The fraudulent claims by policymakers and pundits that the United States is losing its economic competitiveness due to a failing education system continue unabated. However, the latest data on competitiveness suggest that it is poor economic policy, not education, that is holding back the economy.

Out-of-school, community demographic and family-level variables have an important influence on student achievement as measured by large-scale standardized tests. Studies described here demonstrated that about half of the test score is accounted for by variables outside the control of teachers and school administrators. The results from these…

The release of the 2012 results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) on December 3, 2012, by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ([OECD], 2013) brought about another round of public education fear mongering on the part of bureaucrats and policymakers. However, weaknesses with the PISA test design,…

Secretary of Education Duncan (2010) lamented the state of U.S. education in 2010 after the release of the results from the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). He wrote: "Unfortunately, the 2009 PISA results show that American students are poorly prepared to compete in today's knowledge economy. President Obama…

Education bureaucrats in 45 states have approved the Common Core State Standards ([CCSS], 2010) as the de facto national curriculum. The implementation of the CCSS will be monitored by a national standardized test in language arts and mathematics. The confluence of a standardized curriculum enforced with a standardized test will entrench a…

Without a doubt, poverty has a negative influence on student achievement, especially when achievement is measured by state-mandated standardized tests. However, some bureaucrats, such as state commissioners of education and even state governors, continue to downplay the influence of poverty on student achievement. New Jersey's Governor Chris…

As of September 2012, only Alaska, Minnesota, Nebraska, Texas, and Virginia had not adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Yet empirical evidence that demonstrates the efficacy of the initiative remains elusive. The Emperor has no clothes (Tienken 2011a). This latest installment of standardization and centralization of curriculum and…

A review of education reform policies reveals a shift from an input guarantee approach aimed at providing funds to level the playing field for all students to an output guarantee approach based on the expectation of achieving standardized results regardless of inputs. The shift reflects a belief that where a child starts his or her cognitive,…

The United States Department of Education (USED) granted 11 states waivers (eight full waivers and three conditional waivers) to provide what the USED termed "flexibility" from meeting some of the requirements in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Much of the flexibility relieves schools from the Adequate Yearly Progress mandate that requires…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) initiative continues to gather strength. But the evidence presented by its developers--the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)--seems lacking compared to the independent reviews and the available research on the topic that suggest otherwise. In this…

As charter schools multiply, public school teachers and administrators need to understand the policy landscape in which charters are skimming money from their traditional local public schools, making scarce resources even scarcer. In this essay, the author discusses a related phenomenon that is part of some school reform plans--the reconstitution…

Education reform proposals are not in short supply. Recent issues of the "Kappa Delta Pi Record" examined two of these: Common Core State Standards (Winter 2011) and Charter Schools (Spring 2011). Teacher pay for performance is another policy gaining traction in state legislatures and at the federal level. The Race to the Top (RTTT) federal grant…

On June 1, 2009, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) issued a press release stating that 49 states and territories had joined the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSS). That initiative proposed that all states voluntarily adopt the same set of…

Well-known historical accounts of questioning used in the education process trace back to Socrates. One of the best examples of his use of questioning is found in Plato's classic work "The Republic" (2003). Today, teachers still use questions as one way to help students develop productive thinking skills and to understand concepts and topics.…