Education

School Funding Reform & Weighted Student Funding

  • James Paul, Nathan Benefield
  • December 4, 2014

Thank you for the opportunity to offer testimony to this commission on the important topic of reforming how we distribute state funding for education. Our written testimony will focus on…

Testimony

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Education

Is Second Worst Good Enough for York Students?

  • James Paul
  • November 10, 2014

The second lowest-performing school district in Pennsylvania is asking for more time to improve but refusing recommended reforms. Unfortunately, more time is not something students and families in York City…

Commentary

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Education

York Schools Rank 499th of 500 in Achievement, Change is Overdue

  • October 13, 2014

For Immediate Release Commonwealth Foundation Contact: 717-671-1901 York School District’s Student Achievement still at Rock Bottom Despite  Funding Increases   Spends $656 more per Student than…

Press Release

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Education

Assessing the Cost of Tom Wolf’s Spending and Tax Proposals

  • October 8, 2014

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Wolf has proposed several new spending initiatives and tax code changes, though specific details remain lacking. To give Pennsylvanians a better idea of the impact of these proposals,…

Memo

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Education

More on Philadelphia School Trends

  • James Paul
  • August 15, 2014

Philadelphia-based Research for Action (RFA) took issue with CF’s Policy Points on spending, enrollment, and staffing trends in the School District of Philadelphia. The…

Media

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Education

A Note on Philadelphia School Spending

  • Nathan Benefield
  • August 4, 2014

Last week, we released a summary of spending, enrollment and staffing trends in the Philadelphia School District over the past decade. After this release,…

Media

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Education

Teacher Evaluation System to Continue in Pittsburgh

  • James Paul
  • July 30, 2014

Good news from the Pittsburgh School District, where the Pennsylvania Department of Education granted three year approval of Pittsburgh’s new teacher evaluation system. This despite the Pittsburgh Federation…

Media

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Education

Politics Threatens Progress in Pittsburgh

  • June 13, 2014

Results from Pittsburgh’s new teacher evaluation system were unveiled today, identifying both excellent teachers and those that need improvement. The goal of this new evaluation system is to allow the…

Media

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Education

A Fair Funding Formula: School Choice

  • Jessica Barnett
  • June 12, 2014

Although it doesn’t fit the popular narrative of cash-starved school districts, spending on education is at an all-time high. The Pennsylvania Department of Education budget reached $11.2 billion in FY…

Media

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