On an Election Day filled with dozens of state races and ballot measures with big implications for the nation's public schools, state teachers' unions and charter school champions had plenty to cheer in the aftermath, even as tax measures that would help pay for schools suffered setbacks in some places. Union efforts were instrumental in…

The National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL), an organization dedicated to redesigning and expanding school time to improve opportunities and outcomes for high poverty students, and the Education Commission of the States (ECS), with a mission to foster both the exchange of ideas on education issues among the states and long range strategic…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Congress Delays Education Funding Decisions: Short-Term Measure Funds Government Into March, Ensures Greater Role for…

America's K-12 education system faces three significant challenges: (1) increased global demands for skilled workers, (2) significant financial shortfalls, and (3) a looming teacher shortage. Independently, these factors present significant challenges for U.S. schools. In combination, they create a national imperative for swift action to create a…

The investigation of New York State's attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, into the questionable practices of lenders in federal student-loan programs has helped raise public awareness of one of the greatest scams in our government: The Federal Family Education Loan program, otherwise known as the guaranteed-student-loan program, is unnecessarily…

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act is the largest incursion of the federal government into education in American history. More than $12 billion is attached to unprecedented requirements for all students, poor and nonpoor, to reach a level of academic proficiency. Title I and its NCLB reauthorization explicitly allot funds to individual schools…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Education Programs Receive Little Funding: Striving Readers One of Only a Handful of Programs to Receive Small…

Projections developed from the past quarter century trends in New York's tax and spending levels are used to forecast the future financial implications of current fiscal and educational policies. The summary report describes the manner in which the projections are achieved, identifies several concerns and issues associated with the fiscal outlook,…

In 1980 four state assemblies were convened by the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges (AACJC) to evaluate state education policies and to recommend changes that would enhance opportunities for lifelong learning. This monograph presents the final reports and accompanying background papers of these assemblies. After Edmund…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Improving the Lives of Our High School Students: Alliance and Scholastic Co-Host Invitational High School Literacy…