Opinion & Analysis

In explaining the patterns, the report pointed to Arkansas's small size that allows grassroots politics to have an impact on policy, the fact that advocacy groups work remarkably well together in coalitions, and a distinctly depoliticized state judiciary that allowed state courts the independence to make tough decisions, in addition to the state's populist political culture

Research suggests that students whose parents are involved in their schooling make better grades and are more likely to go to college, and some states -- with California leading the way of course -- are passing parent trigger laws that give parents much more power to intervene when local schools are failing.

In Connecticut, where Gov. Dannel Malloy has taken a leadership role in transforming urban education, diversity is the missing ingredient that has likely resulted in the tepid result unveiled at Hartford Public School’s 2013 State of the Schools symposium at the Bushnell Theater earlier this month.

Despite efforts by Missouri’s education department and area districts to increase enrollment in AP courses, the state’s public school students still rank among the bottom in the nation for both participation and pass rates, even though both are up in recent years.

Public schools are keenly aware of the power of the mainstream media; a critical television segment or a laudatory newspaper article will be talked about in the hallways for days. But the landscape has shifted, and school leaders must embrace a new, growing reality: social media has become the source for breaking news.

On the one hand, it’s good news that doomsday predictions for computer-less children have been exaggerated. However, giving out computers was one of the easier solutions to closing the poverty educational outcome gap, and now we have to go back to the drawing board.

The biggest reason Chicago’s school district says it’s closing 53 grammar schools is to give students a better education. CPS has promised that every student from a closing school will be sent to a better performing “welcoming” school.

The governor’s education reform program, which just completed its first school year, appears out of danger concerning loss of support in the upcoming two-year budget.

When groups representing educators discuss the achievement gap, they often say, “We know what works.’’ Far too often, though, that knowledge fails to produce results.

The closure of the Buena Vista School District should be viewed as a canary in the coal mine. Early coal mines had poor ventilation systems and since canaries are sensitive to gases, they would detect danger long before it became fatal to miners.