Is There Really a Teacher Shortage?
A recent Washington Post article making the rounds on social media claims that there are widespread teacher shortages across the...
They Fought the Feds, and the Feds Lost!
Pop quiz time: Who said the following in response to the Obama Administration’s 2009 Race to the Top Program? “The...
A Well Intentioned Disaster: A Presentation on the Merits of Common Core State Standards
The following is taken from a presentation given by Show-Me Institute Distinguished Fellow of Education Policy James Shuls on February...
Friedman’s Legacy
For years now, many Americans have acknowledged the shortcomings of the nation’s public school system. While the 1983 “A Nation...
Education: A Brief History Of Federal Overreach
When Americans think of federal overreach in education, they might think of programs like Race to the Top, Common Core,...
I’ll Scratch Your Back, If You Comply With This Federal Mandate
Last October, my students learned a few vocabulary words — amendment, judicial review, and furlough. The government shutdown created what...
DESE Should Consider District Level Waivers
Let’s recap. In 1965, the United States Congress passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as part of Lyndon...
Education’s Race to the Top
As the president tries to ramp up education reform with the administration’s new Race to the Top funding structure, he...
The Standards Dilemma
National education standards pose a problem for states that have high standards already. If they replace their state standards with...
Race to the Internet
Missouri intends to give only half of its Race to the Top grant, should it receive one, to districts. The...
Dancing with the Feds
John Combest links to a fantastic editorial in the Jefferson City News-Tribune that compares the Race to the Top to...
Texas Keeps Out of the Race
In the Race to the Top, Texas is prudently sitting on the sidelines. Texas’ education commissioner explains why it’s not...
In Which the Author’s Secret Agenda Is Made Plain
As our regular readers will remember, on Nov. 18, the Show-Me Institute published a study that discusses recent research on...
Ideas Don’t Come From Washington, But Money Does
The following excerpt comes from an article in the Christian Science Monitor about Arne Duncan’s approach to education policy: Indeed,...
Districts Plan for Sept. 8 Speech
School districts across Missouri — in Columbia, Kansas City, Springfield, and St. Louis — are preparing for the president’s Sept....
A Nonexistent Benefit of Uniform Standards
From an editorial in the Kansas City Star: Charter schools and lab schools would have a framework within which to...
Standard Bearers
Missouri is one of four holdouts from the coalition to draft national education standards. I’m glad Missouri hasn’t signed on....
