Note From the Executive Editor of RealClearEducation
The education debate is loud, strident, and often confusing as a result. Yet every day there are important news stories and thoughtful analyses and commentaries produced by major media outlets, niche and trade publications, and educators and analysts. The challenge is finding this material, and finding it quickly.
That's the problem RealClearEducation will help solve. Each morning, our editors will scour the Internet and produce a curated set of links to the day’s must-read news, analysis and commentary, and research and reports regarding pre-K through adult education. We’ll continue to update the page throughout the day. We’ll also provide links related to key issues—from school choice, global education, and what’s happening in the states to issues regarding food and nutrition for children. And RealClearEducation will produce a consistent stream of original content as well, including articles, commentary, and interviews with key figures involved in education issues.
You can already see how we do this by visiting the site. When the debate over Common Core in New York burst into the headlines, RealClearEducation’s Emmeline Zhao cut through the clutter with analyses about what was really at stake, who wanted what, and why. When the Duke porn star story broke, RealClearEducation had the first interview with her to unpack her college finances and show that while her choices highlighted many complicated issues, this story was not about college costs. When plans for the new SAT were rolled out, RealClearEducation sat down for an exclusive interview with the College Board’s policy director to discuss the interaction with Common Core. And when New York Mayor de Blasio announced changes to the city’s charter school policy, RealClearEducation interviewed a longtime city charter school expert to highlight the real issues beneath the political din.
Our commitment to readers is straightforward: We believe high-quality information is essential to improving education in this country. We believe American education must be far better than it is, but that no side or faction in the education world has a monopoly on the best ideas or strategies for getting there. And we believe—and data clearly show—that the stridency and perpetual controversy in the education world is limited to a small vested minority of advocates and that most people want good information, measured takes, and are tired of what passes for the education debate today.
Our mission is to provide the kind of interesting, serious, and thought-provoking news and information that helps make the education debate “real clear.” Welcome.
