Ben Wolfgang
Articles by Ben Wolfgang
Degree of frustration with cost of college
As tuition costs skyrocket and graduates walk away with ever-rising amounts of debt, American colleges now face a choice: Remain a part of the problem, or begin contributing to a solution. Published December 26, 2011
Run rogue bus operators off road, industry urges
The Obama administration's "relentless" war on unsafe bus companies has claimed at least a dozen victims over the past two years — and the industry wants to see more. Published December 25, 2011
Shift on trucker safety rules
The Obama administration on Thursday backed down from part of its plan to trim truckers' workdays, but the new regulations still left both the big-rig industry and its critics fuming. Published December 22, 2011
Charter schools must succeed or close
Unlike their traditional counterparts, charter schools aren't guaranteed an endless existence. And that, supporters say, is a good thing. Published December 21, 2011
States expand ‘disadvantaged’ category to address racial gap
A number of states struggling with vast racial achievement gaps in schools may have found a way around the problem: Lump blacks and Hispanics with handicapped and poor children. Published December 21, 2011
Fracking firm calls EPA move a threat to whole industry
The company at the center of a nationally watched battle with the Environmental Protection Agency over the safety of natural gas "fracking" fears the case could have a "chilling" effect on the development of a booming source of domestic energy. Published December 20, 2011
Schools race teaches states a hard lesson
Every race has losers, and the Obama administration's Race to the Top education grant competition is no exception. Published December 18, 2011
Record numbers fail to clear No Child bar
The numbers keep getting worse for the nation's education system. In the 2010-11 academic year, 48 percent of public schools — a record high — failed to meet the "adequate yearly progress" benchmarks established by the No Child Left Behind act, according to a new study by the Center on Education Policy, a nonpartisan think tank. Published December 15, 2011
More school hours don’t guarantee better test scores
Students who spend more hours in the classroom aren't guaranteed higher test scores, and many nations that outpace the U.S. on standardized reading and math assessments keep their children in school for much less time, according to a report from the National School Boards Association. Published December 13, 2011
NEA proposes criteria reform for teacher jobs
Performance, not seniority, would play the primary role in whether teachers keep their jobs under a broad reform plan released by the National Education Association last week. Published December 11, 2011
Bad water found at fracking site
Chemicals used to tap natural gas wells in the booming practice known as fracking may be responsible for groundwater contamination in a small town in Wyoming, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday. Published December 8, 2011
D.C. schools’ test-score gap by race largest in U.S.
While students in other large urban school districts have made significant progress on standardized reading and math tests in recent years, achievement gaps between black and white students remain stubbornly high, with the most lopsided disparities of all coming in the nation's capital. Published December 7, 2011
Pearl Harbor veterans remember how paradise suddenly turned into hell
Edward Davis still can't believe he made it out alive. The 90-year-old Army veteran, who has Parkinson's disease and lives at D.C.'s Armed Forces Retirement Home, still can recall the attack on Pearl Harbor 70 years ago. Published December 6, 2011
Cain’s exit puts spotlight, target on Gingrich
With Herman Cain suspending his campaign over the weekend, the spotlight in the GOP presidential field is now focused squarely on Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House whose surprise front-runner status has made him the target of rivals and critics less than a month before the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses. Published December 4, 2011
Senate will hear compromise plan on payroll-tax cuts
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is set to offer a "compromise plan" Monday to extend payroll tax cuts now scheduled to expire at the end of the month, a fellow Democratic senator said on "Fox News Sunday." Published December 4, 2011
Bachmann woos Cain’s former backers
With less than a month to go before the crucial Iowa caucuses, Republican presidential hopefuls hope to bolster their chances by picking up former supporters of Herman Cain, the former GOP front-runner who suspended his campaign Saturday. Published December 4, 2011
Business groups slam bid to trim truckers’ hours
A proposed Obama administration rule to reduce the number of hours big-rig drivers can spend behind the wheel each day would hurt truckers while also driving up the cost of food, clothing and other products, industry leaders told a House subcommittee on Wednesday. Published November 30, 2011
Poorer schools not getting fair share of funding
Loopholes in federal education law have allowed districts to funnel more state and local money to wealthy schools at the expense of their low-income counterparts, according to a new report released Wednesday by the Education Department. Published November 30, 2011
3 students from U.S. to be freed, Egypt court rules
Three young Americans held in Egypt since Sunday, including 19-year-old Georgetown University student Derrik Sweeney, are set to be released, and family and friends hope they're back in the U.S. within days. Published November 24, 2011
Alabama law takes bite out of pupil’s apple for teacher
That apple for the teacher is likely history in Alabama, where broad new ethics laws ban virtually all gifts for instructors and other public employees. Published November 23, 2011
