Florida’s Education Reforms: The Rest of the Story

Lindsey Burke / December 06, 2010

The education establishment is pushing back against common-sense education reforms that have proved successful in Florida. Dr. Madhabi Chatterji, a professor at Columbia Teachers College, has written a paper critical of a Heritage  study of these reforms by Matthew Ladner, Vice President of Research at the Goldwater Institute and I. Last week, The Washington Post’s education blog, The Answer Sheet, devoted itself to presenting Dr. Chatterji’s critique.  We are now responding.

To review: Our study concluded that education reforms implemented under then-Governor Jeb Bush have produced significant academic gains, particularly among minority students. Florida’s Hispanic students, for example, are now outperforming or tied with the overall reading average for all students in 31 states. (more…)