-
Decline in New SAT Scores “Shows Failure of Test-Driven Schools”
BOB SCHAEFFER, [email] Schaeffer is communications director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest). He said today: “SAT results released this week show that No Child Left Behind and state high-stakes testing programs have dramatically undercut college readiness. According to the College Board’s exam, many students are even less ready for college…
-
Major Protests in Greece and Spain
Costas Panayotakis is an associate professor of sociology at New York City College of Technology at the City University of New York and author of Remaking Scarcity: From Capitalist Inefficiency to Economic Democracy. He said today: “Today’s general strike in Greece forms part of the large wave of anti-austerity resistance currently sweeping the countries of…
-
Exposed: Secret Cold War Inhalation Experiments on Poor, Minority Communities in St. Louis; Possible Radiological Testing
Lisa Martino-Taylor is a sociology professor at St. Louis Community College in St. Louis, Missouri. KDSK-TV, St. Louis’ NBC affiliate, has just aired a series of reports on revelations she has made public, noting her “life’s work has been to uncover details of the Army’s ultra-secret military experiments carried out in St. Louis and other…
-
State of the UN
James Paul is the executive director of the Global Policy Forum. He said today: “Leaders from around the world have gathered in New York for the annual high-level meetings of the UN General Assembly, which begin today. For a week, motorcades wind along the avenues, police barricades tie up Midtown, security people in dark glasses…
-
U.S. Backs Terrorist Group, Making War with Iran “Far More Likely” After Big-Money Campaign
Jamal Abdi is policy director for the National Iranian American Council and said today that the group “deplores the decision to remove the Mujahedin-e Khalq from the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations. The decision opens the door to Congressional funding of the MEK to conduct terrorist attacks in Iran, makes war with Iran far…
-
“In What Ways Did Standardized Tests Prepare You for the Job You do Today?”
Isabel Nunez is associate professor at the Center for Policy Studies and Social Justice at Concordia University Chicago. She recently wrote the piece “Standardized Test Scores are Worst Way to Evaluate Teachers,” which states: “The way that CPS [Chicago Public Schools] plans to use test scores in teacher evaluation, referred to as value-added, is so…
-
Obama and Romney Quietly Backing Jobs-Killing Secret Pacific Trade Deal
Director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, Lori Wallach said today: “While President Obama and Mitt Romney attack each other on China trade, both quietly support a massive Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement that would greatly expand U.S. jobs offshoring, give Chinese firms a waiver to Buy American procurement policies and further erode the U.S.…
-
Fallout from the Chicago Strike: * Rally in D.C. * Testing
Helen Moore is a parent from Detroit participating in a caravan and march to the Department of Education Thursday. Youth and parents from 18 cities have organized a “Journey for Justice” demanding a moratorium on school closings. The group states: “Federal ‘school improvement’ policies require districts to utilize one of four intervention models in low-performing…
-
Romney’s Class: “Dependent on Government Subsidies, Handouts and Protection”
Available for a limited number of interviews, James S. Henry is lead researcher for the recently released report “The Price of Offshore Revisited” and former chief economist at the international consultancy firm McKinsey & Co. He said today: “The real story here ought to be the outrageous growth of inequality in America — and the…
-
Beyond the “Muslim Rage” Hype
Kathy Kelly is co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence and travels regularly to Afghanistan. She said today: “On September 16th, 2012, at about 2:00 a.m., U.S./NATO forces called in an airstrike which killed eight Afghan women who were on a mountainside collecting wood for fuel. Villagers in the Alingar district of the Laghman province said…