Author Archives: Don Soifer
National Education Association Sues for the Keys to the Federal Treasury Issue BriefThe National Education Association, along with several of its state affiliates and 9 school districts, filed a first-ever lawsuit today over the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The suit against Education Secretary Margaret Spellings alleges that because [Read More...]
NCLB, Accountability, and Bilingual Education Letter to the Editor of Education WeekYour informative article on No Child Left Behind data for English learners (“Federal Data Show Gains on Language,” March 23) offers many useful insights. But James Crawford’s biased criticism of the law’s “dysfunctional [Read More...]
Vouchers Show Early Signs Of Promise In Helping Needy Washington D.C. Children Issue BriefDespite a short deadline for initial applications, the groundbreaking program of federally funded vouchers for needy Washington, D.C. students is off to a promising start, according to the first annual evaluation mandated by Congress released this week.
A [Read More...]
Wouldn’t School Choice Help Where State Takeover of Schools Has Failed? La Tribuna Hispana (New York Metropolitan Area)(English Translation Follows)
El simple cambio de control de las escuelas públicas a un nivel más alto de gobierno no asegura mágicamente una educación de primera clase para los niños de las minorías. [Read More...]
State Control of Schools has Failed to Help Paterson, New Jersey Children: Why Not Choice Instead? Issue BriefPublic schools in Paterson, New Jersey are among the worst in the state. The school district has been controlled by the New Jersey Department of Education since 1991, but state control has failed to turn the schools around. [Read More...]
Latest California Test Scores Show Major Gains for English Learners Issue BriefWhen California voters passed Proposition 227 in 1998, opponents of the measure predicted that it would be a disaster for English learners. But according to the latest test scores, the new focus on English fluency is producing remarkable [Read More...]
Charter Schools: A Reform Option for Struggling Districts National Overview40 states and the District of Columbia have charter school legislation.
There are approximately 3,000 charter schools open around the United States today serving over 750,000 students – and nearly two-thirds of these schools have waiting lists.
Charter [Read More...]
Cruise Missile Defense: Connecting Theater Capabilities to Homeland Needs Research StudyCruise missiles are flying bombs that can precisely strike distant targets after traversing circuitous, ground-hugging routes. They are capable of delivering a wide range of destructive mechanisms, including conventional high explosives, chemical agents, nuclear warheads and electromagneticpulse devices. [Read More...]
National Achievement Data Show Charter Schools Have Positive Impact Issue BriefParents, teachers, and other school reformers who want to make full use of public charter schools to help students who are struggling in regular public schools can take heart from a new national study by eminent Harvard University [Read More...]
Presidential Results Are A Rebuke To NEA’s Politicized Agenda Issue BriefTuesday’s election results were devastating to the politicized leadership of the nation’s two national teacher unions. The leaders of the 2.7-million-member National Education Association (NEA) and the smaller American Federation of Teachers (AFT) went all out in an [Read More...]