MORE ARTICLES
Why the secrecy? Pioneer Calls for Open Meetings Dealing with Steward’s Impact on Patient Care.April 16, 2024 - 1:59 pm
Industrial Policy Reimaged: Can Government Improve Free MarketsApril 16, 2024 - 12:34 pm
39th U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky for National Poetry MonthApril 10, 2024 - 12:16 pm
A Practically 100% Guaranteed Free RideApril 9, 2024 - 1:21 pm
Posting Patient Prices: Transparency Cure for Hospital Blank ChecksApril 9, 2024 - 11:51 am
Pioneer Institute Statement on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ March Tax Revenue CollectionsApril 4, 2024 - 3:34 pm
U.S. Chamber Foundation’s Hilary Crow on K-12 Civics EducationApril 3, 2024 - 12:08 pm
Constitutional Property Taking: Exclusionary Zoning’s Costs to Owners and SocietyApril 2, 2024 - 10:54 am
Mayor Wu’s Commercial Property Tax Proposal: A Solution or a Snuff?April 2, 2024 - 10:19 am
Transformative Medical Therapy Will Require New Cost-Benefit and Pricing ModelsMarch 28, 2024 - 10:01 am
Painful Reading
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Better Government, News /byYou know that feeling you get when you are watching a particular genre of murder mystery and everyone in the audience sees the criminal lurking but the clueless protagonist has no idea? That’s the feeling you get when you read the SEC’s Inspector General’s report on their decade-long, multi-office, multi-inquiry bungling of the Madoff investigation. All throughout the document, you read about how close they came to revealing his fraud but always fell short. The problems seem to fall into three main categories — 1) inexperienced staffers who did not understand investment operations and strategy (a bad thing if you are an enforcement officer at the SEC), 2) a remarkable lack of follow-through on basic inconsistencies or easily verifiable assertions […]
Closing Sprinfield’s Achievement Gap: Innovative Ways to Use MCAS Data to Drive School Reform
/0 Comments/in News, Related Education Blogs /by Editorial StaffInnovative Ways to Use MCAS Data to Drive School Reform Author(s): Dr. Kathleen Madigan, Theodor Rebarber, and Dr. Bruce Bean — Publication date: 2009-10-19 Category: Education Abstract: Business leaders, educators, policy makers, and civil rights advocates are increasingly dedicated to fundamental reform to close the achievement gap that limits hope and opportunity for students from historically disadvantaged groups. Substantial gaps in academic achievement between groups of students based on race, ethnicity and similar factors should have no place in American society in the 21st century. For those students facing such deficits, the effects can be profound. They dictate which students receive the preparation necessary to succeed in their choice of college and work, and which ones continue to be left […]
Serious Charge by Kevin McCrea
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Better Government, News /byMayoral Candidate Kevin McCrea levels a serious and inflammatory charge on Blue Mass Group today — “There are many fine public schools, but serious inequities continue because our “lottery” is not genuine, and politically connected people get their children the schools they want. Does it surprise anyone that Mayor Menino, Councilor Flaherty and Councilor Yoon were all just “lucky” and their progeny ended up in their first choice of schools?” I’ve been a long-time observer, critic (see here and here), and participant in the Boston Public Schools lottery process. I’ve never heard anyone provide credible evidence that the BPS lottery process is anything but on the level. It can be difficult to understand and frustrating, but not fixed. If McCrea […]
It's not cool to….
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Better Government, News /by…use colonoscopy metaphors (third para, first sentence) about someone with Crohn’s Disease. Really, it isn’t.
Who Knew Jon Keller was a Deadhead?
/0 Comments/in Blog, News /by Liam DayIt’s been a long week here at Pioneer. We finally joined the social media revolution (check us out on Facebook and Twitter). We also released – in conjunction with the Boston Municipal Research Bureau – our first four issue briefs on the upcoming mayoral election. (If you missed them, you can check them out here.) So, I have to admit to being a little spacey. Therefore, in that vein, today’s post is a lighthearted one. I wanted to tweak Mr. Keller, who is moderating Wednesday’s mayoral debate (Jon, check out our questions for the mayors; they might prove useful) for basing his objection (which you can find at his blog) to Time’s list of the 10 greatest electric guitarists on […]