The Heritage Foundation believes that every child in America should have an opportunity to receive a high-quality education. An average student entering kindergarten today will have more than $100,000 spent on his or her behalf by taxpayers before finishing high school. We believe that families should have greater control over this investment: specifically, the power to choose a safe and effective school for their child. Giving families this power will encourage innovation and improvement that American education needs for the twenty-first century. For these reasons, we support policies that move educational control out of Washington, D.C., to families and local communities.
Reforming No Child Left Behind by Allowing States to Opt Out: An A-PLUS for Federalism
Dan Lips discusses the Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success (A-PLUS) act as a measure to be considered as part of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reauthorization. Lips notes that NCLB increased federal funding for K-12 education and established new requirements for state and local school systems across the country. Conversely, A-PLUS promotes greater state and local control in education while maintaining true accountability through state-level testing and transparency for parents.
Still 'A Nation at Risk'
Dan Lips discusses the results of A Nation at Risk published twenty-five years ago by the National Commission on Excellence in Education. Lips examines President Reagan's response to the commission's report and how American schools have faired since its inception.
School Choice in America 2009: What it Means for Children's Futures
School choice -- what does it mean for American's daily lives? It means that more and more parents are able to send their children to safer, better schools. It means that low-income and special-needs children across the country are attending a public or private school of their parents' their choice. It means that students need not remain trapped in failing and dangerous schools -- though too many students still are. Congress, as well as state and local policymakers, must enact policies that give all American children the opportunity to learn and achieve. This report details the latest school-choice facts and figures for the 2009-2010 school year.
School Choice in America 2009: What it Means for Children's Futures
School choice -- what does it mean for American's daily lives? It means that more and more parents are able to send their children to safer, better schools. It means that low-income and special-needs children across the country are attending a public or private school of their parents' their choice. It means that students need not remain trapped in failing and dangerous schools -- though too many students still are. Congress, as well as state and local policymakers, must enact policies that give all American children the opportunity to learn and achieve. This report details the latest school-choice facts and figures for the 2009-2010 school year.
The Early Learning Challenge Fund: Increased Federal Role in Early Education
SAFRA would significantly increase the federal government's role in preschool education.
Student Lending and College Affordability: Alternative Approaches to Reform
The House of Representatives will soon consider H.R. 3221, the "Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009," legislation that will terminate the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, expand the Federal Direct Loan program, and increase spending on other post-secondary education programs. If enacted, the legislation will mark a dramatic shift in the federal government's approach to student lending and result in a consolidation of federal power over education financing.
School Safety in Washington, D.C.: New Data for the 2007-2008 School Year
This WebMemo is a summary of a CDA Report by The Heritage Foundation and Lexington Institute that presents an analysis of 911 calls originating from schools in D.C. for the 2007-2008 school year, the most recent full school year for which data were available.
A Challenge for President Obama
In his speech today, President Obama challenged American students to take responsibility for their own success. Telling students that succeeding in life requires hard work, he urged students to set goals, do their homework, and seek guidance from positive role models. It was a good message for students to hear. We hope that American students answer his challenge.
Learning from Sweden's school voucher success
Late last month, I returned to Washington after attending a conference in Stockholm. In both national capitals, thousands of children and their parents were in full back-to-school planning mode.
Reading, Writing and Rap Sheets
The president has countless things to worry about, but at least he can be confident his children are safe. Whether the First Family is vacationing in the Grand Canyon or hosting town halls in New Hampshire, Secret Service agents are always on the job.
A school wake-up call
A new school year is under way, but we already can grade the condition of American education. Let's just say no "honor student" bumper stickers will be necessary.
Presidents Walk Fine Line When Talking to Schools
The White House plan for President Barack Obama to deliver a national back-to-school address next week to elementary and secondary school students is unusual, but not objectionable on first glance.
Fear Shouldn't Interfere With a Child's Education
Looking back on our school days, there were always some things we feared: bad grades, lousy lunches and hallway cliques.
What No Government Program Can Do
Here in Washington, D.C., the formula almost never changes. Policymakers see a problem, throw money at it and hope it goes away. But this rarely works. That's usually because the answer lies not in the government -- but at home.
Obama’s Failed Stimulus: Education Edition
Following news this week that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has led to jobs being “created or saved” in Congressional districts that don’t exist, the GAO issued a new report warning that the U.S. Department of Education is falling down on its oversight responsibilities. The GAO reports that the U.S. Department of Education: ?Has made uneven Read More...
From Drug-Dealers to Community Leaders: The Impact of Violence Free Zones
A young, African American male would have had a better chance of survival descending from a landing barge in Italy during WWII than he does getting off a Greyhound bus in a major U.S. city today. This according to Bob Woodson, president of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, which has created Violence Free Zones that Read More...
Center for Neighborhood Enterprise to Host Conference on Youth Violence
To hear Bob Woodson speak is to be convinced that there is an effective way to mitigate youth violence. And on Monday, Woodson, President of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, will kick-off Presenting the Evidence: A Successful Solution to Youth Violence. During the late 1970s, Woodson was influenced by the example of a family in Philadelphia Read More...
Ending Social Promotion Leads to Gains in NYC
New evidence shows that ending social promotion – the practice of allowing students to advance a grade level without having mastered the content of their current grade – is having a positive result in student testing. A new study released on October 15th by the RAND corp., shows how New York City seventh graders who Read More...
Governor Jeb Bush Equips Georgia Lawmakers with Lessons for School Reform
There’s nothing like competition to get people to focus on a goal, whether that’s on the gridiron or in education. And on the eve of a match-up between one of college football’s biggest rivalries – the Georgia Bulldogs vs. the Florida Gators – Governor Jeb Bush decided to walk into rival territory and address a Read More...
Reauthorization of No Child Left Behind: Federal Management or Citizen Ownership of K-12 Education
As Congress considers reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001,[1] a fundamental question in the debate is whether to continue to increase the federal government's management authority over education or to restore citizen ownership of America's schools.
Reforming No Child Left Behind by Allowing States to Opt Out: An A-PLUS for Federalism
For more than four decades, Congress has sought to improve public education in America by creating new federal programs and increasing federal spending on education. In fiscal year (FY) 2007, the federal government will spend $23.5 billion on programs that fall under the original Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which is now called No Child Left Behind.
The Charter State Option: Charting a Course Toward Federalism in Education
The 110th Congress (2007-2008) is scheduled to consider reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which will be the ninth reauthorization of the original Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Yet after four decades and hundreds of billions of dollars, the federal government's involvement in K-12 education in America has failed to improve student achievement significantly.
A Nation Still at Risk: The Case for Federalism and School Choice
In 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education issued the landmark A Nation at Risk report highlighting the crisis in American education. The commission reported that American students were at risk of falling behind students from around the world and that this imperiled our national security and future prosperity. "If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today," the commissioners wrote, "we might well have viewed it as an act of war."
Chavous event on DC school choice in NRO
Heritage on Florida's education reform in Miami Herald
Burke on DC voucher program in One News Now
Heritage study on black colleges criticized in Malveaux's syndicated (NNPA) column
Lips on leaving education decisions to the states in Washington Post
A Parent's Guide to Education Reform is dedicated to parents who are striving to provide their children with a decent education. At The Heritage Foundation, we want to provide you -- and all Americans -- with information that will help you gain real influence in reforming education policy in America. In our 38-page guide you'll find:
What has gone wrong in today's public school system.
What Americans like you can do to bring real improvements.
What specific educational opportunities are available in your state.
Where you can learn more about education reform in America
Choices in Education provides a clickable map of the United States where visitors can acquire state-specific information on school choice options throughout the country. Information is available on public school choice, private school choice, and charter school provisions. Read More...
Education Notebook
Education Notebook is an archive of education-related papers and commentary.
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- A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, The Mexican War, and the Conquest of the American Continent 12/03/2009
- Leading Evangelical Scholars Warn That Global Warming Alarmism Will Hurt The Poor 12/03/2009
- Let Me Rise: The Struggle to Save School Choice in Our Nation's Capital
- You're Teaching My Child What? A Physician Exposes the Lies of Sex Ed and How They Harm Your Child
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Read | Listen | Watch - Not as Good as You Think: The Myth of the Middle Class School
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