Uniform Standards Would Make Education Research More Difficult
A New York Times editorial celebrates national standards as if they were the pot of gold at the end of...
Homeschooling Family in the New York Times
The homeschooling family I wrote about here and here is now featured in the New York Times. The article recounts...
Massachusetts Tells Preschools to Brush Kids’ Teeth
In an article about Massachusetts’ new law requiring certain preschools and day care centers to teach children how to brush...
Baumol and Health Care Costs
The New York Times has a nice analysis of health care cost control using the insights of economist William Baumol,...
Explaining Teach for America Graduates’ Lack of Activism
A study has found Teach for America graduates to be less politically active than people who were accepted into the...
165,903 Missourians Report No Income but Food Stamps
Over the weekend, the New York Times published an article about a growing subset of Americans: those whose sole source...
Filling the Cavities in Missouri’s Dental Care
[Author’s Note: I incorrectly reported that the agreement with the ADA ended Alaska’s program; it is, in fact, still thriving,...
Alaskan Schools Should Consider Charter Status
This article in the New York Times explores the plight of Alaska’s rural public school districts. These schools serve only...
Don’t Overreact to Bumps in the Economic Recovery
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon. Determining when business cycles start and end is a tricky call....
Another Way Teachers Would Benefit From a Competitive Education Market
Some teachers who want to sell lesson plans online are running into trouble with the districts that employ them, according...
Are Duomoms as Bad as Octomoms?
A debate on the New York Times website examines the question of regulating twins. Just as many people called for...
School to Farm
When teachers in the Harlem Success Academy charter schools observed that students were struggling with farming references on standardized tests,...
Tariffs Punish Consumers, but Remain Politically Popular
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon. With all the talk about polarizing politics and the fracturing...
“Count the Day Won When, Turning on Its Axis …”
“This earth imposes no additional taxes.” So wrote the prescient Franklin P. Adams. The proposed soda tax is all over...
Giving Insurers More Room to Operate Would Increase Beneficial Competition
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon. In this limited space, it is impossible to deal with...
Choice as a Motivator
An article in the New York Times reports that choice in education can motivate students. The article is about eighth-graders...
Cash for Clunkers Clunks
Last week, government officials announced that the “Cash for Clunkers” program — which offers subsidies of up to $4,500 when...
An Ostrich Talks About Social Security in the New York Times
If you are writing an article about long-term planning for how best to collect your Social Security benefits, shouldn’t you...
Keeping Out Competition
Did you know that you can be denied a law license if you have too many outstanding student loans? Look...
Reform Plans and Early Graduation Incentives
Over at the New York Times, Harold O. Levy, former New York City schools chancellor, outlines “Five Ways to Fix...
