By Linda Darling-Hammond and Edward Haertel
Effective evaluation requires rigorous, ongoing assessment by experts who review teachers' instruction, looking at classroom practice and evidence of student learning.
By Ariel Dorfman
Under the roof of one vast supermarket, I savor the presence of the continent where I was born; I go back to my origins.
By Doyle McManus
Can either President Obama or Mitt Romney break the partisan logjam in Congress? Probably not.
By José Holguín-Veras
Spanish flags, tuxedos, sex toys: Inappropriate donations inevitably pour in after disasters.
By Eugene Linden
You don't need a climate scientist to tell which way the wind blows.
By Robert Greene and Jon Healey
By Dan Schnur
If he wants his tax increase measure to pass, he needs to let high-speed rail go, at least for now.
By Donald Cohen
Unemployment is still too high, but we also need to focus on the problem of declining pay and the shrinking middle class.
By Michael Kinsley
Would a minority student admitted under race preferences at Harvard University's law school be better off at Ohio State's? Not likely.
By Patt Morrison
The state legislative analyst and his office tell voters everything they need to know about ballot measures and their potential cost to taxpayers.
By Meghan Daum
In California, the weather itself is too good for its own good.
By Lorenza Munoz
The holiday is not at all somber; it is raucous and defiant, loud and garish.
By Doyle McManus
Effective or not, campaign ads are interesting for what they tell you about the candidates and their strategies. And it's not pretty.
By Erwin Chemerinsky
If Romney wins, we can expect a frighteningly conservative high court. A victory for Obama could mean a liberal majority for the first time since 1969.
By Jonah Goldberg
A conservative's challenge to the so-called mainstream media: Where is the feeding frenzy on the Libya story?
By Jim Newton
The Westside light-rail project is too important to be derailed by a last-ditch neighborhood effort.
By Richard Epstein
Mitt Romney would be more likely to appoint justices who understand the economic decisions facing the court.
By Elayne Boosler
You think picking a president is tough? Try choosing a toothpaste.
By Craig Fehrman
Why would anyone want the job of president? The answers are as different as the men themselves.
By John Klotsche
What happens if there's an electoral college tie of 269 votes apiece? The House elects the president and the Senate elects the veep. And what if there's a tie there? Can you say President Boehner?
By Doyle McManus
Democrats hope that early voting will tip the scales.
By Ted Rall
By Jimmy Carter
Voters should replace a death penalty process that is wasteful, immoral and discriminatory.
By Lawrence M. Krauss
Scientists shouldn't be jailed because they can't precisely predict the future.
By Bill Persky
All hail Mitt the Mighty, or perhaps Barack the Beneficent?
By Robert C. Bordone and Heather Scheiwe Kulp
Presidential debates should be dialogues, not football games.
By Michael Kinsley
In the final presidential debate, the GOP challenger at times seemed to be channeling George McGovern.
By James A. Ardaiz
A former prosecutor and judge argues in favor of California's capital punishment law, saying it is a deterrent and the right moral choice.
By Mickey Edwards
Our open primary system and nonpartisan redistricting commission could be a model for other states.
By Keith Smith
Elections are supposed to be about choice. But with minor party candidates marginalized and only two spots in a general election, voters have far less to choose from.
By Joshua Spivak
It's widely criticized, but it's part of our Constitution's philosophy — carefully crafted as a compromise between competing interests to guarantee checks and balances.
By Patt Morrison
An influential Roman Catholic scholar, a veteran of Ronald Reagan's Justice Department and a Pepperdine University constitutional law professor, he was also President Obama's ambassador to Malta.
By Doyle McManus
With his opponent so agreeable, it was hard for Obama to land a punch.