Each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports on new jobs, unemployment and other measures about the labor force. At least 200,000 new jobs per month are needed to keep pace with labor force growth. But that paints an incomplete picture. The quality of jobs created and lost each month matters a lot. Well-paying […]
STEM
Students as Political Pawns
In the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), American 15-year olds did not improve their scores. Since 2000, the US science and reading scores have ranked average among the other 64 PISA nations, but the math scores were much lower. Some cynically spin this to mean that since the US has higher economic success […]
Common Core versus National or State or Local Standards
Should high school “graduation” imply enough skill to read a parts manual, make change for a $20 bill, and read an election ballot? Since students have the right to move about the country claiming to be graduates, it is in their interest and our interest that graduation means being “able to function in society beyond […]
Alan Daley in Real Clear Policy — Grant More H1B Visas
Alan’s piece is available at the Real Clear Policy website.
Educating Ourselves: A Major Choice
Around prom time each year, we hear how American students stack up against their international peers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). America’s rankings should concern even the optimists. But the contest is not over. Our high school grads have a few more years to develop skills that will shape much of their working […]