Category Archives: Education

Do Remedial College Classes Need Reform? In Virginia, Probably Not

How do you handle a situation when a student is admitted to a college but isn’t academically prepared to do the work? Traditionally, colleges and community colleges have required students who fail basic readiness tests to take remedial courses. Nationally, … Continue reading

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Goodbye, Farewell … and Thanks.

Author’s Note:  When Cameron Elementary School Principal George Towery retired in 2010, I wrote the following column about his accomplishments and his leadership.  In a world in which many seem to define themselves by their politics, it’s hard to imagine … Continue reading

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High Tech Jobs Remain in Great Demand

With students packing up to go back to college this month with declared or undeclared majors, it’s a good time to consider the fields that graduating students are going into and whether they match up with the skills businesses need. … Continue reading

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Autonomy and Accountability in Higher Education – Part 4

How do Virginia’s public higher-ed institutions rate on the goals established in the 2005 Restructuring Act and embedded in state code? The data is incomplete. This is the fourth of four articles exploring higher-education accountability in Virginia since enactment of … Continue reading

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Autonomy and Accountability in Higher Education – Part 3

The General Assembly enacted the 2005 Restructuring Act with the idea of holding public universities accountable to a set of performance metrics. Many measures have fallen by the wayside. This is the third of four articles exploring higher-education accountability in … Continue reading

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