There’s a lot of talk, both in the media and on Twitter, about the meaning of the Los Angeles Unified School District school board races. There are those who are trying to spin the story line that this was a flat rejection of outside money in political races.

Of course, the people making this argument are, for the most part, just repeating what “everyone knows” about moContinue Reading »

Like most people who have struggled with weight, there was a time when I decided to deal with the problem by simply refusing to get on the scale.

I know I am not alone in this behavior. But eventually, other evidence (outgrowing a favorite pair of jeans, a bad blood pressure reading) usually brings people back to the recognition that, however unpleasant they may be, regular weigh-ins proContinue Reading »

People in Washington rarely like to admit they’ve been surprised. “I heard that last week,” they will often say when some bombshell hits the newspaper.

Denizens of think tanks also don’t like surprises. After all, their job is to stay in close touch with what’s happening and what’s on the horizon.

Still, there were some surprises for our WashingContinue Reading »

This is the time of year when bloggers and reporters (some of whom, in the interest of full disclosure, are planning to take some time off for the holidays) produce a series of Year in Review stories. We asked our staff and our K20 Task Force members to share their thoughts on the biggest education news story of 2012. We also asked them for the most over-hyped education story of the year.

Well, we should have seen that coming. As the nation continues to grieve for the teachers and children massacred in Connecticut last week, it was inevitable that some policymakers would begin to offer up this solution for dealing with school shootings: just arm the teachers.

Naturally, some of these advocates are from my home state of Virginia. But the same idea is being pitched in the hContinue Reading »

In FY 2010, the state of New Jersey, facing a $2.2 billion budget shortfall, adopted a series of measures to close the gap. The budget delayed $940 million worth of pension fund contributions for FY 2010. It also allowed towns and localities to defer their pension payments.

New Jersey was not alone. For years, state legislatures closed budget gaps by delaying payments to the state pensioContinue Reading »

How do you get the most out of college? The folks at Freakonomics asked the authors of the new book Getting the Best Out of College for advice. One quick thought: students’ choices in college matter more than their choices of college. (Freakonomics)

Firing Doogie Howser. Joe Williams “>continues the conversation begun here last week by Chad Aldeman, who asked what would haContinue Reading »

Nate Silver has already changed the way people evaluate baseball players. During this election cycle, he also changed the conventional wisdom about whether that the outcome would be “too close to call.”

So I’m thinking it may be time for him to turn his talents to education.

Silver first came to national prominence with his statistical modeling in baseball. At a time wContinue Reading »

The Big Gap. Ninety-three percent of middle school students report that their goal is to attend college. However, only 44% enroll in college, and only 26% graduate with a college diploma within six years of enrolling. (National High School Center)

As if this election cycle weren’t enough evidence. Great story on why civics education matters. (American School Board Journal, h/t AlanContinue Reading »

For nearly two decades, state education agencies have been under pressure to shift from a focus on compliance with federal regulations to a focus on outcomes. Most critically, the responsibility of helping the nation’s lowest performing schools has largely been left to state departments of education.

But as far back as 2008, an American Institutes for Research brief noted that states lacContinue Reading »