EDUCATION

InBriefs

Distance Learning (PDF)
Does distance learning really have potential to change the face of education, or is it just a cool new toy? The answer to both is yes . . . in part. No amount of technology will fundamentally change the thinking process of students, the benefits of personal interaction, or the power of a great teacher. But distance learning can dramatically affect how education is produced and delivered.

Value-Added Assessment (PDF)
Few people inside or outside education trust the results of the current testing system. Yet legitimate demands for accountability mean our education system must find some way to establish trustworthy evaluation measures. For this reason, value-added assessment is worth a hard look. This relatively new method of looking at test scores provides a way to ensure that all students are learning, and it offers an objective teacher evaluation method.

School Construction (PDF)
When it comes to building a better mousetrap, inventors aren’t so much concerned about how it looks, but about how it works and how much it costs. The same principle should apply to the buildings where children receive their education.

Union security in Washington State collective bargaining agreements (PDF)
Despite claims of democracy and volunteerism, officials of the National Education Association (NEA) have candidly acknowledged that the union depends on the ability to collect membership dues through mandatory payroll deduction. Given the choice, many educators would not join the union. That is why union officials try to negotiate contracts that allow them to collect mandatory fees from members and non-members alike.

K-12 Environmental Education Report Card for Washington State (PDF)
Environmental education is a complicated issue that unfortunately has tended toward training students in political activism rather than in serious science. Evergreen Freedom Foundation collaborates with Dr. Michael Sanera to outline the current situation and provide examples of balanced, scientific environmental education.

An Examination of Class Size Reduction
According to the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teacher union, "excellence in the classroom can best be attained by small class size." These sentiments are echoed by parents, legislators and community leaders who have been involved in class size reduction efforts. Common sense would seem to support reducing class size as a means to improve student achievement. But does the available evidence support this assumption?

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• Living Liberty Newsletter
• Charter Schools

Evergreen Freedom Foundation P.O. Box 552, Olympia, WA 98507 Phone: (360) 956-3482, Fax: (360) 352-1874 Email: effwa@effwa.org