K-12 education

William A. Dembski and Alex Thomas released a new book, Defying Low Expectations: What Jaime Escalante Taught Us About Learning. The authors describe the book as follows: Jaime Escalante didn’t just teach calculus in East LA; he blew up the lie that poor, minority students can’t handle serious academics—and then watched the system quietly bury the evidence. Defying Low Expectations tells the story beyond Stand and Deliver, the 1988 film about Escalante starring Edward James Olmos that became a classroom staple. Here we learn about the immigrant teacher from Bolivia, the maverick principal Henry Gradillas who cleared a path for him, and the forces that dismantled their success once it became too threatening to the status quo. Drawing on fresh Read More ›

America’s workforce crisis is leaving too many young people and adults on the sidelines. According to Nick Moore, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education, “more than one in ten young people aged 16-24 are disconnected from both school and work, while many adults face barriers to reentry due to credential opacity, benefits cliffs, or misalignment between education and employer needs.” This reality underscores the need for a workforce system that delivers clear pathways to skills, credentials, and employment. Thankfully, the Trump administration is taking decisive action to address this through multifaceted measures that merge education and workforce development programs that will provide a brighter future for Americans. It Read More ›

As part of National School Choice Week, the White House hosted an important school choice roundtable event today with U.S. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon. Discovery Institute Senior Fellow and American Center for Transforming Education Director Keri Ingraham was in attendance. The Trump Administration continues to recognize Ingraham’s significant contributions toward advancing education freedom in our nation through her leadership of the American Center for Transforming Education. School choice, empowering parents, and creating a free-market K-12 education are the much-needed solutions. Also, this week, Ingraham attended the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing titled “Empowering Families Through Educational Choice in America.” The committee is chaired by Senator Bill Cassidy, who opened the event, providing sound clarity. Read More ›

National School Choice Week is a great time to celebrate the opportunities and innovations taking place in America’s K-12 education system. At the core of school choice lies this belief: parents — not bureaucrats — know what’s best for their child’s education. Every year, there are school choice highlights, but this year is marked by extraordinary advances in education freedom. While school choice legislation at the state level is underway, there’s a brand-new, transformative law at the federal level: the Federal Tax Credit Scholarship. In a remarkably short period, 26 governors have opted their states into the Federal Tax Credit Scholarship, unlocking new opportunities for families and demonstrating nationwide confidence in policies that put parents in the driver’s seat of Read More ›

It’s National School Choice Week in America, and the advancement of education freedom is sweeping the country. Governors are opting-in their states to the new federal tax credit scholarship at rapid rates. The scholarship allows taxpayers to contribute up to $1,700 per year to a qualified non-profit scholarship-granting organization and receive a nonrefundable dollar-for-dollar tax credit. Organizations like ACE Scholarships award scholarships to K-12 students. Federal tax credit scholarships can be used for a variety of educational expenses, including tuition, fees, books, tutoring, transportation, and services for students with special needs. The landmark legislation was fittingly signed into law on Independence Day last year by President Donald Trump as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill. Already, nineteen states are set to participate in the federal Read More ›

Keri D. Ingraham recently appeared on the Knight & Rose Show. Together with Wintery Knight and guest host Bonnie, Dr. Ingraham discussed the importance of introducing the free market into K-12 education, the current dismal reading and math scores of public school students, parental rights and involvement in education, and the exciting school choice wave that has swept the nation, offering hope to parents and students for a better education.

For far too long, K-12 education has been dominated by monopolies — the public education system, state standardized testing, the SAT and ACT college entrance exams, Advanced Placement, and the International Baccalaureate program. The result has been soaring educational costs, declining quality, and a lack of innovation, all to the detriment of students nationwide. But one company, Classic Learning Test, is bent on bringing competitive alternatives to break up those monopolies, which have been watered down in quality and infused with woke ideologies. The Classic Learning Test (CLT) “exists to reconnect knowledge and virtue by providing meaningful assessments and connections to seekers of truth, goodness, and beauty.” To the surprise of many, the CLT isn’t just for students of classical Read More ›

Teachers are incentivized in education to stay in the profession longer through the step-and-lane salary schedule, which gives a raise each year for experience, regardless of professional performance. This creates a system in which individuals are not accountable for proving they are providing student learning. Teacher pay is not linked to student test scores or student growth; rather, it is based on time in the profession. High-achieving individuals enter the profession and find that their hard work and professional results are not rewarded. They often leave the system to pursue a career opportunity in which their job performance is recognized with financial compensation. It’s time the system was flipped so that high performance by educators is incentivized and rewarded. The status Read More ›

On Monday, November 24, Keri D. Ingraham appeared live with Jim Iuorio and Bobby Iaccino on their Futures Edge Show. Together, they first discussed last week’s major announcement that the Department of Education would be delegating various responsibilities to other federal departments. They then delved into the reforms required to incentivize teachers to excel in their field, the strengths of industry-specific high schools and microschools, how Indiana is reforming education, the role of AI in education, and more.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced six interagency agreements (IAAs) with four federal agencies to take another major step forward toward fulfilling the promise of dismantling the 45-year failure of the astronomically expensive and ineffective department. The agreements are with the Department of Labor, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of State. According to a press release from the Department of Education, “by partnering with agencies that are best positioned to deliver results for students and taxpayers, these IAAs will streamline federal education activities on legally required programs, reduce administrative burdens, and refocus programs and activities to better serve students and grantees.” The six agreements are as follows. First Read More ›

In Scottsdale, Arizona, on November 18, Discovery Institute Senior Fellow and American Center for Transforming Education Director Keri D. Ingraham addressed the audience in a packed ballroom at the Hilton Scottsdale Resort during day one of Discovery Institute’s COSM Technology Summit, spanning three days. She referenced the countless significant accomplishments across various policy areas, including education reform, that the Honorable Doug Ducey achieved during his eight years as Governor of Arizona. Most notably, on July 7, 2022, Governor Ducey signed universal school choice into law by expanding the Empowerment Scholarship Account program to all of Arizona’s more than 1.1 million students. At the time, Governor Ducey explained: Arizona kids will no longer be locked in underperforming schools. We are unlocking Read More ›

On Oct. 17, Indiana submitted a waiver application to the U.S. Department of Education seeking flexibility and a reduction of red tape from Washington. Under the leadership of Gov. Mike Braun and Secretary of Education Katie Jenner, Indiana is innovating K-12 education from all angles, and the rest of the nation should take note. Upon taking office in January, Braun expanded eligibility for the Choice Scholarship Program to all families in the Hoosier State, creating a free market K-12 education landscape. Demand for education options has surged, and providers have responded. In Indiana, private school choices have expanded significantly over the past four years, with enrollment up 22 percent. Indiana also offers robust public school choice, including inter-district and intra-district Read More ›