The study, authored by researcher Paul E. Peterson of Harvard University, reported that voucher students in New York City, Dayton, Ohio, and Washington, D.C., outscored students who had applied for vouchers but did not get them. The Peterson study received widespread coverage in newspapers and among many columnists across the country who insisted that the evidence from Peterson's study was decisive in the battle between voucher proponents and opponents. But in its Sept. 15 edition, the New York Times reports that the company that gathered research for the New York City portion of the study, Mathematica Policy Research of Princeton, N.J., has taken the unusual step of issuing a statement challenging the study's claims. When results for African Americans and Latinos were examined separately, says the research group, there is no impact for Latinos at any grade level. For African-American students, there is a significant impact in sixth grade but not in any other grade.
New studies continue to show the effectiveness of small class size on improved student achievement.
The Tribune report was featured by all the major television networks and in the print media. Owley, who also chairs the union's health care division's program and policy council, said nurses should have the power to decide appropriate staffing levels, to leave when they have had to work too many hours to ensure patient safety, and to refuse to perform tasks for which they haven't been adequately trained. Nurses should also have whistleblower protection so they can expose quality problems without fear of retribution, she noted. Ky. AFT leaders and members can host a DebateWatch in their homes or in a larger community meeting. Facilitators are asked to report their results the night of the debate so they can be included in the next day's press release.