by David Safier I don't put too much stock in any standardized test results, but if there's one test worth looking at, it's the NAEP. It really can't be gamed or taught to, and its results are consistent enough that you can say, it's an accurate measure of what they're testing. Whether it's testing the … Read more
by David Safier I had no idea I was overpaid during my 30+ years of teaching, but the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute have schooled me. Apparently, public school teachers make more than they should. If you do a simple comparison . . . well, no, if you do a simple comparison, teachers … Read more
by David Safier Progressive-minded supporters of the charter school movement, this should make you wary. Not wary of charters per se. Wary of the people pushing them and what that means about the direction charters are heading. The Walton Family Foundation puts big bucks into charter school advocacy. These are the Walmart folks — very, … Read more
by David Safier Arizona's new vouchers on steroids — Education Empowerment Accounts (SB1553) — are the Goldwater Institute's bold new idea made law. They're the first of their kind in the country, a brilliant and diabolical concoction designed to take the "public" out of public education and turn free market education into a three ring … Read more
by David Safier Ask any company selling educational software, and they'll show you studies pointing to strong academic gains from students who use their products. But for every study they point to, three others show little or no gains for students who use their software versus those who don't. And the company's favorite studies are … Read more