The Answer Sheet: school choice


Posted at 12:31 PM ET, 06/17/2013

Is competition in education killing our sense of community?

By Valerie Strauss
If the choice and competition campaign succeeds, any sense of community we could hope to have will be sold down the river, American University's education dean says.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:31 PM ET, 06/17/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  A Dean Weighs In, School choice, School Reform

Posted at 01:02 PM ET, 05/20/2013

What's wrong with school 'choice'? Here's what.

By Valerie Strauss
The idea of giving students a choice of where to go school -- with public funds -- may sound good, but there are problems attached.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:02 PM ET, 05/20/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School choice, Vouchers

Posted at 05:02 AM ET, 05/18/2013

Are school vouchers losing steam?

By Valerie Strauss
Vouchers have been at the center of the school choice movement for many reformers, but they may be in trouble.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:02 AM ET, 05/18/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Charters Taking Precedent, School choice, Vouchers

Posted at 04:14 PM ET, 02/28/2013

Welfare for the rich? Private school tax credit programs expanding

By Valerie Strauss
What sequester? Some states are using public money to pay private school tuition through controversial tax credit programs that benefit the rich. And the programs are expanding..

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:14 PM ET, 02/28/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Just Another School Choice, School choice, Tax Credits

Posted at 02:17 PM ET, 01/30/2013

Six best e-mails on National School Choice Week
By Valerie Strauss
It's School Choice Week, which is not easy to forget if your email queue fills up every few hours with messages that have subject lines like the ones below. There are, according to the website, "3,600 events and counting!" to celebrate school choice, which has become one of the primary focuses of school reformers in America today.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:17 PM ET, 01/30/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Happy Hours and More, Lots of Events, School choice

Posted at 11:59 AM ET, 11/19/2012

Why some conservatives oppose vouchers

By Valerie Strauss
While Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush and Bobby Jindal support vouchers, not all conservatives do, though it's not for the same reasons that fuel opposition from public school advocates. Here's why.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:59 AM ET, 11/19/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  School choice, School Reform

Posted at 01:52 PM ET, 11/18/2012

D.C. vouchers: What you need to know

By Valerie Strauss
Hundreds of D.C. student who receive money from the congressionally created voucher program attend unaccredited schools, including one school whose curriculum is based on a Bulgarian psychotherapist's philosophy and one Nation of Islam school. There's plenty more in a Post investigation.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:52 PM ET, 11/18/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  A Post Investigation, D.C. vouchers; Voucher Programs, School choice

Posted at 12:48 AM ET, 11/07/2012

Florida rejects using public funds for religious school tuition

By Valerie Strauss
Florida voters defeated a measure that would have allowed the use of public funds for religious school tuition, effectively turning back an effort that was expected to lead to a state-wide voucher program.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:48 AM ET, 11/07/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  'No' on Vouchers, School choice, School Reform, Vouchers

Posted at 12:03 PM ET, 10/26/2012

Study: Demography remains destiny in NYC despite school choice reforms
By Valerie Strauss
School reformers like to say demography is not destiny. But a new study of New York City's reform effort, which made school choice a priority, has failed to bring about educational equity.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:03 PM ET, 10/26/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Education Research, Research, School choice

Posted at 12:26 PM ET, 10/19/2012

Playing hardball over a Tennessee charter school

By Valerie Strauss
Well, they went ahead and did it. Tennessee education officials actually lived up to their petulant threat to withhold $3.4 million from Nashville public schools as punishment for refusing to allow a controversial charter school to open.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:26 PM ET, 10/19/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Charter Schools, School choice

Posted at 03:31 PM ET, 10/08/2012

Next on school reformers’ agenda

By Valerie Strauss
Principals can expect to be in the

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:31 PM ET, 10/08/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Education Policy, School Reform; School Choice, What's Coming

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 02/27/2011

2 false claims that drive school reform
By Valerie Strauss
"Accountability" and "merit" are compelling concepts, especially when we are talking about adults who are charged with educating our children. But the concepts have been misused in school reform, writes an educator.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:00 AM ET, 02/27/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Accountability, Charter schools, Guest Bloggers, Performance pay, Teacher assessment | Tags:  accountability movement, charter schools, geoffrey canada, merit pay, michelle rhee, performance pay, school choice, teacher pay, teachers, waiting for superman

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 12/14/2010

Where education reform is heading: From extreme to extremum
By Valerie Strauss
If you want to understand where public education reform is heading, look south and east to Florida, where the governor-elect, Rick Scott, is talking about a new funding student formula that is more likely to destroy the public school system than accomplish anything else.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 12/14/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Charter schools, Charter schools, Charter schools | Tags:  florida schools, jeb bush, opportunity scholarships, private schools, public education system, public schools, rick scott, school choice movement, school funding formula, universal voucher program, universal vouchers, vouchers

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 11/17/2010

The sad story of an L.A. school labeled 'failing'
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher at a Los Angeles middle school writes about why her school was just declared to be "failing" and why the designation is patently unfair: "In today’s world of testing and sanctions, best efforts are irrelevant if scores do not increase at a fast enough rate."

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 11/17/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  failing schools, la schools, los angeles unified school district, public school choice, schools, teacher assessment, teachers, value-added measurement

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 10/22/2010

Economic school integration: A response to Valerie Strauss and Jerry Weast
By Valerie Strauss
Richard D. Kahlenberg makes strong arguments as he responds to separate criticism that Montgomery County Public Schools Supt. Jerry Weast and I raised about a Century Foundation report about economic school integration in Montgomery County.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 AM ET, 10/22/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  century foundation, economic integration, economic school integration, jerry weast, mcps, montgomery county, montgomery county public schools, richard kahlenberg, school choice, socioeconomic integregation, the answer sheet, valerie strauss