Education News
Reports on education reform, school choice, and classroom policies. The Daily Signal provides conservative commentary and opinion alongside education news.
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- News
Online Learning Tanked Grades, Learning in VA’s Largest School System, Study Finds
Virtual learning due to the coronavirus pandemic is tanking academic achievement in the largest school system in Virginia, a study from Fairfax County Public Schools published this week found. “Results indicate a widening gap between students who were previously performing satisfactorily and those performing unsatisfactorily,” the report said. “Students who performed well previously primarily performed slightly…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- News
‘Single Biggest Stimulus We Could Add’: Warren Ups Pressure on Biden to Cancel Student Debt
Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren again called for former Vice President Joe Biden to cancel student debt when he takes office in January. Warren, who supported canceling nearly all student debt when she ran for president, said Tuesday that doing so was a “mandate” to Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris. “For me it is a…Andrew Trunsky -
- Opinion
What American Schools Should Teach About Race, Racism, and Slavery
Regarding race and much else, America’s students are not taught history. In fact, they are not taught; they are indoctrinated. With anti-Americanism. The purpose of all teaching about race in American schools is to engender contempt for America. They are, therefore, “taught” the lies of The New York Times’ 1619 Project—that the United States was…Dennis Prager -
- Opinion
Student Loan Forgiveness a Regressive Policy That Hurts Working Americans
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., are calling on the next administration to forgive $50,000 in student loan debt for every borrower through executive order, doing so, in Schumer’s words, “with the pen as opposed to legislation.” As higher education scholar Preston Cooper writes, “At a cost of roughly $1…Lindsey Burke -
- Opinion
Should Blacks Support Destruction of Charter Schools?
The academic achievement gap between black and white students has proven resistant to most educational policy changes. Some say that educational expenditures explain the gap, but is that true? Look at educational per pupil expenditures: Baltimore city ranks fifth in the U.S. for per pupil spending at $15,793. The Detroit Public Schools Community District spends…Walter E. Williams -
- Opinion
Discipline Suffers as San Diego Schools Adopt ‘Anti-Racism’ Grading System
Equality is out and “equity” is in. The San Diego Unified School District has approved a change to its grading system that coincides with broader ideas of restorative justice and “anti-racism.” It will do this by no longer letting late assignments and bad behavior in the classroom affect grades. Students also won’t be penalized for…Jarrett Stepman -
- Opinion
What Happens When a High School Offers a Conservative Video
As far as HuffPost and the rest of the American left are concerned, no non-left-wing idea should be allowed to enter an American school. Not even for five minutes. This past month, Maumee High School, a high school near Toledo, Ohio, offered its students a way to receive some extracurricular credit. In the words of…Dennis Prager -
- News
Harvard’s President Creates Committee to Weigh Removal of ‘Historical Figures’ From Campus
Harvard University announced the creation of a committee Monday “to articulate general principles” for removing the names of “historical figures” from campus, according to a statement from the school president. Harvard President Lawrence S. Bacow said the committee should evaluate “the individual’s failings and flaws but also the individual’s positive contributions to the University and…Mary Rose Corkery -
- Opinion
The Despicable Teachings on College Campuses
The ugliness that we have recently witnessed—including rioting, billions of dollars of property destruction, assaults, murders, and grossly stupid claims about our nation—has its origins on college campuses. Two websites, College Reform and College Fix, report on the despicable teachings on college campuses across the nation. Let us look at some of it. In response…Walter E. Williams -
- Opinion
What’s the Impact on Families and Kids If Schools Stay Closed?
School districts are “losing contact with thousands of students, from Philadelphia to Houston to Los Angeles,” according to news reports. What is going on here? Jonathan Butcher, senior policy analyst for the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation, joins The “Daily Signal News” podcast to discuss the impact on families and children when…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
Civil Society Can Usher in a New Era of Education
Learning hasn’t been easy for Ayana Osborne’s family, who became homeless in December 2019. Mandatory school closures due to COVID-19 meant that her three children enrolled in D.C. public schools spent the spring semester trying to attend their virtual education on the two public computers in a hotel lobby. As D.C. schools began the fall semester…Jude Schwalbach -
- Opinion
Liberal Totalitarianism Is Dominating College Campuses
American liberals once prided themselves on their fidelity to the First Amendment. Indeed, they had an expansive understanding of it. They defended unpopular speech and even the most provocative examples of “freedom of expression.” One could question their hesitation to set limits in these areas, but there was something admirable about their principled defense of…Daniel J. Mahoney -
- Opinion
How School Choice Is About Marriage and Family, Not Just ‘the 3 Rs’
Nearly two decades ago, President George W. Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act, ushering in a period of education “reform” laser-focused on reading and math achievement. That effort shined a bright light on academic achievement gaps, disaggregating student outcomes by race and income, and providing reams of data detailing all the…Lindsey Burke -
- Opinion
The Civil Rights Legend Who Opposed Critical Race Theory
Critical race theory is in the news these days, but many people still may not know what it really means. They think critical race theory is part of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s civil rights efforts. In truth, it is directly opposed to the central concept and vision he most stood for. One of the last and…Steve Klinsky -
- Opinion
Plan for Higher Education Would Fuel ‘Degree Inflation,’ Further Federal Takeover
When addressing the very real issues of rising student loan debt and unaffordable tuition prices, former Vice President Joe Biden’s policy solutions embrace the false promise of “free college.” The Biden campaign recently released “The Biden Plan for Education Beyond High School,” which details many proposals the plan’s authors suggest are the cure for fixing…Mary Clare Amselem -
- Opinion
How ‘Systemic Liberalism’ Failed Public Education in America
Liberalism and its big government underpinnings have become systemic in American culture and institutions, with a profound impact on the nation. In large part, an increasingly biased media, Hollywood, Big Tech, and academia have driven the left’s rise in prominence. Freedom of thought, tolerance, and inclusion, once foundational principles of liberalism, have been replaced by…Robert Basmadjian -
- News
Public Schools Across Country Promote Black Lives Matter, Organize Protests
Public schools across the country have endorsed the Black Lives Matter movement and encouraged teachers, students, and parents to do the same, with some schools organizing their own BLM protests, a Daily Caller News Foundation review found. The Black Lives Matter movement has been linked to 91% of riots across the United States between May 24 and…Peter Hasson -
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4 Key Moments From Trump’s Speech on History, Critical Race Theory
President Donald Trump, in Constitution Day remarks, drew a direct connection between the riots and mayhem in the streets to what schools are teaching about America. “Our mission is to defend the legacy of America’s founding, the virtue of America’s heroes, and the nobility of the American character,” the president said at the National Archives…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Why ‘A PLUS’ Would Be Better Than Yet Another Federal Education Bailout
The Senate last week rejected a $500 billion “skinny stimulus” proposal addressing the coronavirus pandemic that included $105 billion in new federal education spending. The latter is a sum double what is spent annually by the federal Education Department on K-12 schools. The proposal would have continued a failed legacy of ever-increasing federal education spending….Jude Schwalbach -
- News
Maryland to Add LGBTQ Content to Public Schools’ History Curricula
Maryland public school history teachers will add LGBTQ content to high school curricula in coming years, a lawmaker said. The Maryland State Department of Education agreed to add “expectations” and implement new standards for high school U.S. history curricula that includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and "queer" individuals, WUSA9 reported. The changes are expected to be…Mary Margaret Olohan