Making sure we identify poor teachers and have them exit the teaching profession should be of the utmost importance. This is because teachers, by far, have the single biggest impact on student success.

As teachers’ strikes continue to spread across Illinois, union officials are pushing back against criticisms that they are not doing enough to raise student achievement. One of the most common excuses they use to explain the lack of results – apart from claiming that low-income populations have too many issues to overcome, something the Institute showed is...

by Collin Hitt Federal education law compels states to create performance standards for their schools.  Some state choose high standards – creating a common expectation that students are learning at or above grade level.  Other states have low standards – benchmarks that are so easy for schools to meet that no meaningful information is provided...

by Collin Hitt Illinois lost a very-high-stakes federal grant competition. The “Race To The Top” program has gathered headlines across the country for the better part of a year.  It wrapped up earlier this week, with 12 states and the District of Columbia splitting $4B in stimulus largesse to fund public education. Ostensibly, the grant...