Professor Willingham On Obama/Duncan Bullsh*t

...The administration’s education policy has four pillars. These were outlined in that first education policy speech, and they were represented in the requirements for Race to the Top applications.

But of the four, only one could be said to have clear scientific support.

The well-supported policy initiative is an emphasis on early childhood education. Aside from ample research by developmental psychologists showing that the early childhood years are a critical time for learning, economists have conducted persuasive studies showing that early childhood intervention programs can have lasting and profound effects on at-risk kids.

Better-educated kids are more likely to be tax-paying contributors to the economy and less likely to be incarcerated or on public assistance. Thus, in the long run intervention programs for at-risk kids more than pay for themselves....

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