Grad rates have become the education establishment’s Potemkin village

By Larry Sand
02/13/2018
Too many schools are failing, and parents need a way for their kids to escape from them. A couple of months ago, the education establishment told us that “U.S. Graduation Rate Hits New All-Time High, With Gains in All Student Groups.” But in the real world this is nothing more than a façade – a...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California High School Exit Examination, credit recovery classes, dropouts, EdChoice, graduation rate, Larry Sand, Randi Weingarten, school choice, teachers union

Too many kids are failing in California, and so is the education establishment

By Larry Sand
01/24/2018
High school graduation rates have traditionally been a barometer of student success, as well as a measure of the quality of school systems. The members of California’s education establishment have been high-fiving each other over the state’s on-time high school graduation rate reaching 83.2 percent in 2016. But a peak behind the curtain reveals some...

TAGS: California High School Exit Examination, dropouts, graduation rate, Larry Sand, National School Choice Week, Patrick Wolf, vouchers

Life After Deasy

By Larry Sand
10/28/2014
It was only a matter of time before the Los Angeles school chief was run out of town. John Deasy is the latest to exit the fast-moving revolving door known as Los Angeles School Superintendent. The job – really an impossible one – saw Roy Romer replace Ray Cortines in 2001. Romer in turn was...

TAGS: dropouts, John Deasy, Kate Walsh, LA School Report, Larry Sand, Los Angeles Unified School District, National Council on Teacher Quality, Parent Trigger, Rolf Treu, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles, Vergara case