Entries by Editorial Staff

Celebrating 20 Years of Education Reform in Massachusetts

Birmingham, Weld Oppose MA Adopting Common Core, Call for Lifting Charter School Caps Pioneer forum celebrates 20th anniversary of education reform with Weld, Birmingham, and panel of contributors to Bay State’s historic reforms Two of the three primary authors of Massachusetts’ landmark 1993 Education Reform Act questioned Massachusetts’ decision to jettison its academic standards in favor of national standards known as Common Core, and called on state leaders to lift the cap on charter public schools in the commonwealth’s lowest performing school districts at a June 20th forum to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the law’s signing. Today, Pioneer is pleased to release a video of the forum, at which former Senate President Tom Birmingham and former Gov. Bill Weld […]

The Honorable William F. Weld, Former Massachusetts Governor

This video features the Honorable William F. Weld, former Massachusetts Governor and co-author of the 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Law. Governor Weld gave one of the two Keynote addresses at the forum, “20 Years of Education Reform: 1993 MERA, Its Legacy, and Its Future.”

20 Years of Education Reform Roundtable Panel Discussion

This video presents the panel discussion from the Pioneer forum: “20 Years of Education Reform,” featuring Tripp Jones of New Profit, Inc., Sandra Stotsky, Emerita Professor of Education Reform at University of Arkansas, Michael Sentance, former Massachusetts Secretary of Education, and David Driscoll, former Massachusetts Commissioner of Education

Why Common Core’s Math Standards Don’t Measure Up (by Guest Blogger Ze’ev Wurman)

Guest Post by Ze’ev Wurman (biography below)  Last year William Schmidt and Richard Houang published a paper in the Educational Researcher that claimed to have explored the coherence of the Common Core state standards in mathematics (CCSSM) and their similarity to those of other high achieving nations. The study (Schmidt & Houang, “Curricular Coherence and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics,” 41(8), 2012) has received significant attention, and defenders of the Common Core started to use it in support of their claims of CCSSM’s high quality. Schmidt himself testified before the Michigan House Education Committee last March and made the following claims. Common Core’s standards are very consistent with the standards in the world’s top-achieving countries; States with standards […]

The MBTA’s Out-of-Control Bus Maintenance Costs

Pioneer Institute Study Highlights Overspending on MBTA Bus Maintenance A new study from Pioneer Research Director and former Massachusetts Inspector General Greg Sullivan finds that the MBTA spends more than twice as much maintaining its buses than comparable transit agencies do, and that simply running its bus maintenance operation as efficiently as other agencies would save at least $250 million over six years. The MBTA’s Out-of-Control Bus Maintenance Costs The policy brief, “The MBTA’s Out-of-Control Bus Maintenance Costs,” coincides with deliberations by the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives over an expected $500-800 million tax increase for transportation funding. The state currently has a half-billion dollar annual transportation operating deficit. The report calls for closer scrutiny of the MBTA’s bus repair and […]

Improving the Charter School Authorization Process

NEW STUDY FINDS ABOLISHING CAPS AND A MORE AUTONOMOUS CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOL OFFICE WOULD IMPROVE CHARTER SCHOOL AUTHORIZATION PROCESS Event to feature noted education reformer Dr. Howard Fuller, Edward Cremata of Stanford’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes Massachusetts should abolish charter public school caps, create a more autonomous Charter School Office and explore the creation of additional charter authorizers, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute. Looking Back to Move Forward: Charter School Authorizing in Massachusetts “Charter schools have been a success story in Massachusetts,” said Cara Stillings Candal, author of Looking Back to Move Forward: Charter School Authorizing in Massachusetts, “but the charter authorizing process has become more politicized and is being used to subject charters […]

Better Government Competition Internship

BETTER GOVERNMENT COMPETITION INTERNSHIP Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research Job type: fall internship Duration: flexible in the range September 2013-January 2014 Location: 85 Devonshire St, Boston, MA Pay: n/a About Pioneer. The Pioneer Institute is an independent non-partisan privately funded research organization that seeks to improve the quality of life in Massachusetts through civic discourse and intellectually rigorous, data-driven public policy solutions based on free market principles, individual liberty and responsibility, and the ideal of effective, limited and accountable government. We are a leading state policy think-tank, a resource for legislators on Beacon Hill and staff in the State’s executive offices, and attract more press than any other research institute in Massachusetts. Job description. The intern will work with […]

Video: Exiting the National Standards Bandwagon

Heritage Foundation Panel – April 17, 2012 “The Obama Administration, intent on furthering federal intervention in education, has spent billions incentivizing states to adopt national standards and tests. Adopting national standards means ceding control of the content taught in local schools to national organizations and distant bureaucrats in Washington. Nationalizing the content taught in local schools further removes parents – those with the most at stake in their children’s education – from the equation. With little public notice, too many state leaders have jumped on the national standards bandwagon, despite tremendous costs in terms of dollars and liberty lost. But it’s not too late to reverse course. Conservative state leaders who want to regain control of standards, testing, and curricula […]

What Anti-Common Core Activism in Tennessee Portends

Across the country, from Florida to Michigan, Colorado to Alabama, and many states in between, legislators and governors are taking steps to withdraw from Common Core. Nationally, US Senators Ted Cruz, Chuck Grassley, Rand Paul and others are working to de-fund it, citing federal law prohibiting the government from directing education standards and testing at the state level. Opposition is growing among a broad spectrum.  Randi Weingarten, president of AFT, the second largest teachers union in the country, said earlier this week: “The Common Core is in trouble. There is a serious backlash in lots of different ways, on the right and on the left.” On Tuesday, Pioneer Institute participated in a rally in Tennessee, a public hearing about the major […]

Worcester Telegram & Gazette: “Lift Cap on Urban Charters”

By Nina Rees and Gerard Robinson As former federal and state government education officials, we continue to be impressed by the performance of Massachusetts charter public schools. But we can’t help but wonder how a state that has opened some of the country’s highest-performing charters has failed to lift the cap on the number of urban schools that can open. Taking this simple step would create extraordinary new opportunities for families to benefit from the charter school experience. A new Stanford University study confirms that charter schools are a smashing success in Massachusetts. The study, from Stanford’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes, finds that Boston charter schools are doing more to close achievement gaps than any other group of […]

New Report: Medical Device Tax Will Cost MA Employers $422 Million+ Per Year

New Report Estimates Medical Device Tax Will Cost Massachusetts Employers Over $422 Million Per Year Controversial Provision of Federal Health Law Impacts Hundreds of Companies, Will Lead to Research and Development Cuts, Layoffs, Higher Prices BOSTON – As part of the financing for the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), Massachusetts businesses face a 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices that went into effect on January 1st, 2013. According to a new Pioneer Institute policy brief, First, Do No Harm: The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Massachusetts’ Medical Device Industry, the estimated tax liability for this year will be more than $422 million for the 19 largest companies in the state. The first payment is due to […]

‘Runaway’ costs on rail & T

http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/04/runaway_costs_on_rail_t http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/04/12/report-mbta-spending-out-of-control-on-employee-pay/ http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/21951093/2013/04/12/report-mbta-salaries-far-above-other-state-agencies The state’s taxpayer-funded commuter rail service is lavishing extravagant raises, “signing” bonuses and other plum perks on its engineers and conductors, according to a scathing new report that also slams the debt-ridden MBTA for its own “excessive” labor costs that far outpace other state agencies. The report — compiled by the Pioneer Institute, a conservative fiscal watchdog, and obtained by the Herald — called on Gov. Deval Patrick and Beacon Hill Democrats to rein in Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail and MBTA salaries and benefits before raising taxes to bail out the cash-strapped transit agency. Among the report’s eye-popping highlights: • 13.7 percent boost in salaries doled out by the MBCR to commuter rail engineers and trainmen in […]

New Report: Runaway Transportation Costs

Pioneer’s new research director (former state Inspector General) Greg Sullivan is the author of the new policy brief outlining concerns with procurement of the MBTA’s commuter rail contract.  It’s the first in a series he will be releasing on this issue. Runaway Transportation Costs The brief argues that since labor expenses account for more than 70 percent of the costs of the commuter rail system, addressing that issue head-on represents a major opportunity for long-term savings. Greg includes information on “signing bonuses” for existing employees, employees being paid not to show up, receiving raises every six months, minimal health insurance co-payments, using overtime to game the system, and more perks that are way out of line with those received by their counterparts in both the […]

Sandra Stotsky Discusses Common Core

Dr. Sandra Stotsky, Professor Emerita, University of Arkansas, former Senior Associate Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Education, describes some of the problems with the quality of the Common Core national education standards.

James McPherson, “The Legacy of Lincoln”

Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil War historian and Princeton University Professor Emeritus James M. McPherson delivered the keynote address at “The Legacy of Lincoln: U.S. History in American Schooling,” a Pioneer Institute forum marking the 150th anniversary of both the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address, Tuesday, April 2nd at the Omni Parker House hotel in downtown Boston. Read the press release here. Video: Check out our Facebook photo album: Photo Album   Help us continue hosting free, public forums promoting US History and Civics education. Make your secure, online contribution today! Click the button to donate through PayPal, or scroll down to complete the form below: Questions? Contact Erin Blake Elefante, Development Director 85 Devonshire Street, 8th Floor, Boston, MA  617-727-2277 ext. […]

Gerard Robinson, Keynote Speaker

Gerard Robinson, former Virginia Secretary of Education, was a keynote speaker at the Pioneer Institute’s Charter School Forum. Feb. 21, 2013 Omni Parker House Boston, MA

Driving Reform: New Study on Real Solutions to Our Transportation Challenges

STUDY: TIE NEW FUNDING TO PERFORMANCE, IMPLEMENTATION OF TRANSPORTATION REFORM Phasing in additional money based on MassDOT performance will improve service Massachusetts’ aging transportation infrastructure needs about $2.6 billion in new investment over six years that would come in stages based on the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT’s) performance on a series of publicly accessible metrics and implementation of reforms included in a 2009 state transportation law and earlier legislation, according to a new Policy Brief published by Pioneer Institute. In “Driving Reform: Real Solutions to Our Transportation Challenges,” Pioneer Senior Fellow Charles Chieppo and Executive Director James Stergios recommend that the new funding be evenly split between gas tax hikes and fare increases on one hand, and money freed […]

Gregory Sullivan Joins Pioneer Institute as Research Director

Gregory Sullivan Joins Pioneer Institute as Research Director Influential think tank welcomes former Massachusetts Inspector General BOSTON, MA – Pioneer Institute announced today that Gregory W. Sullivan will become the organization’s new Research Director. Sullivan begins his position on April 2nd. “We are pleased to have Greg Sullivan join the Pioneer team,” said Stephen D. Fantone, the Institute’s Chairman and CEO of Optikos Corporation. “His experience and integrity further build Pioneer’s brand as an above-the-fray institute focused on policies that improve the quality of life in Massachusetts and ensure an accountable and effective government.” “The Pioneer team is really excited to have Greg on board,” said Jim Stergios, the Institute’s Executive Director. “Greg is a creative policy thinker and someone […]

150 Years of Lincoln’s New Birth of Freedom

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address, American historical texts whose significance far exceeds their immediate practical impact, fundamentally transforming the moral purpose of the Civil War. The Emancipation Proclamation, issued on January 1, 1863 in the third year of the war (though it was announced shortly after the Battle of Antietam in September, 1862) states: “That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” [message_box title=”Join Us on April […]

Pioneer Requests Report That Predicts ACA’s “Extreme Premium Increases”

Pioneer Files Request for the Administration to Release Its Report on the Impact of The Federal Health Law on Massachusetts’ Small Businesses The report is known to indicate that the ACA will cause “extreme premium increases” for small businesses BOSTON – Today Pioneer Institute filed a Freedom of Information Request (FOIA) for all drafts of a March 2012 Division of Insurance (DOI) initiated special examination report that looked at the impact that certain changes required by the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA or ObamaCare) will have on the small group market and to permissible rating factors used in Massachusetts. “In order to have an honest and transparent debate on the impending changes that our citizens will face under the ACA, […]

The Legacy of Anti-Irish Bigotry Blocks School Choice in the Bay State

Massachusetts is one of most “Catholic” states in the country, yet it is one of  just two states with strict constitutional barriers, so-called anti-aid amendments that prevent public funds from being disbursed to working families to help them afford private or parochial school tuition. Pioneer has published numerous reports and op-eds exposing these amendments, vestiges of 19th-century bigotry against Irish-Catholic immigrants. Read Jamie Gass’s latest op-ed, “In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, repeal Know-Nothing law,” in The Patriot Ledger. Pioneer supports increased access to private and parochial schools, because parents should be able to choose the best school for their children, and no child should be trapped in an under-performing public school. Eighteen states, including Rhode Island, currently have education voucher or tax credit scholarship programs […]

Development Internship

Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research DEVELOPMENT INTERN Pioneer Institute is an independent, non-partisan, privately funded research organization that seeks to improve the quality of life in Massachusetts through civic discourse and intellectually rigorous, data-driven public policy solutions based on free market principles, individual liberty and responsibility, and the ideal of effective, limited and accountable government. Candidate Profile Interest in fundraising or non-profit administration, positive attitude, team player, attention to detail. Familiarity with social media platforms, Internet research, and Excel. Must have exceptional phone manner and feel comfortable making calls. Task Assignments Maintain development databases, perform outreach telephone calls, update social media platforms, participate in donor research, provide administrative support to development staff. Time Commitment Part-time: 15-20 hours per week, […]