Education
Commonwealth Court ruling is a massive win for education choice advocates
Originally published in The Philadelphia Inquirer After a more than eight-year slog, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court affirmed what the Pennsylvania Constitution has said all…
Read More: Commonwealth Court ruling is a massive win for education choice advocatesEducation is the first stepping-stone on the path to success, but Pennsylvania students face severe inequality among public school districts. Thousands who can’t afford private school are trapped in failing schools or situations that aren’t the right fit. The solution to this crisis is school choice. By offering families options outside their zip code-assigned district schools, students are better able to find their path to success. Charter schools, tax credit scholarships, education savings accounts (ESAs), homeschooling, and other types of education choice must become a priority in Pennsylvania.
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Chart of the Day: Pennsylvania School Revenue per Student
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School Choice: What the Research Says
As the benefits of current school choice programs become clearer, it is time to take our eyes off the past and look towards the future. Jay Green argues that…
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Good Teachers Matter
According to the findings of a National Bureau of Economic Research report, teaching quality is closely reflected by test scores—when looking at a teacher’s impact on students’s test score gains…
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I’m Bringing Some Gumbo to the State Capitol
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal refused to let government unions push him around. His reward? A sweet victory not just for himself, but for the taxpayers, parents, and students of…
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Education Spending: The Rest of the Story
Since Gov. Corbett's budget proposal, those who profit from Pennsylvania's $26 billion a year public school system have been gnashing teeth over what they claim is an "underfunding" of the…
Commentary
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Pennsylvania Higher Education Spending
Pennsylvania taxpayers subsidize higher education through appropriations to 14 state-owned universities (Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, or PASSHE), four state-related universities (Penn State, Pittsburgh, Temple, and Lincoln), community colleges,…
Fact Sheet
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School Choice in Milwaukee Increases Graduation Rates
The latest analysis of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program finds that students receiving scholarships to attend the school of their choice are more likely to graduate from high…
Media
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Does School Choice Reduce Crime?
Yesterday, Charles noted a key Wall Street Journal piece on a Council of Foreign Relations report. That report concluded that educational failure is dangerous for our national security and…
Media
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No School Tax Referendums in Pennsylvania this Year
Remember the gnashing of teeth over “cuts” in state education subsidies (driven by the end of federal stimulus money)? The education establishment and partisan critics of Gov. Corbett insisted this…
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Violent, Failing Schools Will Lead to Unsafe, Ailing America
That’s the upshot of a story in this morning’s Wall Street Journal. It begins: Flaws in U.S. schools are increasingly causing a national-security risk, producing adults without the…
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It’s Good to be the King (of Charter Schools)
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Principled, Punchy Pols Are Popular Pols
I’ve written previously in this space about Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who has garnered enormous popularity while governing courageously. Today, with a new Quinnipiac poll about Gov.
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Does School Choice Harm Public Schools?
This is a common question among school choice skeptics about whether school choice drains funding from public schools. According to new research by The Friedman Foundation for Educational…
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Does Underfunding Pensions “Help the Kids”?
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Pennsylvania K-12 Education Spending
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Fact Sheet
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Exposing Two Class Size Myths
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Busting the Myth That State Subsidies Prevent College Tuition Rising
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Attacking Cyber School Funding
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School Choice Gives Students Hope
Chester-Upland School District in the Philadelphia area is in deep financial trouble, and it made news recently for suing the state for emergency funding to keep going. In a…
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