Vicki Murray

The average national high school graduation rate, from 1997 to 2007, rose 3.1 percentage points to 68.8 percent, according to a recent report from Education Week. California’s graduation rate, meanwhile, dropped 4.7 percentage points to 62.7 percent. Only Nebraska and Nevada posted worse declines, and the problem is not limited to California high-schoolers. (more)

May was national Foster-Care Month, intended to raise awareness of a population among the most at-risk academically. The consensus of a recent statewide California Education Summit was that the Golden State does not oversee educational outcomes for these children. A scholarship program like Florida’s could improve their chances for success. (more)

Black, Hispanic, and low-income Florida fourth graders now outperform all California fourth graders in reading, according to National Assessment of Educational Progress results released last month by the U.S. Department of Education. Also known as the Nation’s Report Card, experts consider NAEP fourth-grade reading a leading predictor of success since students who have not mastered reading by fourth grade tend to fall further behind each year, increasing the likelihood they will ultimately drop out. (more)

Rigid contracts, uniform pay schedules, and teacher-union dues ultimately protect poor teachers and mediocre performance. When even America’s education newspaper of record, Education Week, admits that newer teachers’ commitment to the union is “tentative at best” in large part because of these policies, it is clear that union leadership is out of touch with economic and educational reality. (more)