Education

The Obama administration's new discipline guidelines could help end punitive policies that feed "the school-to-prison pipeline." Now, the next education policy shift needs to end punitive assessments.

2013 was a pivotal year for the nation's education policy. Just as in the economic arena, anger over inequity and unfairness has stirred the masses into action and sent a clear warning sign to political leaders for 2014.

In 2013, advocates for education "reform" doubled-down on the idea that test scores and rankings should drive policy. But this approach ignores the real needs of students. 2014, an election year, is an opportunity to change that approach

The good news coming from the U.S. Department of Education is the effort to toughen restrictions on for-profit scam colleges that rip off students, families and taxpayers. Democratic lawmakers need to get behind the effort.

A Day of Action to Reclaim Public Education held on Dec. 9 in over 100 sites took on many forms, but there were common grievances. The range of locations and number of participants are testament to the breadth and depth of complaints.

The idea of getting successful teachers to work in schools that poor kids attend is not without merit. An important new document lays out a view of how to achieve a equitable distribution of good teachers.

Local schools are being ground into pieces by twin political augers of government austerity and top-down, corporate-backed 'reform.' Opposition to this status quo has announced a December 9th National Day of Action to Reclaim Public Education...

Conservatives will continue to fight any effort to muster more federal support of preschool education. The only good way forward is for leaders to act on the courage of their convictions, not demands for compromises.

Claims that the latest results of the National Assessment of Education Progress, a k a “the Nation’s Report Card,” suggest that "school reform helps" are mistaken. What the results really reveal matter more, but are overlooked.