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...

A recent tactic, “bargaining for the common good” very well may bury the unions in Janus v. AFSCME. In June 2016, right around the time the Friedrichs v CTA case wound up in a 4-4 stalemate, Rachel Cohen wrote a piece for The American Prospect called “Teacher Unions Are ‘Bargaining for the Common Good. ’”...

Teacher union leaders palavering about evil corporations and the rich is a modern-day version of The Emperor’s New Clothes. The teachers unions really need to get some new talking points. Granted, straw men and hyperbole are common in political discourse, but union verbiage needs a serious makeover – the old model is giving hypocrisy a...

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...

As we celebrate National School Choice Week, some data, news and questions about the private option. Though the usual suspects are resolute as ever, school choice is advancing. There are now 469,000 students enrolled in 63 different private school choice programs in 29 states and Washington, D.C. Between 2013 and 2015, enrollment at private schools...

Despite what teachers unions tell you, collective bargaining is bad for kids and country.  Ask any teacher unionista – leader or camp follower – and they will tell you with great assuredness that when teachers are organized and collectively bargain, children are better educated. To bolster their argument, they say things like unions enable teachers...

We have barely unwrapped 2018, and the charter school haters are still partying like its 1992. Last week an article appeared in The Nation – the crusty old-world progressive rag that has been with us since Mr. Lincoln was shot – that blasted charter schools and dredged up the same tired old talking points the...

Low teacher quality leads to low student quality, which, in turn, leads to uneducated teachers, which then leads to…. What qualities does a good teacher have? Opinions abound, but love of kids, great work ethic, organization, an engaging personality, clear objectives for lessons, and effective discipline techniques are often mentioned. But, as important as any,...

Public employee freedom case is set to be heard by SCOTUS on Feb. 26. Two months from today, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in the Janus v AFSCME case, with a decision scheduled to be announced in June. If successful, it would free public employees in 22 states from having to pay any money to a union as a condition of employment.

A new poll shows that teachers are politically divided, but union political spending is anything but. The results of a poll released last week by the Education Week Research Center reveal that teachers are evenly distributed across the political map. 29 percent said they are liberal, 27 percent conservative and the remainder describe themselves as moderate. The results are not really surprising, as an internal National Education Association poll dating back to 2005 shows pretty much the same thing. In fact, the 2005 NEA survey, consistent with previous results, found that members “are slightly more conservative (50%) than liberal (43%) in political philosophy.”