A hard look at education research
Here is a back-and-forth between the authors of a Heritage Foundation report on Florida’s school reforms and the author of a critique of the report. Florida’s public school system is frequently held up as an exemplary example of how specific school reforms -- vouchers, charter schools, high-stakes standardized tests, etc. -- can improve student achievement. I recently wrote about the report -- which praised the business-driven, pro-choice reforms -- and said they should be viewed as a model for the country. (The Dec. 2 post was headlined, “Is progress in Florida schools exaggerated?”) It was written by Matthew Ladner and Lindsey Burke for the Heritage Foundation, and entitled “Closing the Racial Achievement Gap: Learning from Florida’s Reforms.”