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Neal McCluskey
Associate Director of the Center for Educational Freedom
Neal McCluskey is the associate director of Cato's Center for Educational Freedom. Prior to arriving at Cato, McCluskey served in the U.S. Army, taught high school English, and was a freelance reporter covering municipal government and education in suburban New Jersey. More recently, he was a policy analyst at the Center for Education Reform. McCluskey is the author of the book Feds in the Classroom: How Big Government Corrupts, Cripples, and Compromises American Education, and his writings have appeared in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, Baltimore Sun, and Forbes. In addition to his written work, McCluskey has appeared on C-SPAN, CNN, the Fox News Channel, and numerous radio programs. McCluskey holds undergraduate degrees from Georgetown University in government and English, a master's degree in political science from Rutgers University, and is a Ph.D. candidate in public policy at George Mason University.
Media Contact: 202-789-5200
To Book a Speaking Engagement: 202-789-5226
E-Mail: nmccluskey@cato.org
Books and Book Chapters
"Learning Fear: Climate Change and Public Education," Climate Coup: Climate Coup: Global Warming's Invasion of Our Government and Our Lives (2011), pp. 215-234.
"Higher Education," Chapter 21 of the Cato Handbook for Policymakers, 7th edition.
Feds In The Classroom: How Big Government Corrupts,Cripples, and Compromises American Education, (2007).
"Cato Handbook on Policy, 6th edition," Chapter 29: Higher Education, February 2005.
Cato Studies
"Behind the Curtain: Assessing the Case for National Curriculum Standards," Policy Analysis no. 661, February 17, 2010.
"Unbearable Burden? Living and Paying Student Loans as a First-Year Teacher," Policy Analysis no. 629, December 15, 2008.
"End It, Don't Mend It: What to Do with No Child Left Behind," by Neal McCluskey and Andrew J. Coulson, Policy Analysis no. 599, September 5, 2007.
"Why We Fight: How Public Schools Cause Social Conflict," Policy Analysis no. 587, January 23, 2007.
"Corruption in the Public Schools: The Market Is the Answer," Policy Analysis no. 542, April 20, 2005.
Articles and Newsletters
"Book Review: The Making of Americans: Democracy and Our Schools," Cato Journal, Winter 2010, vol. 30, no. 1.
"How High Is Teacher Pay in Oklahoma?," Oklahoma Journal of Public Affairs, June 2009, vol. 16, no. 6.
"Book Review: See Government Grow: Education Politics from Johnson to Reagan," Cato Journal, Winter 2008, vol. 28, no. 1.
"As American as Bavarian Cream Pie," Cato Policy Report, July/August 2008, vol. 30, no. 4.
"Book Review: Going Broke by Degree: Why College Costs Too Much," Cato Journal, Winter 2005, vol. 25, no. 1.
Opinion and Commentary
"The Battle for Education Freedom," National Review (Online), May 23, 2011
"Business Success Is Easier," The New York Times (Online), April 8, 2011
"Taxpayers Have Rights, Too," Philadelphia Inquirer, March 13, 2011
"Education Waste: We Have Only Ourselves to Blame," Orange County Register, February 15, 2011
"For the Nation's Sake, Cut Education Spending," Daily Caller, January 25, 2011
Cato @ Liberty Blog Posts
"Did They Learn Correlation and Causation in College?," June 28, 2011
"Resurrect DC Choice, Bury the Lede," June 24, 2011
"Why Fed Ed Fails, and Proposals to Stop the Madness," June 22, 2011
"Miss USA Contestants: America in Glamourcosm?," June 21, 2011
"Sorry About Your Burning Village, But You Released the Dragon," June 16, 2011
Events
"Getting "No Child Left Behind" Right," June 20, 2011 [Capitol Hill Briefing]
"Fiscal Undertow: How Public Schools Are Drowning State and Local Budgets, and What to Do about It," January 11, 2011 [Policy Forum]
"Profiting from Ivory Towers?," November 30, 2010 [Policy Forum]
"National Education Standards: Hopeful Change or Hollow Promise?," June 2, 2010 [Policy Forum]
"National Curriculum Standards or Local Control: The Arguments and the Evidence," April 16, 2010 [Capitol Hill Briefing]
Speeches and Testimony
"The Federal Government's Real — but Very Dangerous and Limited — Role in Confronting Bullying and Harassment," U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, June 20, 2011.
"Modern Public School Facilities: Investing in the Future," February 13, 2008.
Multimedia
Federal Elementary and Secondary Education Intervention is a Failure (June 27, 2011) [Cato Video, 11:18]
Neal McCluskey discusses home schooling on Hearst-Argyle Television (June 23, 2011) [Media Highlights - TV, 02:43]
Getting "No Child Left Behind" Right with Lindsey Burke (June 20, 2011) [Events, 27:42]
Neal McCluskey discusses education in the Latino community on HITN's Destination Casa Blanca (May 19, 2011) [Media Highlights - TV, 37:31]
Neal McCluskey discusses uniform school standards on WIBA's Upfront w/ Vicki McKenna (May 16, 2011) [Media Highlights - Radio, 17:13]
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