Fifty years ago, President Lyndon Johnson launched a campaign to improve education, especially of children from low-income families. An unprecedented billion dollars of new aid was sent to the schools under the first part or “title” of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. In subsequent years, Title I
Congress is finally grappling with which parts of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) ought to be repealed or retained. Various officials, and the president who must sign the final agreement, have different lists. After the squabbling, a shadow of a national school improvement policy will remain with nothing
In the last six months, there have been four radio and webinar interviews with Jack Jennings about Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schools. This list of the interviews contains the working web connections as of May 23, 2015. At times, those web addresses change or the material is removed from
By 2014, every child should be proficient in reading/English language arts and mathematics. In so many words, this noble purpose was established in 2002 by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) as the Nation’s guiding principle for improving public education. But, within a few days, 2014, the year for
When something goes right for the country, we should first thank those who made it possible. And then, enjoy the moment before being overwhelmed again by reports of wars, mud slides, and unemployment. In April, the U.S. Department of Education announced that the United States recorded its highest ever graduation
Many states have reformed their teacher evaluation systems to hold public school teachers accountable for the academic achievement of their students. The hope is that if teachers are measured by the improvement — or lack thereof — in their students’ achievement, they will work harder to ensure their students learn
“To prepare all citizens to become responsible members of a democratic society” “To develop socialization and citizenship skills in children” “Preparing students for responsible, productive citizenship and imbuing them with values common to one democratic society” These similar phrases were developed by diverse groups of citizens in three communities
Educators in the Nation’s largest state are breathing a deep sigh of relief that public schooling has been freed from the political and economic morass in which it has been mired for over a decade. Bottles of champagne are not yet being popped because educators want to be sure that
American tourists are often amused when traveling on the London “tube” to hear the announcement at each station to “mind the gap.” This attention-getting advice is meant to warn passengers exiting the subway car to step over the space between the car and the platform. American education has its own
