FreedomWorks was represented at the University of California in Irvine this past weekend at the California Young Americans for Liberty State Convention, in order to push our Generational Theft survey and youth outreach for our upcoming Generational Theft fly-in during the FreePAC: Morning in America Summit, in Cincinnati March 12.

Six years after ranking fifth in the nation, Ohio’s public education system has fallen to 23rd. The annual Quality Counts report by Education Week includes indicators such as test scores, education finance, and graduation rates to determine a score out of 100. The best state in each category receives 100, and all other states are graded relative to that state. Ohio received a score of 74.9, a C.

The annual State of the Union Speech is an opportunity for the president to update the country on the progress made in the last year, as well as lay out an agenda for the coming twelve months. With 2016 being the last opportunity for Barack Obama to address the nation as president, it’s understandable that he would be more focused on summing up his accomplishments in office than looking forward to the future. Given his actual record, though, it’s no surprise that he has resulted to a few exaggerations, or outright untruths, in trying to whitewash his two terms as Commander in Chief. Here are six claims to be made in tonight’s speech that are unbelievable for the simple reason that they.

Common Core is crippling Roman Catholic schools in New York as they attempt to not only keep up with their own academic standards and spiritual development but also include the new controversial material part of Common Core.

There seems to be a recurring theme of liberal, New England states regretting the big government programs they implement. First, Vermont was forced to abandon its plans for a single-payer health care system upon finding that there was no way to pay for it. Now, Massachusetts is dropping out of the Common Core education standards that don’t work and that nobody likes.

This week, Congress is expected to begin conference on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, more commonly known as No Child Left Behind. Earlier this year, both the House and the Senate passed separate bills to reauthorize the program, while they now must reconcile before a final version can be passed.

Leave it government to never, ever learn from its mistakes. Since the establishment of the U.S. Department of Education in 1979, the go-to solution for all things education related has been federal dollars piled atop more federal dollars. But for a Department so fixated on testing and results, it's remarkable how demonstrable failures are either extended or replicated without end. Race to the Top, Head Start, and No Child Left Behind have poured billions into schooling, without the promised improvements in student achievement. Across the country, the school districts that spend the most per child have the worst results, with the District of Columbia being among the worst offenders.

When I heard that Education Secretary Arne Duncan was stepping down in December, my first reaction was one of elation. Duncan was instrumental in forcing Common Core upon the states, he’s been an advocate for more federal control of education, and, perhaps most troubling, of increased data collection and analysis in violation of the privacy of both students and parents.