Kati Haycock

The following remarks were delivered on May 19, 2012, at the commencement ceremony of Lesley University's Graduate School of Education:

Today, and for each of the next several Saturdays, graduates at universities all over the country are donning hoods and updating their email auto-signatures with new letters like M.A., M.S.W.,...

Congress seems on its way to approving legislation that would prevent, at least for one year, a doubling of interest rates on college loans taken out by students from low- and moderate-income families. And that's a good thing. Combined with projected tuition increases this fall, the interest-rate jump, as scheduled...

A friend of mine used to work for the National Association of Office Workers. When Secretary Appreciation Day rolled around every year, they very deliberately ignored it -- offended by the idea that "bosses" could appreciate their "secretaries" one day a year, only to mistreat them the other 364.

Most...

Ask the Washington-based groups representing adults who work in the education system and they'll tell you that when President Obama turns to the subject of education in his State of the Union speech, he should say that No Child Left Behind asks too much of our teachers and administrators and...

Concerned about soaring college tuition, low graduation and high remediation rates, and growth in U.S. jobs that do not require bachelor's degrees, an increasingly vocal crowd has adopted a "college for some!" mantra.

Instead of seeking to contain costs, boost retention and graduation rates, and increase the level and...

The academic achievement gaps that separate low-income students and students of color from other young Americans are lethal, shameful and completely unnecessary.

Over the coming decades, our country will see big growth in the number of these students -- the ones that our school system has shortchanged for generations....

I've gotta say it: When looking through value-added data on teachers in the past -- especially when noting vast differences between teachers in the same school -- I've often wondered (idly, I thought) what would happen if these data were ever made public.

Still, when the Los Angeles Times actually...

Though many in the education community are celebrating last week's Senate vote for the so-called Edujobs bill, I can't find any joy in it. In fact, I am shaken and ashamed because, to pay for it, the Senate snatched $11.9 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

That's...

Early on in their education, teachers tell students that it's wrong to break your promises.

Well, it seems that House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey never learned that lesson. And in a brutal twist, he's breaking a promise made to our nation's...

School leaders across the country are bracing for cuts in the upcoming school year--cuts likely far deeper than those made during the past two. In fact, the American Association of School Administrators projects that 275,000 education jobs nationwide will be cut in 2010-11.

Federal help is needed, and...

Mike Krzyzewski and Duke University have done it again. With last night's dramatic win over improbable finalist Butler, the Blue Devils sealed their position as arguably the greatest college basketball program of the modern era. Over the past 20 years, they've made 19 appearances at the NCAA men's basketball tournament,...

Policymakers in Washington, D.C., are scrambling to re-energize the economy and get America back to work. Clearly, that's the right thing to do. But it is important to remember that the long-term health of our economy depends not just on creating more good jobs but also on making sure that...

Each fall, millions of young fans watch as their favorite colleges and universities vie on the gridiron for bragging rights in the national rankings. They dream of the excitement that comes from attending a top-ranked football power. They dream of being winners. But after the bowl games are over and...