Author Archives: Robert Holland
Public Charter Schools and the Core Knowledge Movement Research StudyA battle raged throughout the 20th Century over the best way to teach children – by teacher-directed, content-rich approaches or through a “progressive” method by which children direct their own learning.
It rages still, with progressivism continuing to [Read More...]
Strike Fear Into the Heart of the ‘Blob’ Letter to the Editor, The Wall Street JournalIn regard to your June 20 editorial “Cleveland’s Challenge”:
Cleveland indeed could become the landmark Supreme Court decision on K-12 vouchers. But the lives at stake are not just those of the [Read More...]
Use the Free Market To Land the Best Teachers for America’s Children Research StudyState departments of education and collegiate schools of education have put in place over the years a system for certifying schoolteachers that rewards process over substance. Requirements for mind-numbing courses in the intricacies of professional education deter many [Read More...]
Competing to win: Motivation101 for state’s public educators Article Published in The Tampa (FL) TribuneImagine you are a public school principal, teacher or administrator. Like other workers who want to do a good job, you want to do right by the kids entrusted to you. But you’ve [Read More...]
Modern Math: California Schools are Cooking the Books on Funding, Dropout Rates Article Published in the Orange County RegisterThe pendulum swings affecting education from nursery school to graduate school — everything from restoring phonics to rethinking affirmative action — often originate in the Golden State.The nation watches and learns from California. [Read More...]
Colorado Charter Schools Aren’t Perfect, but They Get the Job Done Article Published in the Colorado Springs GazetteA recent report from the U.S. Department of Education documented the phenomenal growth of charter schools, while a state-level study done in Colorado was showing how these quasi-independent schools can work at their [Read More...]
Real Math: Sexist, Racist, or Just Hard? Article Published in the School Reform NewsA group of 200 prominent mathematicians and scientists has called on U.S. Education Secretary Richard W. Riley to rescind his department’s ringing endorsement of 10 elementary and secondary mathematics programs, arguing that the [Read More...]
Can Americans Trust Their National Report Card? Article Published in the School Reform NewsTesting data tumble out of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the so-called “Nation’s Report Card,” with great regularity. But can the numbers always be trusted? Researchers have raised disturbing concerns about [Read More...]
The D.C. Charter School Battleground Letter to the Editor, The Wall Street JournalThe bureaucratic infighting over the struggle to convert one Washington, D.C., junior high into a charter school shows how school choice ultimately may benefit, most of all, children the education establishment mourns [Read More...]
Keeping Watch On the Official Education Agenda Research StudyThe U.S. Department of Education has let political agendas influence its education policy. It has collaborated with special interest groups to preserve the federal presence in K-12 education and to block liberty-enhancing alternatives, such as school choice.
This [Read More...]