McClatchy’s September 19th article, Teachers find Obama not the friend they had expected, by Rob Hotakainen contains a common mistake that undermines the public’s understanding of education reform. Hotakainen points out that both the California NAACP and local Hispanic groups — groups that are traditionally on the side of unions — have supported recent moves to increase state funding for privately operated schools and instituting merit pay for teachers. He then claims that this is causing “teachers” to feel beset by all sides, left and right.

The nation’s public school teachers are feeling the squeeze from all sides these days, and

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This week, the U.S. Department of Education released the test scores of American students on the long-term National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—an exam that’s been administered to kids since the 1970s. The test found that American students in the earlier grades have made modest progress in reading and math over time. The test scores also reveal that the achievement gap between minority and white children is continuing to (slowly) narrow over time. Unfortunately, the test scores of 17-year-olds are essentially the same as in 1971.

The New York Times was quick to interpret these mixed-results as … Continue Reading

Reporting on President Obama’s speech at the National Academy of Sciences on April 27th, Andrew Revkin of the New York Times accurately reported the administration’s proposals for new federal spending on science, technology and STEM education programs:

The president laid out an ambitious plan to invigorate the country’s pipeline for innovation, from grade-school classrooms to corporate, government and academic research laboratories.
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He provided fresh detail on an initiative, already included in the economics stimulus bill, creating a $5 billion “Race to the Top” fund available to states doing the most to increase the ranks of trained science and math teachers. Mr.

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