Free Republic

During an interview aired on Friday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” President Donald Trump stated that Iran wants to trade with the U.S. and he’s fine with that, because “I’m using trade to settle scores and to make peace.” Trump said, [relevant remarks begin around 8:30] “Iran wants to trade with us, okay, if you can believe that, and I’m okay with it. I’m using trade to settle scores and to make peace. But I’ve told Iran, we make a deal, you’re going to be really — you’re going to be very happy.” He continued, “But, more...

Louisiana implemented new educational choice scholarships, accountability systems, and programs during 2024. The Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise scholarship program, or GATOR, was signed into law this year to provide educational scholarship accounts to families across the state so they can have more choice in what schools their children attend. The funds can also be used for tutors, online school tuition, curriculum or even to fund a hybrid program where a student attends a private school part time. Although the program is a major project for the department of education, it doesn't officially start until 2025 as some...

Students are the least prepared for college than they’ve been in three decades, according to the nonprofit organization that administers the ACT. The organization found more than 4 in 10 high school seniors hit none of the college readiness benchmarks, saying this is “historic highs in 2023.” The decline marks a 32-year low for high school seniors’ scores on the test, with results like this last seen in 1991.

A Hillary Clinton campaigner has received backlash online after claiming that parents who support admission tests and gifted programs are part of the 'far right.' Amanda Litman made the comments last week while reacting to the results of a New York City parent council election that saw candidates endorsed by Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education (PLACE) win a majority of seats. PLACE supports academic screenings policies like the Specialized High School Admissions Test, or SHSAT, as well as expanding accelerated curriculum options and gifted and talented programs, which critics say leads to segregation. The group also opposes lottery-based...

The average reading and math test scores for U.S. 13-year-olds have plummeted since 2020, according to data from National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The decline in math skills for children this age is “the single largest decline” in the past half century according to experts. The average mathematics score for 13-year-olds declined nine points between the 2019 – 2020 and 2022 – 2023 school years, and the average reading score declined four points over the same time period of time, according to the NAEP. “Green shoots,” a term used to describe signs of recovery during a downturn, “have not...

According to internal documents reviewed by Vice, the Department of Homeland Security in 2018 sought to develop a method for assigning “risk scores” to social media users, in a program to identify “disinformation” efforts named “Night Fury” by the DHS. The DHS worked with the University of Alabama to develop the “Night Fury” system, the concept of which bears a striking resemblance to the Chinese “social credit” scores assigned to citizens to measure their compliance with the regime.

Baltimore’s failing schools. Recent test scores found that there were 23 schools in the city where not even one child was doing math at grade level. These included Elementary Schools, Middle Schools and High Schools. Those were the extreme low end but the numbers also showed that city-wide just 7% of 3-8th graders were doing math at grade level. Today, Fox News highlights a similar report coming out of Illinois from a conservative group called Wirepoints. In this case, there were 53 schools where not one child could do math at grade level. Granted this is a small number of...

In mid-November, while the whole world was focused on the Ukraine crisis, the US midterms or whatever other “big story” the media decided was more important, a truly momentous shift took place in the global financial system. It might seem like a small step on the surface, but it has the potential to bring about a real and possibly irreversible sea change in the way we use money; or better said, the way it uses us. As Reuters reported on the 15th of November, “Global banking giants are starting a 12-week digital dollar pilot with the Federal Reserve Bank of...

I woke up on time this morning, hitting the alarm on the first ring. I had slept OK that night according to my fitness tracker. I didn’t need it to tell me I normally slept badly, but the social workers wouldn’t let you get healthcare under the limited government programs if you didn’t wear it.

High schoolers who take music courses score significantly better on exams in certain other subjects, including math and science, than their non-musical peers, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association. "It is believed that students who spend school time in music classes, rather than in further developing their skills in math, science and English classes, will underperform in those disciplines. Our research suggests that, in fact, the more they study music, the better they do in those subjects." "Students who participated in music, who had higher achievement in music, and who were highly engaged in music had...

The Seahawks pulled off an amazing comeback against the Packers on Sunday, but don't credit that comeback to Divine Intervention. During his weekly radio show on WAUK-AM in Wisconsin, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said that his belief is that God doesn't care who wins or loses a football game. The subject came up during a segment where host Jason Wilde asks Rodgers a question that was submitted by a Packers fan.

The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice recently published an analysis entitled, “More Than Scores: An Analysis of Why and How Parents Choose Private Schools.” The study took a look at the Georgia GOAL scholarship system, in which parents would get money from the state (i.e., a school voucher) in order to send their children to private schools. The GOAL’s oversight entity, the Georgia Education Expense Credit Program, is structured in a way to give tax credits for contributing to a “qualified Student Scholarship Organization (SSO).” An individual can receive a tax credit for contributing up to $1,000, a married couple...

Seven people seriously hurt after part of Shaftesbury Avenue theatre collapsed during The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time .

Stringent state rules require school districts to lay off employees based on flawed rankings, according to a new study. And the state's report card might be punishing school districts and education employees who are doing a good job. The Michigan Department of Education is required by state and federal laws to rank schools to try to measure their quality. The MDE developed "Top-to-Bottom" rankings, which are broadly based on student proficiency (50 percent of a school's grade), student growth (25 percent) and achievement gap (25 percent). But the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and many school officials say the Top-to-Bottom...

State exam scores plunged to record lows across most grades after the state raised the bar to pass the spring 2013 exams for 3rd through 8th graders, according to results released today. Overall, math scores took the biggest hit on the Illinois Standards Achievement Tests. The steepest drop was for 3rd graders taking the math test, state officials reported. Only 54.9 percent of them passed compared with 87.7 percent the year before. The percentage of students passing reading and math tests in each of the other grades fell to about 59 percent, compared to the mid to high 70s and...

Georgia attorney general releases 800-plus page report detailing cheating scandal at Atlanta public schools. Teachers, school administrators and principals were directly involved with various efforts – including outright cheating and changing student answers – to increase the Atlanta school systems student performance scores. Some even held “erasure parties” on weekends to change answers. The report stated that children were denied special-educational assistance because their falsely reported CRCT scores were too high, and during testing, teachers pointed to the correct answer while standing at students’ desks. According to the report, Parks Middle School had the most educators accused of cheating under...

On the surface, the fight between the governor of Wisconsin and organized labor is about balancing state budgets and collective bargaining rights. Behind the scenes, hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation to top labor leaders as well as campaign contributions to Democrats could be in jeopardy if workers lose. The trickle-up effect of the standoff in Wisconsin and other states could irreparably damage the corporate-like compensation structures that the Top 10 labor unions have built over decades. Union treasuries—filled by dues paid by union members—not only fund programs benefiting union members and their families. The money also pays six-figure...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Insurgent US "Tea Party" conservatives scored another big upset victory, as a political novice routed a veteran lawmaker to become the Republican contender for Vice President Joe Biden's old senate seat. With all precincts reporting, unofficial results showed Christine O'Donnell had beaten popular moderate Representative Mike Castle by a 53.1-46.9 percent margin in the Republican primary in the small US East Coast state of Delaware. "The voters in the Republican primary have spoken and I respect that decision," Castle said in a somber concession speech in which he did not endorse his rival following a bitter weeks-long...

Exploring the respected notion of higher “general education” in America, the American Counsel of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) set WhatWillTheyLearn.com in motion, a project aimed at evaluating major public and private colleges and universities on seven key areas of knowledge; English composition, foreign language, literature, U.S. government or history, economics, mathematics, and the sciences. ACTA, an independent and non-profit organization, upholds to the standards of “academic freedom, excellence, and accountability” of America’s schools while releasing accurate rankings. Such a task is especially important during this time of rising tuition costs and economic uncertainty. This online, college ranking guide is currently...

President Barack Obama scores well among ethics watchdog groups in his first year in office, though they’d still like to see more from the president. Obama has wielded the power of the White House to craft an executive order that limited lobbyist hires in his administration, push federal agencies to share more of their data with the public and begin releasing visitor records for the executive complex on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.