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
‘Tis the Season…for teacher strikes, that is.
Saucon Valley teachers who make nearly $80K are ready to strike. Nick Falsone writes on his Bedlam in Bethlehem blog for The Express-Times about elementary school teacher Vivian Demko,…
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The Harriet Tubman of School Choice
I’m in Phoenix for a conference of state think tanks and (with panels on education reform today), so I won’t be blogging much over the next few days. I will…
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Schools failing, but don’t give students choices
Tribune-Review article highlights chronically failing schools in the Pittsburgh area (see our report on school perfomance for more how schools are doing), and the No Child Left Behind mandate…
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SAT Scores by State
EDITORS NOTE: Click here for the 2014 SAT Scores by state The College Board released their 2008 College Bound Seniors report which details SAT scores. Click here for a…
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The Competitive Impact of School Choice
A reader asks, in response to a post about a study show school choice in Ohio had a competitive benefit to public schools, Do you have…
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Is PHEAA reformable?
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review questions whether PHEAA can be reformed, as the Auditor General suggests, given that the legislators who dominate the PHEAA board don’t think legislators should vote to…
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School Choice Benefits Ohio Public Schools
A new study from the Friedman Foundation finds that Ohio’s EdChoice voucher program – offering scholarships to students in failing schools – resulted in academic improvements in voucher-eligible public…
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Protect Our Kids from Preschool
Shikha Dalmia and Lisa Snell have a an editorial in the Wall Street Journal about the merits of universal preschool: In the last half-century, U.S. preschool attendance…
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A Real Pennsylvania School “Report Card”
New report offers more accurate measure of education achievement HARRISBURG, PA — Today, the Commonwealth Foundation released A Pennsylvania School Report Card: How the Commonwealth’s Public Schools Stack Up to…
Press Release
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A Pennsylvania School Report Card
Politicians and school officials frequently point to student performance on state tests as a primary measure of the quality of public education. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the…
Fact Sheet
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Money, Money, Money
Teachers in Scranton are striking for more money Mid Valley school district officials are being criticized for spending too much money PHEAA is under scrutiny for recklessly…
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Phix PHEAA
Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner has released his audit of PHEAA, recommending among other things that PHEAA’s board not be dominated by legislators (news release here). Wagner does…
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“Free” School Trip
The Times-Tribune ran a story on yet another instance of school officials using tax dollars for everything but educating students. The Mid Valley School District sent some of its…
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Voices of school choice … and how to get involved
The REACH Foundation has a new “Voices of School Choice” profile on its website. This one is about Katie, who writes about how the choice of going to cyber…
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“The end of civilization as we know it!”
Enjoy this bit of British humor from an old British TV series that illustrates some of the absurdity behind the anti-school choice movement. “Oh, very droll Prime Minister…” Youtube…
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Public Education vs. Public Schooling
Neal McCluskey on the difference between “public education” and monopoly of government-run schools: Fortunately, there is a term that does strongly imply a system in which government provides…
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Should have studied Chemical Engineering at Dartmouth
WSJ.com has some interactive data on salaries of graduates by college, as well as by major. I was suprised that the median mid-career salary for my alma…
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Less than 60% of black males graduate in PA
The Schott Foundation has a new report out on black male graduation rates – in public schools – and the gap between black and white performance. In PA,…
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Georgia Charter School Success
Our sister think tank, Georgia Public Policy Foundation, highlights the success that charter schools are enjoying in the state. 85% of the state’s 71 charter schools met Adequate…
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Change He Can’t Believe In
Steve Chapman writes how Barack Obama – the “candidate of change” – rejects school choice (as policy, though he doesn’t practice what he preaches), despite its success. Obama…
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Construction Woes
A few schools in Pennsylvania are experiencing a money crunch–not because property taxes are too low, but because of school boards’ Edifice Complex. The Bethlehem School District and Danville…
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