Living a Lie?
By Watson Scott Swail, President and CEO, Educational Policy Institute Last night I had the pleasure of speaking at the College Board Major Systems Meeting in Napa, California. The audience included superintendents and principals from mostly California, but also Washington state, Utah, and other states in the western region. The purpose of my discussion was to provide a macro overview of the changing world, ala my … Continue reading Living a Lie?
International Comparison not Kind to the US
By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute Last week was not a good week for the United States, depending upon what one’s measure is. But if it happens to be mathematics and science—it wasn’t good. (EDITOR’S NOTE: If you are Canadian, it wasn’t a bad week at all!). This is because PISA came out last week. For those not in the know, … Continue reading International Comparison not Kind to the US
Foreign Affairs One School at a Time
By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute Without getting too political, I’m not very happy about the war in Iraq. In total, 3,866 confirmed US deaths and 4,170 total “allied” deaths as of this morning. On top of this, over 28,000 US wounded. Not very pretty numbers. A few more targeted IEDs and we could hit 4,000 before the ball drops in … Continue reading Foreign Affairs One School at a Time
Testing to Death
By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute This summer, Education Week’s Scott Cech wrote about test scores in 12 states, based on a study authored by Bruce Fuller of UC-Berkeley and the Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) at Stanford. The report finds that while academic progress appears to be increasing in mathematics, the growth rates are below those posted before and … Continue reading Testing to Death
Hillary Taking Charge in Postsecondary Education
By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute She’s already starting to look presidential. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner and the candidate that many observers now feel has a lock on the presidency (not necessary a good indicator this far out from the election), is putting real issues on the table while the other Democrat and Republican candidates are still getting their collective … Continue reading Hillary Taking Charge in Postsecondary Education
The Swail Letter on Higher Education 