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Should the federal government be involved in public education?

November 3, 2009

Ever heard of the acronyms NDEA, ESEA, EAHCA, IASA, IDEA, or NCLB? All these represent former or current federal laws that did or do regulate public education in the states. What kind of impact have these laws had on state governments, schools, and students? Has that impact been positive or negative?

You can find answers to these questions in a publication I recently wrote called “Federal Intervention in Public Education: Is It Good for Utah?” Just click on the links that follow:

–Executive summary
–Full report
–Press release

What do you think?

*Photo credit: Raul654

2 Comments »

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  1. One of the main problems I see with Federal Education programs is that they focus so much on measurable results–standardized tests–when education involves a lot more than that. If the focus is on “teaching to the tests,” then we don’t cultivate the kind of creativity and ingenuity that makes innovation and improvement possible. Additionally, there is a lot of focus on math and science in Federal programs. Even though I’m in an engineering field, myself, I still see an incredible value in social sciences, and the arts, particularly in encouraging creativity.

    At the same time, standardized procedures can be beneficial. I recently read an article about health care practices, arguing that establishing standard procedures (based on studying numerous cases), rather than creating a new solution for each patient, resulted in better survival rates for a certain life-threatening disease. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/magazine/08Healthcare-t.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&emc=eta1) The key seemed to be, however, that the protocol was flexible, and as the study continued, doctors adjusted it. The difficulty with Federal Programs is that once in place, they are not changed without a large amount of debate.

    Comment by Janene — November 11, 2009 @ 8:20 am

  2. Thanks for your comment, Janene.

    That’s an interesting thought on standardized procedures as pertaining to health care. Do you think that would carry over to education?

    Comment by Matthew C. Piccolo — November 11, 2009 @ 2:12 pm

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