has yet to translate the chatter onto legislation, lengthening the school day and year will likely follow in the ...

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) wants 3,000 students to go back to failing schools. In unveiling his two-year, $52.9 billion budget this March, he called for the elimination of the statewide Educational Choice Scholarship program (EdChoice)--a state-sponsored voucher system. Strickland, the first Democrat elected to the Ohio governor ...

If nothing else, the U.S. Department of Education proved earlier this year it can collect and report telling statistics about the condition of K-12 schooling. What's seriously at question is the government's effectiveness in acting on such data to reform education. Contradictory Findings The Department of Education released ...

Democratic Party leaders in Colorado are proposing an overhaul of the state's education system, but the national report that stirred the discussion has evoked significant skepticism. House Speaker Andrew Romanoff (D-Denver) wants to reshape the education debate in Colorado as he looks to formulate a plan that focuses the state ...

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's (D) State of the City address in March provided hope that he may soon expand support for several types of schools in addition to government-run schools. "Education in the city of Detroit cannot continue to be looked at as the Detroit Public Schools only," Kilpatrick said in his March 13 ...

A plan to expand educational options for an especially disadvantaged class of students is moving forward in Maryland. Introduced in February by state Del. Nancy Stockdale (R-Westminster), House Bill 1002 would provide scholarships to foster children to attend the school of their foster parents’ choice. At press time, the bill ...

This Op-Ed originally appeared in the Chicago Defender on February 19, 2007 Yes, here I go again, arguing it is racist to keep fooling Chicago’s black parents about their children’s lack of academic progress. Black youths have become the farm team for the prison system. Does anyone really care about our students, trapped ...

The idea of encouraging high school students to meet all their graduation requirements in three years so they can go on early to college level work is not new. Leon Botstein, the distinguished president of Bard College, has long argued that the current curriculum of American high schools is a hindrance to academic achievement ...

Time in school has been added and subtracted in many ways throughout our country’s history, although not always for obvious reasons. School schedules varied considerably by locality early in our country’s history with some schools open nearly year round and others open only intermittently. In large cities, long school calendars ...

Extending the school year has become a topic of interest to many states and the nation. The school year runs about 180 days in most states, but for teachers the year is longer due to inservice and other non-contact days. The national average for instruction expenditures in 2004 reflected 66% of the total cost. One of the ...