Education
The High Cost of Pa. K–12 Education Failures
Key Points The cost and risk of failure in our K–12 system is high. Low academic achievement is a predictor of lower lifetime incomes and higher costs for taxpayers. On…
Read More: The High Cost of Pa. K–12 Education FailuresPennsylvania’s future is in the hands of the next generation. Parents and students—not activist agendas—should drive the Commonwealth’s education policy. While policymakers have been entrusted with ensuring the next generation receives a quality education, parents should be empowered to choose the quality education that meets their unique child’s needs. Charter schools and tax credit scholarships are integral pieces of school choice, but more reforms are needed to make school choice a reality for all Pennsylvania students.
Education
Philadelphia’s Education Crisis Worsens
More than 80 percent of 4th and 8th grade students in the School District of Philadelphia didn’t reach proficiency in math and reading, according to the Nation’s Report Card. When…
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Outdated Seniority Rules Harm Pittsburgh Students
Yesterday, we reported that the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers is trying to lower evaluation standards for teachers it had previously helped craft. Under Pittsburgh’s new system, which goes into…
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Teachers’ Union Wants Lower Teacher Standards
Four years ago, Pittsburgh School District, the second-largest in Pennsylvania, embarked on an innovative effort to evaluate teachers. Administrators and the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers (PFT) collaborated to create…
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Cyber Schools Deserve Fair Treatment
Alyssa Weaver is a poster-child for the benefits of choice in public education. At the age of twelve, Alyssa was diagnosed with a crippling case of scoliosis which, in…
Commentary
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Union Dues Backing Political Groups Prompted My Resignation
This perspective on union spending by Pennsylvania public school teacher John Cress originally appeared at Free to Teach, a project of the Commonwealth Foundation. I have been a middle school…
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Reform Cybers Without Arbitrary Cuts
How will more than 35,000 cyber school students be affected by legislation pending in the state Senate this week? There’s both good and bad news on the horizon and your…
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Teacher: Forced Union Dues a “Kick in the Teeth”
This perspective on union spending by Pennsylvania public school teacher Rob Brough originally appeared at Free to Teach, a project of the Commonwealth Foundation. I left my teachers union…
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False Claims Fuel Charter Attacks
The Education Law Center has issued an attack on legislation to allow universities to approve new charter schools. In a single paragraph, a spokesman for the group makes makes…
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School Spending Transparency Coming to Pa.?
Pennsylvania earned a “C+” for providing citizens information on how public schools spend money, according to a recent report from the Cato Institute titled “Cracking the…
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Dues Deduction For Public Sector Unions Is An Offense To Taxpayers
It was the last straw for teacher Steve Calabro. When the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) ran advertisements claiming any teacher who didn’t contribute to the union PAC was part…
Commentary
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The Lost Year: How Seniority Harms Teachers and Kids
Rep. Vanessa Brown (D-Phila.) knows what it’s like to lose a good school teacher. For her son, it was nearly a matter of life and death. For years, Brown has…
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Cyber School Centers Embrace Community Values
Cyber schools have been falsely maligned as impersonal and anti-social environments for learning, but the truth is far different. Case in point: Achievement House Cyber Charter School is bringing blended…
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Podcast: Teachers on Union Exploitation – Part 2
Julie Raab and Keith Williams are speaking out about how union influence affects their teaching jobs. They, and many teachers across the state, are fed up with Pennsylvania’s unfair…
Media
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Voters Support Education Reform
Pennsylvania parents and voters want education reform. A new poll from StudentsFirst shows that Pennsylvania families strongly support educational reforms, including incentives for high performing teachers (74 percent support),…
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Podcast: Teachers on Union Exploitation – Part 1
Julie Raab and Keith Williams are speaking out about how union influence affects their teaching jobs. They, and many teachers across the state, are fed up with Pennsylvania's unfair…
Media
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Unions’ Taxpayer-Subsidized Politics
How would you feel if you were forced to pay for a political cause that worked against your own beliefs and values? Outraged? Victimized? Just plain angry? Many Pennsylvania teachers,…
Commentary
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Saving Pennsylvania’s Best Teachers
This week, Commonwealth Foundation placed billboards in Philadelphia subway stations to highlight the problem of seniority rules in our public schools. Currently, Section 1125…
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SAT Scores by State 2013
EDITORS NOTE: Click here for the 2014 SAT Scores by state We have compiled each state’s average SAT score into one, easy-access spreadsheet ranking states by their mean…
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How is Your Public School Performing?
The Pennsylvania School Performance Profile launched today, but will it deliver the “accountability system” Acting Secretary of Education Carolyn Dumaresq promised in a briefing earlier this month? Created through a…
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Pa. Teacher: Union Dues Deduction is “Wage Garnishment”
Did you know school districts and other government agencies collect unions’ dues and political action committee money from payroll, just like a tax? Teachers are speaking out about this…
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Union Abuses Force Pennsylvania Teachers to Speak Out
Did you know teachers’ unions can force many teachers in Pennsylvania to pay dues or a “fair share fee” that’s taken directly out of teachers’ paychecks? What’s more, this withholding…
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