In late July, the U.S. Department of Education released a notice of draft priorities and requirements for applying for "Race to the Top" funding, $4.35 billion in competitive federal grants. This new pot of money dwarfs any previous discretionary funding from the education department, even though it constitutes the smallest piece of education…

Two proposals in the bill currently circulating to reauthorize No Child Left Behind seem to be shoe-ins for making their way into federal law. The impetus behind both proposals is to help poor kids by making sure that districts spend as much money on them as gets spent on rich kids. Going against the grain, the National Council on Teacher Quality…

This report, the second in a series published by the National Council on Teacher Quality, examines states' progress in meeting the new federal requirement that by the end of the 2005-2006 school year there will be a "highly qualified teacher" in every classroom in the nation. This new requirement has led to some discomfort in more than a few…