Terry Stoops

This page is from a first-grade math test administered in a North Carolina public school.  At first, it may prompt a chuckle and a thumbs-up for a kiddo who has already learned what it means to “stick it to the man.” But think of how frustrating it must be for…

Home schools were not the only institutions to see enrollment gains. The Division of Non-Public Education also released private school statistics today.  Private school enrollment reached an all-time high during the 2016-17 school year – 100,585 students.  That was a 2,864 student or 2.9 percent increase since the 2015-16…

According to the Division of Non-Public Education, North Carolina home schools educated an estimated 127,847 students during the 2016-17 school year.  The number of home school students increased by 8 percent, and the year-to-year increase was over 9,500 students. Wake County still leads the pack with nearly 12,000 home…

On Friday, a three-judge Superior Court panel sided with Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson in a lawsuit brought by the N.C. State Board of Education over a 2016 General Assembly statute that transferred certain powers from the State Board to the State Superintendent.  The judges delayed Implementation and…

In an ILR Review study of pension structure and employee turnover, researchers Dan Goldhaber, Cyrus Grout, and Kristian Holden examined turnover among teachers enrolled in either a traditional defined benefit (DB) plan or a hybrid defined benefit-defined contribution (DC) plan offered by the Washington Department of Retirement Services.  The…

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction released their state allotment information for the 2017-18 school year.  The spreadsheets they provide are chock-full of data. Teacher compensation breaks down like this: $47,034 – salary (based on the 6th pay period of the 2016-17 school year)…

Last week, Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute posted a few observations about contemporary political discourse.  It includes a noteworthy anecdote. Example: I was at Columbia University earlier this year talking about Letters to a Young Education Reformer when, in response to a question, I suggested that many…

The Wilkes Journal-Patriot recently published an overview of Wilkes County Schools finances.  It is a good window into how school districts manage their money and some of the constraints on them. Here are a few highlights and observations: According to Wilkes School Finance Director Seth…