What SAT Scores Say About Teacher Effectiveness
The SAT has been in the news again, this time because of the claim that test-optional policies are a way for colleges to covertly impose affirmative action. It’s true that…
Did You Know? Both Parties Agree that College Needs to Change
When both Republicans and Democrats agree on an issue, the issue must be rather basic. Both parties agree that inflation is not ideal. Both parties agree that literacy is important.…
America Needs Better Teachers
It’s a sad fact that many of our teachers are weak. They’re weak on knowledge of their subjects and weak on teaching technique. Unfortunately, we know little about effective professional-development…
No, There Is Not a “Neoliberal” Poltergeist in Higher Ed
Higher education suffers from a multitude of flaws. University marketing departments habitually over-promise the benefits of their degree programs to unsuspecting high-school students. Mandatory “general education” classes extract sizable tuition…
The Truth About Student Mismatch
Among the arguments against the policy of admitting students to colleges because they have the right ancestry—that is, they appear to come from “underrepresented” minority groups—is the fact that it…
Did You Know? High School Graduation Rates Increased (!) During the Pandemic
While, in the last few years, higher education has seen dwindling enrollment rates, high school graduation rates have gone in the opposite direction. In fact, high school graduation rates have…
A Better Way to Teach Law
If you want to learn law and be a working lawyer in the United States, you have one option: earn a J.D. (Doctor of Laws) degree, which requires three years…
Peer-Reviewed History is Dying of Wokeness
What is the state of academic history? Take a look at the latest issue of the American Historical Review, the flagship journal of the academic discipline. It doesn’t publish bread-and-butter…
Did You Know? UNC’s Minor in Social and Economic Justice Doesn’t Require Economics Courses
UNC-Chapel Hill offers a wide variety of major and minor programs to its undergraduates, and each student’s résumé carries the authority of the first public university in the United States.…
The Reopening of the American Mind
In 1987, philosopher Allan Bloom published The Closing of the American Mind, a book critiquing higher education in America. As a self-described teacher “dedicated to liberal education,” Bloom offered a…