Uneducating America: Student Test Scores on U.S. History and Civics Hit All-Time Lows
Uneducating America: Student Test Scores on U.S. History and Civics Hit All-Time Lows
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also referred to as the Nation’s Report Card, is a test that measures the knowledge of American students in various areas. The results of the NAEP test in U.S. history and civics, taken in 2022, were released last month. They paint a grim picture: according to the data,...
By Larry Sand
The War on Boys and Girls
The War on Boys and Girls
Over the years, a cause for teen angst, suicide, etc., has reportedly been the media. But there is no definitive evidence to corroborate that. In fact, every recent generation has traditionally pointed to the media or some other cultural factor as damaging to youth. In the 1920s, it was the Charleston, and in the 1940s,...
By Larry Sand
The Covid Lockdown Disaster: Three Years Later
The Covid Lockdown Disaster: Three Years Later
Beginning in March 2020, many bad decisions were made that will impact untold numbers of young people for the rest of their lives. There has been nothing but awful news about the unnecessary Covid-related shutdown of American schools. Study after study and a mass of anecdotal evidence show the harm done by the forced lockdowns....
By Larry Sand
The School Choice Battles Ahead
The School Choice Battles Ahead
As we transition into 2023, we can see that the field of education will once again be a contentious one, as too many government-run schools are failing, and parents are not happy. In Chicago, for example, great numbers of students are avoiding their local schools. In fact, more than one-third of the city’s public schools...
By Larry Sand
Our Devastating Education Schemes
Our Devastating Education Schemes
We need to get back to educational basics. Little did I know that when I was teaching in the 1990s and “multicultural education” became all the rage, that it was just the beginning of an onslaught of radical endeavors that shows no sign of abating. As 2022 winds down, let’s take a glimpse at...
By Larry Sand
School Choice Tremors
School Choice Tremors
Election results show that parental freedom is on the move, but too many children are still stuck in government-run schools with few options. The election on November 8th was good for the school choice movement. As Corey DeAngelis, senior fellow at the American Federation for Children, explains, 76% of candidates supported by his organization won...
By Larry Sand
School Board Battles Are Raging
School Board Battles Are Raging
Teachers unions finally have some competition in all-important school board races. It’s no secret that the teachers unions have control over most aspects of public education in the U.S. The school boards, which negotiate with unions over salary, work rules, etc. are particularly important for the unions to dominate. To that end, Michael Hartney, a...
By Larry Sand
The Systemic Racism of Teachers Unions
The Systemic Racism of Teachers Unions
NEA & AFT back race-based admission policies. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that could reverse the 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger decision, in which SCOTUS asserted that the use of an applicant’s race as a factor in an admissions policy of a public educational institution does not violate...
By Larry Sand
On the Nation’s Report Card, Teachers Unions Get an F
On the Nation’s Report Card, Teachers Unions Get an F
In light of recent test scores and the proliferation of CRT, America’s future is not promising. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) – known as The Nation’s Report Card – “gives us a window into the state of our K-12 education system.” The results provide educators, policymakers, elected officials, and parents across the country...
By Larry Sand
Voting for the Kids
Voting for the Kids
While there is no shortage of issues to consider when marking ballots on Election Day, education matters should be high on the list. All citizens, taxpayers, and parents, of course, have a stake in righting our wayward educational ship. Fortunately, the political angle has been front and center since parent-friendly Republican Glenn Youngkin beat out establishment Democrat...
By Larry Sand
The Unamazing Randi
The Unamazing Randi
James “The Amazing” Randi, who died at age 92 in 2020, began his career in the 1940s as an illusionist and escape artist. But eventually he became a “disillusionist” who traveled the country “exposing seers who did not see, healers who did not heal, and many others.” Then there is the head of the American...
By Larry Sand
The Education Exodus Advances
The Education Exodus Advances
In August, it was reported that over the past two school years, children whose public schools were shuttered during the Covid panic were much less likely to return when they reopened. According to the American Enterprise Institute, k-12 enrollment in the 2020-2021 school year had declined by 2.7%, or about 1.2 million students nationwide. But...
By Larry Sand
Class Size Lies
Class Size Lies
The number of children in the classroom has no effect on educational achievement. The perennial, “We have a teacher shortage!” canard has a younger and equally bogus sibling known as, “Children do better in a small class setting!” In fact, lower class size is very often on the list of demands when teachers go out...
By Larry Sand