Education

The Truth About Cyber Schools

• July 25, 2007

An increasing number of parents are choosing Pennsylvania’s public cyber charter schools for their children every year—enrollment grew from 1,848 to almost 16,000 students between 2001 and 2006. Cyber…

Commentary

Another Anti-Cyber Assault by School Boards

• Nathan Benefield
• July 19, 2007

School boards continue to attack public cyber schools and call for limiting their spending (you never hear anyone calling for school districts to limit their spending) in the Pittsburgh…

Media

Education

Public School Students Benefit from Private Managers

• Nathan Benefield
• May 29, 2007

The Philadelphia School Reform Commission soon will be voting on a budget for the school district. Facing a projected budget deficit, the Commission is looking for ways to reduce costs,…

Commentary

Education

Change the Incentives in Education

• Matthew Brouillette
• May 2, 2007

Thank you Chairman Armstrong and members of the Appropriations Committee for the opportunity to discuss the impact of Governor Rendell’s education proposals. You have already heard and are going to…

Commentary

Privately Managed Schools in Philly Gain

• Nathan Benefield
• April 13, 2007

A new report by Paul Peterson at Harvard indicates that privately managed schools in Philadelphia had greater gains in PSSA scores than overall public schools and than “restructured” schools…

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Education

Is Our Kids Learning?

• Nathan Benefield
• October 2, 2006

Following multiple reports on student test scores, much has been made about how well Pennsylvania students are performing. In August, Governor Rendell delighted in the results from the PSSA—the state’s…

Commentary

Education

Preschool Algebra

• Nathan Benefield
• June 29, 2006

From Governor Rendell’s News Release: “An independent study by a renowned firm confirms that more than 160,000 students in 48 Pennsylvania schools are benefiting from investments in early childhood…

Media

Taxes & Economy

Governor Rendell: “I’m very optimistic that before Christmas we will have a property tax bill on my desk that I can sign”

• December 4, 2005

Although Governor Rendell thinks the General Assembly will come up with a school property tax shift before December 25, Pennsylvanians should not be expecting much from the Harrisburg Santa…

Media

Government Accountability

Reinventing Education in Pennsylvania: Fulfilling the Promise of Public Schooling

• December 31, 2003

For more than 250 years, Pennsylvanians have striven to bring academic excellence within reach of their children. In the mid 1700s, when Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and William & Mary colleges…

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