California's $1.1 Billion School Testing System Has Serious Flaws; Joe Eszterhas; The Building of America
California's $1.1 Billion School Testing System Has Serious Flaws
Starting Sunday, the Orange County Register is running a three part investigative series that uncovers widespread problems with the Academic Performance Index, California's school testing system. The Register found that the API is so statistically flawed that the wrong schools may be receiving cash awards or labeled as failing. The newspaper also found that the more diverse the school is, the harder it is to win awards because of fatal flaws in the way the test was set up. Larry Mantle speaks with Keith Sharon, one of the reporters who co-authored the three part series.
Joe Eszterhas
Hollywood has long been accused of promoting smoking in movies. On August 9, Hollywood screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, a longtime smoker, announced that he has throat cancer and apologized for glamorizing cigarettes in his movies. Eszterhas accused the rest of the film industry, too, of promoting smoking, and urged it to quit. Larry Mantle takes calls from listeners to discuss their views on Hollywood's treatment of smoking and cigarettes in films.
The Building of America
Larry Mantle talks with award-winning historian and journalist James Tobin about his book, Great Projects (Free Press), that tells the stories behind America's greatest engineering achievements.