The News Leader reports that Virginia’s math standards align to the Common Core by 95% and Virginia parents are frustrated. You may remember that Virginia pulled out of the Common Core State Standards when former Governor Bob McDonnell (R-VA) was elected. I noted in my essay in the book Common Ground on Common Core, Virginia […]
Indiana Repealing “Voluntary” Common Core Puts NCLB Waiver in Doubt
So the Common Core is “voluntary” huh? Indiana could lose their (unconstitutional) NCLB waiver as a result jettisoning the Common Core (for a subpar rebranding, but I digress). Chalkbeat reported last week: On Thursday, Indiana State Superintendent Glenda Ritz received a letter from Deb Delisle, assistant U.S. secretary of education, spelling out concerns about “significant […]
Arne Duncan: All Sticks, No Carrots
Here is a little blurb on U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in “The Washington Flyer” a weekly email sent out by the American Association of Christian Schools that I thought was interesting. Education Secretary Loses Leverage in Second Term As Congressional gridlock continues throughout the second term of the Obama Administration, education analysts question […]
Kansas State Board of Education’s “Fact” Sheet Void of Facts
By Shane Vander Hart & Dr. Walt Chappell On Tuesday, May 14th, 2013, seventeen Kansans spoke out against the Common Core at the Kansas State Board of Education meeting that was held in Topeka, KS. It was covered by WIBW TV, the Lawrence Journal-World and The Wichita Eagle. During the “citizens open forum” of the […]
Michelle Malkin is (Almost) Spot On
Michelle Malkin has made the Common Core State Standards the subject of her syndicated column this week which has been published not only on her own website, but at places like Townhall.com and National Review. Her first article is the first in a series on the Common Core so perhaps she’ll get to it. She […]
Facts About the No Child Left Behind Waivers
Jane Robbins, a Senior Fellow for American Principles Project provided some facts that you should know about the No Child Left Behind waivers. States apply for these in order, they say, to free themselves from Federal guidelines and standards under NCLB. What they’re really doing is substituting federal control with more federal control. Pretty soon […]
Is Education a Massive Failure of Federalism?
Michael Gerson, a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, complained in his op/ed in The Washington Post about the Obama Administration’s use of waivers in circumventing the law. He wrote: The Obama administration is increasingly becoming known not for its legislative achievements but for its federal waivers to legislative achievements. It has exempted favored […]
Arne Duncan: We’re “Lucky” to have NCLB Waivers
I wanted to share this video that was posted on Tuesday on the U.S. Department of Education blog. In it Education Secretary Arne Duncan answers some questions that he received recently: Again, I am no lover of No Child Left Behind. However, just because “Congress is broken” (gridlock is a natural occurrence when you have […]
About Those NCLB Waivers…
From some who thought the No Child Left Behind waivers were going to ease the reporting burden on states who receive them… think again. From EdWeek: The Education Department is in the process of changing its requirements for the federal EDFacts system, which consolidates data from various education programs including Title I grants to districts […]
No Child Left Behind Waivers: The Ends Do Not Justify the Means
On Friday Motoko Rich wrote in The New York Times about how the “No Child” Law has been whittled down by the White House. In just five months, the Obama administration has freed schools in more than half the nation from central provisions of the No Child Left Behind education law, raising the question of […]