New Philly Schools Report Shows Increased Spending on Staff, Declining Enrollment, and Worse Academic Outcomes
In March, with no fanfare, the School District of Philadelphia posted its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). The new report shows that, despite record-level spending, district…
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Pennsylvania Student Test Scores Are In—and They Don’t Look Great
The 2025 results of Pennsylvania’s annual standardized tests are out, with mediocre results. The Pennsylvania System of Student Assessment (PSSA) tests students in grades 3 through…
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Low-Achieving and Violent Public Schools in Pennsylvania
Overview Students attending low-achieving public schools experience violence at nearly twice the rate of students attending higher-achieving schools and are more likely to experience violence involving a weapon.
Fact Sheet
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Philadelphia’s Educational Double Standard
Originally published by The Philadelphia Citizen. The Philadelphia Board of Education has had enough with abysmal academic records—sort of. The school board recently voted not…
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Myths and Facts: Public Cyber Charter Schools
Summary Myths and misinformation obscure the facts about Pennsylvania’s public cyber charter school students. Proposed cuts to cyber students will force the closure of up to nine of Pennsylvania’s 14…
Fact Sheet
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Students Need Alternatives
Originally published by The Philadelphia Inquirer. Despite the Pennsylvania budget being more than two months late, Gov. Josh Shapiro still found time for a photo opportunity…
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Rethinking School District Reserve Funds as Students Return to Class
Pennsylvania must focus on funding students. Overview After years of property tax hikes and significant increases in state funding, Pennsylvania school districts ended the 2023–24 school year with more than…
Backgrounder
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Six Reasons Why Hold Harmless is Anything But for Kids
Hold harmless is a policy that guarantees school districts the same amount of funding as they had in the prior year, regardless of fluctuations in enrollment. This means that public school…
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Educational Choice Myth and Facts 2025
Summary Unfortunately, conversations about education choice are fraught with myths about accountability, funding, and who qualifies for choice programs. This fact sheet addresses the most common myths. Academic Accountability MYTH:School…
Fact Sheet
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