Author Archives: Robert Holland

August 29, 2007Robert Holland

Portfolios: A Backward Step in School Accountability Research Study With Congress set to take up the thorny issue of reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), lobbyists for the National Education Association and several other education interests are advocating a major change in accountability for the [Read More...]

June 13, 2007Robert Holland

Portfolio Assessment Not Right For NCLB Issue Brief Failed education fads seemingly never die. They may fade away for a few years but true believers usually revive them, sometimes under a new name. So it is with portfolio assessment, which was briefly the rage in the [Read More...]

May 31, 2007Robert Holland

Charter School Models for Merit Pay for Teachers Research Study Advocates for public charter schools long have urged their leaders to use their relative independence to innovate in the area of personnel policy—specifically by paying teachers for excellent performance. This paper examines merit pay programs at high-achieving charter [Read More...]

January 31, 2007Robert Holland

Universal Preschool in Virginia? There Is A Better Way Category: Education Research Study Governor Tim Kaine wants Virginia to hop aboard the universal-preschool bandwagon. At the recommendation of his blue-ribbon Start Strong Council, he proposes to start a pilot project this fall that would be a prelude to state-subsidized enrollment of [Read More...]

January 30, 2007Robert Holland

Governor Kaine’s Approach to Pre-K is All Wrong Article published in The Fredricksburg (VA) Free Lance-Star Four years ago, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell was walking the path that Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia now is walking. He was pushing universal preschool for 4-year-olds as a top priority for [Read More...]

January 13, 2006Robert Holland

Chart a Course to More Charter Schools Article published in The Roanoke (VA) Times While serving as Mayor of Richmond, Tim Kaine was a strong supporter of regional Governor’s Schools that enroll some of the most academically able students in Virginia. As he takes office as Governor, [Read More...]

December 26, 2005Robert Holland

Some Pay Plans Have More Merit Article published in The Roanoke (VA) Times Pay employees extra if they do their job exceptionally well. Pay for performance. Merit pay is another name for a practice that is standard in many businesses, as well as universities and private [Read More...]

October 20, 2005Robert Holland

Nation’s Report Card: Gains in Early Grades – But Still ‘Incomplete’ for Older Students Issue Brief The latest edition of the Nation’s Report Card provides grounds for optimism that state educational standards backed by required testing under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) are leading to steady achievement gains in elementary schools. But results of [Read More...]

October 20, 2005Robert Holland

Merit Pay for Teachers: Can Common Sense Come to Public Education? Research Study Businesses as well as many institutions, including universities and private schools, pay employees more if they do their job well. K-12 public education has resisted merit pay for teachers, however, largely because teacher unions insist on maintaining their [Read More...]

September 22, 2005Robert Holland

Hurricane Relief Should Help Schoolchildren, Not Secure a Government Monopoly Issue Brief In delivering catastrophic destruction, hurricanes like the one named Katrina that slammed into the Gulf Coast recently do not discriminate between children who attend public schools and those who attend private schools. Should government discriminate in its efforts [Read More...]