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, where he published papers on subjects ranging from cyber charter schools to class size reduction. McCluskey's writings have appeared in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, Baltimore Sun, the Washington Times, and Forbes, and he has been cited in periodicals ranging from Wired News to U.S. News and World Report. In addition, he has appeared on C-SPAN, CNN, and the Fox News Channel. McCluskey holds a master’s degree in political science from Rutgers University.
Media Contact: 202-789-5200
To Book a Speaking Engagement: 202-789-5226
E-Mail: nmccluskey@cato.org
Books and Book Chapters
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
"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.
"A Lesson in Waste: Where Does All the Federal Education Money Go?," Policy Analysis no. 518, July 7, 2004.
Opinion and Commentary
"Every University a Junkie," New York Post, May 30, 2008
"Open the Gates," National Review (Online), May 20, 2008
"Inventing a Student Loan Crisis," American Spectator (Online), April 21, 2008
"No Child Left Ahead," American Spectator (Online), March 13, 2008
"College Tuition Inflaters," American Spectator (Online), February 8, 2008
Events
"Feds in the Classroom: How Big Government Corrupts, Cripples, and Compromises American Education," September 18, 2007 [Book Forum]
"Should Congress Reauthorize NCLB?," September 5, 2007 [Capitol Hill Briefing]
""Stupid in America"," August 17, 2007 [Capitol Hill Briefing]
"NCLB and the Future of Federal Education Policy," March 7, 2007 [Conference]
"Why We Fight: Do Public Schools Cause Social Conflict?," January 23, 2007 [Policy Forum]
Speeches and Testimony
"Modern Public School Facilities: Investing in the Future," February 13, 2008.
Multimedia
"Free and Independent Education" featuring Neal McCluskey, July 4, 2008 [Flash Audio, 07:45]
"States Backloading Gains for NCLB" featuring Neal McCluskey, May 23, 2008 [Flash Audio, 06:12]
"The Politics of Reading First" featuring Neal McCluskey, May 13, 2008 [Flash Audio, 07:47]
Neal McCluskey breaks down the student lending issue on Bloomberg April 25, 2008 [Flash Video, 03:13]
"Graduation Rate Runaround" featuring Neal McCluskey, March 31, 2008 [Flash Audio, 07:19]