U.S.Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos called on the National Education Association (NEA) today to drop its politically-motivated lawsuit and stop standing in the way of students working to complete their postsecondary education program. The NEA recently sued the department over its delay in implementing Obama-era rules that govern state standards for online education. The rules … Continue reading
Why We Shouldn’t Take Peer Review As the ‘Gold Standard’
In July, India’s government dismissed a research paper finding that the country’s economic growth had been overestimated, saying the paper had not been “peer reviewed.” At a conference for plastics engineers, an economist from an industry group dismissed environmental concerns about plastics by claiming that some of the underlying research was “not peer reviewed.” And the Trump … Continue reading
California’s Community Colleges Can’t Live With Accreditor, Can’t Live Without It
A handful of California’s community colleges may have a problem offering new bachelor’s-degree programs, as planned, by 2017. The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, one of the nation’s seven regional accreditors, had asked the U.S. Department of Education to allow it to accredit baccalaureate programs at two-year colleges. The change sought by the … Continue reading
Three Reasons for Those Hefty College Tuition Bills
What should we do about the high cost of higher education? As we pick the next president, that question should feature prominently in the public debate. The economic prosperity of our children and grandchildren hinges on finding the right answer. Today’s economy leaves little doubt about the value of college. According to the Bureau of … Continue reading
Community Colleges Becoming Prime Destination for Faculty
After spending nearly 20 years working in corporate America for companies like General Electric and Digital Equipment Corporation (Hewlett Packard), Dr. Winston Maddox wanted to make a difference — so he turned his attention to teaching. “I was a late bloomer and many traditional educators thought I was not college worthy,” says Maddox, who is … Continue reading
The Supreme Court’s Rehash of Fisher and Affirmative Action
After the Supreme Court’s second go-round with the Fisher vs. UT-Austin case last week, the big headline to emerge isn’t about whether the high court sends it back to the lower court, or if this is the start of the beginning or the end of the use of race in admissions. No, instead we’re hearing … Continue reading
Hip-Hop Stars Support Mississippi Rapper in First Amendment Case
Musical tastes at the Supreme Court run toward opera. On Monday, a glittering array of hip-hop stars will try to expand the justices’ musical horizons.In a brief supporting a Mississippi high school student who was disciplined for posting a rap song online, artists including T. I., Big Boi and Killer Mike will explain to the … Continue reading
Affirmative Action Has Got Nothing on White Privilege
Conversations about affirmative action underscore an ugly truth about America — that a country founded as a racial apartheid continues to dance around issues of race. On Wednesday December 9th, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Fisher v. University of Texas, in what may turn out to be a landmark case regarding affirmative action … Continue reading
What Exactly is Personalized Learning?
It remains to be seen exactly how and where Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, will spend the estimated $45 billion they’ve declared they will donate to charitable ventures, including education. But their announcement this week made one thing clear: in education, the two are focused on the potential of “personalized learning.” For … Continue reading
The U.S. Congress Passes Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
[Last] week’s U.S. House passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, makes it clear: If you want to see education policy in the next few years, look to state capitols, not Washington, D.C. The current version of the law, the No Child Left Behind Act, created … Continue reading
