Category Archives: Education

"We Were Encouraged to Make the Student Fail"

Posted on September 13, 2016 by matt ohern

If you thought the scandal of the Alexandria school principal weeding out weak students from the Standards of Learning (SOL) exams was bad, you ain’t heard nothing yet. In a superb piece of investigative journalism, Cherise Newsome with theVirginian-Pilot has exposed SOL-gaming in … Continue reading →

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Strategic Investment Funds: Not Just for UVa Anymore

Posted on August 17, 2016 by matt ohern

The University of Virginia’s controversial $2.2 billion Strategic Investment Fund is such a great idea that UVa officials are recommending it as a model for other state universities. By adopting UVa’s approach and consolidating university reserve funds statewide, a sum that could … Continue reading →

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How to Cut UVA Tuition 74% Without Really Trying

Posted on August 3, 2016 by matt ohern

Helen Dragas, former rector of the University of Virginia, tried yesterday in op-eds published in the Roanoke Times andDaily Progress to jump-start a conversation about how to dispose of roughly $100 million a year income from a $2.3 billion “Strategic Investment … Continue reading →

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Can Atlanta’s East Lake Experiment Work in Virginia?

Posted on June 22, 2016 by matt ohern

It is axiomatic among social scientists that concentrating poor people in public housing projects accentuates the social pathologies that make poverty self-perpetuating and unbearable. The oft-touted solution is to create more mixed-income neighborhoods that de-concentrate poverty. Presumably, the presence of working- … Continue reading →

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George Mason’s Battle over Scalia’s Name and Legacy

Posted on May 11, 2016 by matt ohern

There are only a few prestigious outposts of free-market thought in the world of higher education. The Hoover Institution at Stanford comes to mind, as does the University of Chicago School of Economics. Then there are two gems at George Mason University — the Mercatus Center and the George Mason School of Law. Continue reading →

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