Opinion Forum

Testing in Schools Isn’t Working

July 8th, 2011

By Dr. Jim Taylor Testing has become the end-all, be-all of the public education reform movement. The idea seems quite sensible, that holding students (and teachers) to certain objective standards incentivizes both of these stakeholders to work harder and achieve their goals. It also seems reasonable to use the results of those tests as measures […]

Articles written by Dr. Jim Taylor
Tags: education, failure, NCLB, reform, schools, students, teachers, testing
Categories: Education, Politics, Science | Comments (1) | Home

North Korea and Food for Thought

May 2nd, 2011

By Dan Miller The New York Times editorialized on April 29th that since “food aid is not a political tool,” the United States and South Korea should give some to North Korea so that fewer innocents will starve. To its credit, the leading daily refrains from suggesting that it’s all our fault because we have […]

Articles written by Dan Miller
Tags: diversion, DPRK, food aid, North Korea, reform, South Korea, starvation
Categories: Military, News, Politics | Comments (1) | Home

In Public Education, It’s the Family, Stupid

March 21st, 2011

By Dr. Jim Taylor I love it when I’m right (a rarity, some would argue), or rather, when there is compelling evidence supporting a controversial position I’ve taken. This post is one of those moments. I have argued in previous posts that the billions of dollars being spent on public education reform at the school […]

Articles written by Dr. Jim Taylor
Tags: family, federal spending, inequality, NCLB, parents, public education, reform
Categories: Education, Life, News, Politics, Science | Comments (0) | Home

Are Public Education Chicken Littles Wrong?

December 20th, 2010

By Dr. Jim Taylor We have been hearing a constant drumbeat from politicians, policy wonks, and pundits that America’s public education system is losing the educational “arms race” against other countries around the world. These advocates for reform use the widely reported results of testing of students from dozens of countries showing that U.S. students […]

Articles written by Dr. Jim Taylor
Tags: international rankings, PISA, poverty, public education, reform, TIMSS
Categories: Education, Politics | Comments (2) | Home

S.T.A.M.P.E.R. not S.T.E.M. For Public Education Reform

October 25th, 2010

By Dr. Jim Taylor S.T.E.M. is one of the acronyms du jour in the current public education debate. It stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, which represent, some argue, the four areas that act as the foundation for America maintaining its preeminent position as world leaders in innovation and technological advancement. Some education reformers […]

Articles written by Dr. Jim Taylor
Tags: creativity, innovation, public education, reform, STAMPER, STEM
Categories: Education, Science | Comments (6) | Home