No Child Left Behind

Do the Right Thing: NCLB and High Standards

Eric Tipler | Posted 11.03.2009 | Politics


Eric Tipler

No Child Left Behind is fading from policy discussions, but it continues to shape daily life in schools in a very negative way. Capitol Hill should not forget about the law. Teachers certainly haven't.

Cutting-Edge Comics Shake Up Washington with Truths You Won't See on Cable Chat Shows

Art Levine | Posted 11.02.2009 | Comedy


Art Levine

With the capital being torn apart by partisan fighting over everything from health care reform to Afghanistan, the last two weeks in D.C have seen a bonanza of comic talent descend on a laugh-starved city.

Teachers Unions Give 'Race To The Top' Failing Grade

The Huffington Post | Jenna Staul | Posted 10.20.2009 | Politics


Politico reports that teachers' unions are growing increasingly uneasy with the Obama administration's $5 billion education spending plan. Many educa...

Our Ambivalence With the Arts Makes Bad Education and Economic Policy

Dylan Kendall | Posted 10.15.2009 | Living


Dylan Kendall

No Child Left Behind, which bases educational success on reading and math testing, leaves little time for arts education, first in California and now in the nation at large.

The Huge Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap

Marian Wright Edelman | Posted 10.12.2009 | Politics


Marian Wright Edelman

Our failure to educate all our children to the highest levels means students in America overall are being left behind in a world where global competition is increasingly tough.

Grading the Big Tests: A Study in Madness... and a Really Good New Book

Dan Brown | Posted 09.28.2009 | Media


Dan Brown

In the No Child Left Behind era, every pillar of our education system rests on the presupposition that standardized tests are accurate indicators. Todd Farley helps to bring into starker focus that this is a flawed ideology.

D.C. Mayor and City Council Blame Each Other for Shock Teacher Layoffs

Dan Brown | Posted 09.22.2009 | Politics


Dan Brown

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee announced that a reduction in force of public school teachers had become unavoidable, and schools are in full-on panic mode.

Mass Teacher Layoffs in D.C. Amount To One Hell of a Power Play by Michelle Rhee

Dan Brown | Posted 09.18.2009 | Politics


Dan Brown

Rhee's mislaid battle of gutting the union and purging veteran teachers will leave an experience and institutional knowledge vacuum that no quantity of super-caffeinated 22-year-old Yalies can remake.

Real Reform for Colorado's Schools

Evie Hudak | Posted 09.17.2009 | Denver


Evie Hudak

Labeling schools doesn't help kids, and it doesn't make schools better. Judging schools on one year's test scores alone is not a valid reflection of how they are doing.

Fixing No Child Left Behind: What Our Schools Really Need

Susan Kane | Posted 09.16.2009 | Politics


Susan Kane

As millions of kids headed back to school this month, many parents, teachers, and administrators had a lot to think about. Things like, will there actually be enough seats in the ballooning classes?

What Will Duncan Do?

Eric Tipler | Posted 09.25.2009 | Living


Eric Tipler

Arne Duncan's plan comes down to getting more and better data about student performance, and tying it back to individual teachers and schools. As someone who taught under No Child Left Behind, this is scary.

Education in Chicago: Thank God We're Not Texans!

Bill Sweetland | Posted 10.20.2009 | Chicago


Bill Sweetland

However silly, misguided, and stupid our opinions and actions regarding our schools may be, at least we ain't as bad as them Texans.

So We Can't Have Single Payer for Health Care, But How About Single Payer for Education?

Arianna Huffington | Posted 10.19.2009 | Politics


Arianna Huffington

To produce education reform that is reform in more than name only, we need to look past our own political backyards at what might lie on the other side of the mountain. What I see on that other side is a single-payer education system. It's simple, sensible and, above all, just.  READ MORE

Has Obama's Handling of the Bank Bailout Undermined Health Care Reform?   One of the consequences of the one-sided bailout of Wall Street is the way it has undermined public trust in government.  Much of the health care anger is a proxy for bailout anger.  If we don't learn from the botched bailout, we are in danger of getting the same reform-in-name-only outcome on health care. READ MORE

Watch: Arianna Discusses Ted Kennedy's Potential Successors on Countdown

Watch: Arianna Discusses All Things HuffPost with MarketWatch's Jon Friedman (Part One, Part Two)

Clueless: The Dept. of Education Fails Again

Dennis Danziger | Posted 09.19.2009 | Politics


Dennis Danziger

I'm a public high school teacher, and when I voted for Barack Obama I thought I was voting for change. Turns out, as far as education goes, I voted for Bush Lite.

The Great American Melting Pot (?)

Daniel Cubias | Posted 08.02.2009 | Politics


Daniel Cubias

You will not catch me dissing Schoolhouse Rock. Like all good Gen Xers, I grew up with the infectious tones of the Saturday morning series permeating...

American Schools Need Common Standards

Jim Rex | Posted 07.16.2009 | Politics


Jim Rex

The No Child Left Behind Act allows each state to define for itself what "academically proficient" means, thus dramatic differences appear from one state to the next.

Obama Gives Bush a 3rd Term in Education

Diane Ravitch | Posted 07.14.2009 | Politics


Diane Ravitch

Let me say it again: It is time to kill the Bush-era No Child Left Behind program. If judged solely by test scores, the only coin that the NCLB crowd understands, the law has been a dud.

Jonathan Alter Joins the Teacher-Scapegoating Chorus: I'm Calling BS

Dan Brown | Posted 07.12.2009 | Media


Dan Brown

Obsessive focus on cleaning house and demanding expecting superhuman performance misses a larger point.

Shalita O'Neale Pays it Forward

Timothy Cooper | Posted 06.28.2009 | Eyes & Ears


Timothy Cooper

Youth should be sitting around the table with the policy and decision-makers, as no one knows the foster care system better than the youth who've lived in it.

A Tale of Two Contracts

Rachel Natelson | Posted 06.26.2009 | Politics


Rachel Natelson

While "tangible inducements" to minors may now be a forbidden tactic in credit card marketing, military recruiters continue to ply students with key chains, hats, and t-shirts in pursuit of their goals.

Looking to Entrepreneurship Education During the Economic Crisis

Steve Mariotti | Posted 06.12.2009 | Business


Steve Mariotti

Many high schools have job placement programs to help their students, but rarely do we see the possibility of entrepreneurship presented as an option.

The Single Best, Most Indispensable Essay on Reforming Education

Dan Brown | Posted 06.06.2009 | Politics


Dan Brown

We need to understand what pushes these young people out the door, and we need to provide more substantive intervention to more students sooner.

At Sea Without a Compass: Chart a New Course for Education Reform

Karen Symms Gallagher | Posted 05.23.2009 | Politics


Karen Symms Gallagher

The federal government needs to call a public advisory committee, comprised of representatives from every stakeholder group that cares about what is happening in public schools.

Re-Educating America Will Be No Picnic

Madeleine M. Kunin | Posted 04.16.2009 | Politics


Madeleine M. Kunin

Obama recognizes that if the United States is to pull out of this recession for the long term, we must invest in education.

NYC's Joel Klein Putting Children First

Lanny Davis | Posted 04.16.2009 | Politics


Lanny Davis

Joel Klein has relied on three principles: developing public school leadership, incentives for teacher quality, and accountability. His approach has produced some demonstrable progress.