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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- Opinion
8 Education Choice Wins in 2020
This year, the coronavirus pandemic presented new hurdles for 55.1 million students and their families after 124,000 public and private schools closed nationwide. Despite these unprecedented challenges, policymakers and families responded quickly with innovative solutions, which helped to advance education choice in 2020. Here are eight examples of education choice wins from this year: 1….Jude Schwalbach -
- Opinion
Human Rights Campaign Wants Christian Schools to Abandon Beliefs or Lose Accreditation
The Human Rights Campaign—a large, influential LGBTQ advocacy group— recently released a policy brief with recommendations for a Biden administration, and the suggestions are alarming. The organization’s “Blueprint for Positive Change 2020” describes itself as “a comprehensive list of 85 individual policy recommendations aimed at improving the lives of LGBTQ people.” But the Human Rights…Nicole Russell -
- Opinion
Feeling Guilty About Everything? Thank Critical Race Theory
Noxious Marxist theories that have festered in academia for decades finally burst out of ivy-covered walls in 2020, invading all aspects of American life. It wasn’t just the cities succumbing to nightly riots—everything from sporting events, to classrooms, to the workplace was hammered with the message that America was never the land of the free….Jonathan Butcher -
- News
Ohio County Closes Schools, Leaves Casino Open
The blackjack tables remain open in Toledo, Ohio, but some middle schools and all high schools are required to close. An order issued by Ohio’s Lucas County Regional Board of Health on Nov. 25 mandated that “education for Grades 7-12 (or 9 to 12 depending on school configuration) will be virtual from December 4th until…Virginia Allen -
- News
Education or Indoctrination? ‘Anti-Racist’ Teaching Sweeps K-12 Schools Targeting ‘Whiteness’
The notices to parents began arriving fast and furious in the weeks after the death of George Floyd in late May. In dramatic, urgent language, K-12 schools across the country—both public and private—professed solidarity with Black Lives Matter and vowed to dismantle white supremacy, as they scrambled to introduce anti-racist courses and remake themselves into…John Murawski -
- Opinion
The Tragedy of Black Education Is New
Several years ago, Project Baltimore began an investigation of Baltimore’s school system. What it found was an utter disgrace. In 19 of Baltimore’s 39 high schools, out of 3,804 students, only 14 of them, or less than 1%, were proficient in math. In 13 of Baltimore’s high schools, not a single student scored proficient in…Walter E. Williams -
- 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