COVID-19 has provided the impetus for Congress to implement reforms, many of which are long overdue. Policymakers should take the necessary steps to restore educational autonomy to states and reduce federal regulations and compliance. This "Backgrounder" outlines six reforms that federal policymakers can undertake to free school leaders…

For four and a half decades, the federal role in education has been growing. Costly in terms of taxpayer dollars spent and local control of education lost, this expanding federal control has failed to improve outcomes for America's children. National standards will further expand Washington's role--and will remove parents from decisions about the…

President Obama's FY 2013 budget request includes another major spending increase for the Department of Education--2.5 percent more than last year--to nearly $70 billion. American taxpayers are calling for spending restraint in Washington, yet President Obama's proposals would exacerbate the existing bureaucratic maze of federal programs and…

This third edition of the "ES Review" brings together, in one setting, some of the best work from 2008-09. It features: (1) K-12 Accountability (Measuring Skills for the 21st Century (Elena Silva); Beyond the Bubble: Technology and the Future of Student Assessment (Bill Tucker); Testing the Limits (Bill Tucker); Changing the Game: The…

The "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" examines what is arguably the single most powerful authority over the teaching profession: state government. This District of Columbia edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the first of what will be an annual look at the status of…

The broad array of data presented each year in the "KIDS COUNT Data Book" is intended to illuminate the status of America's children and to assess trends in their well-being. By updating the assessment every year, KIDS COUNT provides ongoing benchmarks that can be used to see how states have advanced or regressed over time. Readers can…