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July 31, 2006

Education News for Monday, July 31

Wouldn't it be nice if we could fix America's schools? - that was the intent of the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act, which set the stage for standardized testing and raising educational standards across America. (more)

Deal breaker - How Arnold Schwarzenegger changed his mind on Prop. 98 and lost the support of the all-powerful teachers union. (more)

Bill Gates, the nation's superintendent of schools - Diane Ravitch:  Never before has any individual or foundation had so much power to direct the course of American education, which is one of the primary interests of the Gates Foundation. (more)

Check back later for more education news.

UPDATE:

Few poor, minority in charters - Charter schools in Utah increasingly are serving wealthy, white students and leaving poorer and minority children behind in traditional public schools, a Salt Lake Tribune analysis shows. (more)

CA schools try to deal with declining enrollment - Over the last seven years, nearly 400 students have left the public school rosters in Santa Barbara. Enrollment in this wealthy, Spanish-tiled coastal haven has dropped as steadily as home prices have risen. (more)

GAO: Growth Models Hold Promise for NCLB Accountability- Ed Week (subscription required) Carefully-constructed growth models can help meet the No Child Left Behind Act’s goal of getting the nation’s students to academic proficiency, but states face technical hurdles in creating models that work, according to a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. (more)

School choice finally getting a hard look -    Even in a state that has grabbed hold of its public school monopoly with both hands and refused to budge, the idea of choice is gaining some ground. (more)

John Stossel: How the media smear school choice - Most public schools are far from outstanding. America’s government schools have rigid one-size-fits-all rules that reward mediocrity. (more)

WSJ: Socialism in reverse - The advancement of charter schools, vouchers and private scholarship programs has been much too slow for the well-being of our poorest children. (more)

Children left behind in LA schools - If the No Child Left Behind Act is to work, school districts have to take part. And early evidence indicates that in at least one major case, that’s not happening. (more)

UPDATE:

GOP donors open wallets and open up - Money may talk, but for years, the two largest Republican political givers in Texas haven't. But like the Wizard of Oz inching out from behind the curtain, Bob Perry and James Leininger are taking measured steps into the public eye – acknowledging that their enduring silence has let critics define them as spooky, secretive power mongers. (more)

Pro/Con: Should Congress back school voucher plan? Yes - Margaret Spellings: President Bush and I believe that families in communities where schools fall short deserve choices when it comes to their children’s education. (more)

More options for students - President Bush's landmark No Child Left Behind Act, though controversial, was designed to help struggling students escape failing schools. Thanks to that law, students in three Greenville elementary schools will have the opportunity to attend better-performing schools. (more)

Jeb high executioner - How deep is Gov. Bush's capacity for revenge? Deep enough that the governor, who wants to bring Latinos into the Republican Party, would try to oust from the Legislature the man who not long ago stood to become the first Cuban-American president of the Florida Senate. (more)

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