Education
Education Landscape in Pennsylvania
Overview There are approximately two million school-age children in the commonwealth. Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) 2025–26 enrollment reports show 73.5 percent attend their assigned district…
Fact Sheet
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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…
Blog
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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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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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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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Pennsylvania School Funding Reaches $23,000 per Student in 2024
Pennsylvania Public School Spending is Growing Public school spending reaches historic levels year after year. Pennsylvania public school revenue per student increased to $23,061 in the 2023-24 school year, up…
Fact Sheet
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PASS/Lifeline Scholarship Program
Overview Two proposals—Senate Bill 10, the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success Scholarship Program (PASS), and forthcoming Lifeline Scholarship legislation in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives—are separate but similar…
Fact Sheet
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Without the Department of Education, Will Pennsylvania Students Survive?
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 20th to reduce the U.S. Department of Education to its essential functions, taking its first steps by…
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