Articles by Richard Phelps

Surely you have heard of the "Varsity Blues" scandal, in which the rich and famous purchased "side door" entries to elite colleges for their children with mediocre academic and athletic skills. There were at least two ways they cheated: at two compromised testing centers in Los Angeles and Houston students were given preferential test administrations—alone with a proctor and extra time; and athletic coaches at elite schools were bribed to steer reserved admission slots for their sport to paying...

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) boasts a long and proud history. First administered in 1969 to national samples, NAEP typically tests students in 4th, 8th, and an upper high school grade in a variety of subjects. Mathematics and reading are tested most often, but other periodically tested topics include science, history, civics, geography, technology literacy, arts, writing, and economics. The NAEP is “low stakes,” given that neither students, nor teachers, nor schools fa...

Not only is Jeb Bush the son of one former US president and the brother of another, as Florida governor he established a reputation as a hands-on activist and innovator, particularly in education policy. Indeed, he helped to establish and lead the education policy and advocacy group, Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd). I just happened to be attending another meeting in the same hotel when ExcelinEd met for one of its annual conferences, and perused their conference program liter...

The amounts are huge. A search in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation website for grant awards with the keyword “Common Core” returns 257 results accumulating more than $300 million. Substituting the Common Core euphemism “college and career readiness” uncovers another $130 million for another 52 grantees. Even more Common Core money has been sent under vague explanations such as “for general operating support” to organizations whose only relationship with the Gates Foundation is to promote ...