
The Associated Press aptly defined Republican 2016 contender Gov. Chris Christie’s position on Common Core as “shifting,” a description that could easily be applied to many Republican governors who signed their states on to the standards only to be met by irate parents and teachers once it was discovered what Common Core was all about.
by Dr. Susan Berry31 Dec 2015, 5:33 PM PST0

The former assistant Secretary for Communications to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan writes that Sen. Lamar Alexander’s enthusiasm for his “bipartisan” education bill – one that supposedly prohibits the federal government from mandating the Common Core standards – is “shamefully misleading.”
by Dr. Susan Berry29 Dec 2015, 6:20 AM PST0

A report finds the overall number of children in the United States diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) jumped 43 percent between 2003 and 2011.
by Dr. Susan Berry25 Dec 2015, 9:09 AM PST0

Establishment Washington Republicans could not say enough this past week about how the 1,061-page Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) reduces the federal government’s role in education and that it eliminates the fed’s coercion of states to stick with the unpopular Common Core standards. Perhaps most significant to these Republicans is that the bill was a self-proclaimed model of “bipartisanship.”
by Dr. Susan Berry12 Dec 2015, 11:41 AM PST0

Flanked by Senate education committee chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander and ranking member Sen. Patty Murray, President Barack Obama signed into law on Thursday the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the latest version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that was enacted in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
by Dr. Susan Berry10 Dec 2015, 8:10 PM PST0

The U.S. Senate approved the conference legislation known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), a measure that – once signed into law by President Obama – will replace the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federal law and will serve as the latest iteration of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
by Dr. Susan Berry9 Dec 2015, 10:26 AM PST0

Sen. Patty Murray is crowing about one of her crowning achievements in the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) legislation: a newly codified federal preschool program and the taxpayer monies that will fund it.
by Dr. Susan Berry9 Dec 2015, 10:05 AM PST0

Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio missed a Senate vote that advanced the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), a conference bill that is poised to replace the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law.
by Dr. Susan Berry8 Dec 2015, 2:35 PM PST0

Alexander, who chairs the Senate committee that oversees education, and ranking member Sen. Patty Murray, congratulated each other numerous times on the floor of the Senate for completing the 1,061-page “bipartisan” conference legislation, much of which was apparently crafted behind closed doors and passed by the House last week after having been published for review only two days earlier.
by Dr. Susan Berry8 Dec 2015, 11:21 AM PST0

During floor speeches, Republican lawmakers claimed the bill “reduces the federal role” in education – even though it extends federal oversight of education to formally include pre-school instead of only grades K-12. They also say the measure would stop the federal government from coercing states to implement the Common Core standards – a point that is hotly debated by conservative activists who say the bill actually cements the Common Core further.
by Dr. Susan Berry3 Dec 2015, 5:30 AM PST0

Sen. Lamar Alexander’s final draft of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reauthorization bill is a 1,059-page piece of legislation that House and Senate education committees decided upon after several months of backroom deals and only two days of open “conference.”
by Dr. Susan Berry1 Dec 2015, 8:49 AM PST0

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reauthorization bill was approved by a conference committee – by a vote of 39-1 – after just several hours of “conference.” But the bill will not be published in final form for lawmakers and parents to read until November 30 – just two days before it is voted on in the House on December 2. As Indiana parent Indiana parent Erin Tuttle says, “House members will be forced to vote on a bill they haven’t read. The American people expected a new style of leadership under Speaker Ryan, not more of the same.”
by Dr. Susan Berry26 Nov 2015, 11:00 AM PST0

On Wednesday, a congressional conference committee kicked off the effort to reauthorize No Child Left Behind (NCLB)—the latest version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)—amid the concerns of many conservative parents, who would prefer to see education taken out of the hands of the federal government and back into those of the individual states and local school districts.
by Dr. Susan Berry18 Nov 2015, 9:15 PM PST0

A national coalition of parents is releasing a letter to House and Senate education committee leaders urging them to suspend their talks on the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federal law until a new administration is elected.
by Dr. Susan Berry16 Oct 2015, 7:27 AM PST0

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced Tuesday that the U.S. Education Department (USED) finally renewed the state’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver on a short-term 2015-16 basis.
by Merrill Hope1 Oct 2015, 7:21 AM PST0

Graduating high school students’ SAT college admission scores fell again this year–to the lowest level in four decades. Rapidly growing expenditure on education seems to be producing poor test results.
by Chriss W. Street5 Sep 2015, 12:10 PM PST0

The Senate passed its version of the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law Thursday by a vote of 81-17. The approval of the Every Child Achieves Act now sends the measure to a conference with the House’s bill, which passed that chamber last week.
by Dr. Susan Berry16 Jul 2015, 9:22 PM PST0

The Senate voted to end debate on the Every Child Achieves Act (ECAA) Wednesday, 86-12, allowing for a final vote on Thursday on the measure that is that chamber’s version of the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind law.
by Dr. Susan Berry15 Jul 2015, 8:25 PM PST0

On June 14, Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) gave an impassioned speech about the need for school choice during the Senate debate on the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind.
by Jarrett Stepman15 Jul 2015, 8:19 AM PST0

Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) touted a proposal to report reading, math, and science tests results publicly and make “whether your state adopts Common Core” entirely your state’s decision” during Saturday’s GOP Weekly Address. Transcript (via ABC News Radio) as Follows: “Hello,
by Ian Hanchett11 Jul 2015, 6:04 AM PST0

Many in the GOP reportedly refrained from voting until the last minute and some changed their votes under pressure from Republican leadership. Only one conservative amendment, introduced by Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ) was adopted, by a vote of 251-178, that would allow parents to opt their children out of standardized testing.
by Dr. Susan Berry8 Jul 2015, 5:32 PM PST0

It’s worth noting that in the half-century since the ESEA was passed as part of Johnson’s “War on Poverty,” billions of dollars have been spent – by both Democrat and Republican administrations – on education and so-called “helpful” programs for “disadvantaged” children, and yet Democrats are still fighting for more federal control and federal programs and subsidies in order to “close the achievement gap.”
by Dr. Susan Berry7 Jul 2015, 12:46 PM PST0

The House’s version of the redo, known as the Student Success Act (H.R. 5), was pulled from the House floor by GOP leadership in late February after it was determined the measure lacked sufficient support. Grassroots parents’ groups – many that have been fighting against the Common Core standards in their states – voiced their concerns that the Student Success Act still required excessive federal intrusion into the right of states to set their own education policies.
by Dr. Susan Berry6 Jul 2015, 9:01 AM PST0

Republican leaders seem poised to resume attempts to convince the conservative base of their party that the bill will reduce federal involvement in education and return it to the states and localities.
by Dr. Susan Berry13 Jun 2015, 6:14 AM PST0

The authors observe that regardless of the decision in Jindal’s case, state and local school boards are facing significant challenges in “the collapsing morale and educational achievement of their students,” and need to consider their own legal path to rid themselves of the Common Core boondoggle.
by Dr. Susan Berry8 Jun 2015, 8:07 AM PST0