Over the past few years, students by the thousands have refused to take their state's standardized tests. This "opt-out" phenomenon has prompted debate in state legislatures and in Washington, putting states at risk of losing Title I funds. Advocates describe opt-out as a grassroots movement of parents concerned about overtesting,…

Paul Jablon's "The Synergy of Inquiry" (2014) is well-timed. The 2014 deadline set by No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2002) for universal student proficiency has come and gone, and according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, "proficiency rates last year were below 50 percent for nearly every racial and ethnic group, in…

Recalling the myth of Sisyphus repeatedly pushing the same boulder up a mountain in his new book, author and educator Frederick M. Hess explains how the K12 education leadership is faltering, and how it can rise above. "Cage-Busting Leadership" (Harvard Education Press, February 2013) is a new book and consequently, a small, growing…

One might think that a global financial crisis would be no time for college and university presidents to think expansively. Hunkering down is the more natural reaction to a threat of the magnitude that the economy continues to present. But expansive thought is exactly what higher education leaders need right now--not necessarily the kind that…

Proposals to reauthorize No Child Left Behind seek to ensure "equitable" access to effective teachers. The U.S. Department of Education's Race to the Top fund rewards state plans for "ensuring equitable distribution of effective teachers and principals" and for "ambitious yet achievable annual targets to increase the…

The principles that drive No Child Left Behind (NCLB) are fundamentally flawed, and though it might achieve some good in the Third World conditions of America's worst schools, in places accustomed to success, performance levels will inevitably decline as all concerned discover that mediocrity has become the new excellence. This is a lesson the…

The author presents his opinion regarding the September 24, 2003, column, of New York Times education columnist, Michael Winerip. Under the headline "On Front Lines, Casualties Tied to New U.S. Law," Winerip reported that NCLB funding shortfalls were "devastating" for New York City. The author argues that Winerip neglected to…

This article describes Nilaja Sun's groundbreaking one-woman show about a TA, her students, and her school, and includes interviews with the author/performer, an excerpt of the work, and a discussion of the organization behind it.

This paper examines trends in the support of public higher education versus that for prisons in New York State over the last decade and concludes that the dramatic rise in funding for prison expansion has come at the expense of higher education. The paper notes that (1) since fiscal year 1988, operating budgets at New York's public universities…

This article will argue that cost-benefit analysis persuasively demonstrates that truth-in-testing laws are socially and economically justified but often fall short of providing a comprehensive regulatory scheme adequate to correct the market dislocations generated by an unregulated testing industry. (Author)

Examined is the legal validity of recent New York legislation--the Trust for Cultural Resources legislation--that will aid the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City without depleting the public treasury. Focus is on its tax exemption features, condemnation provision, and constitutional questions raised by its connections with MOMA. (JMD)

Test disclosure legislation in New York State (LaValle Act) has had a major impact on the national testing programs administered by Educational Testing Services (ETS) for various sponsoring organizations. The paper reviews the immediate operational effects of test disclosure in the following areas: (1) increase in number of test forms developed;…

This article contains two arguments: one author maintains that New York's truth-in-testing law does not achieve its goals, while the other holds that the legislation does protect the consumer of educational tests. (IRT)

The position paper of the New York State School Boards Association covers concerns of identification of the gifted and talented, program development, program evaluation, teacher qualifications, community and parental involvement, and legislation. Twenty-one recommendations are made and include the following: The definition of giftedness should be…

This paper reviews New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's education reform agenda, "Children first", in the light of organizational theory. I argue that this reform agenda reflects both coercive and mimetic isomorphism, as Bloomberg uses mayoral control to apply business concepts and practices to New York City's public school system.…