Eliminating tuition and fees for degree programs at community colleges for all in-state residents, regardless of financial need, has broad appeal, but some say it may not be the best way to reach the goal of expanded access to higher education.
James Peyser
Posted inOpinion
Some guideposts for restoring civic discourse
Our public debates favor controversy and often gloss over important details and trade-offs. The result: important issues get oversimplified and decision-making becomes dysfunctional.
Posted inOpinion
Restoring civic discourse by embracing complexity
Sometimes things are simpler than they seem. But other times, maybe most of the time, things actually are complicated, with at least two sides to every story.
Posted inEducation
Baker education legacy: continuity and change
EDUCATION REFORM AND improvement is a journey, not a destination. And the timeline for meaningful impact tends to be generational, certainly not contained within a single gubernatorial administration – even one that lasts two terms. Nonetheless, the work of the Baker-Polito administration over the past eight years has generated significant progress that has the potential […]
Posted inEducation
Bringing efficiency to public higher education
HIGHER EDUCATION can be hidebound and slow-moving. In some instances – such as the pomp and circumstance of commencements – adherence to tradition and ceremony are essential to the academic experience. But the emergence of disruptive forces in higher education – including a demographic decline that will shrink the pool of college-age students and the […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion, Politics
Teacher licensure system needs overhaul
TEACHER LICENSURE IN the Commonwealth is a time-consuming, complex system, costing millions of dollars each year, and it is in need of reform. Massachusetts offers 47 different kinds of teacher licenses, depending on subject area and grade level. Each of these licenses comes in four levels, mostly based on a teacher’s experience. There are up […]
Posted inOpinion
Counterpoint
Rep. Thomas O’Brien claims his charter school bill is being put forward primarily for fiscal reasons, in the belief that a moratorium on the granting of new charters will somehow save money for the Commonwealth and its public schools during this time of budgetary crisis. If this is the intent, the bill fails even on […]