Public Schools
Commentary
Diplomas Count…If You Can Get Them
Women’s Independent Forum, June 16, 2009 This post was co-authored by Evelyn B. Stacey, Education Studies Policy Fellow at the Pacific Research Institute in Sacramento, California. Education Week just released its annual “Diplomas Count ” report. It found that nearly 31 percent of students ended up without a high school ...
Business & Economics
California’s Textbook Case
Governor Schwarzenegger last month announced a first-in-the-nation plan to offer free digital math and science textbooks for high school students. Facing a $24 billion budget deficit, the governor touts the need for “such innovative ways to save money and improve services.” Shifting the curriculum online might help reduce the state’s ...
Commentary
Want Better Teachers? Improve Working Conditions
New research finds that compared to their public school counterparts, private school teachers are much more satisfied with their jobs. Why? Private schools hire based on talent and empower their teachers with decision-making about classroom discipline, curricula, and standards. In contrast, public schools often squander teacher talent, with only 68 ...
Commentary
Florida proves what real education stimulus is
Orlando Sentinel (FL), June 1, 2009 Twenty-six years ago this May, the National Commission on Excellence in Education published A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform. It warned that “the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our ...
Commentary
Not As Good As You Think: The Myth of the Middle Class School
Lance Izumi was a guest on Radio America, with host G. Gordon Liddy. Lance discusses the recently released documentary called, Not As Good As You Think: The Myth of the Middle Class School, which exposes the many failing public schools in California and the misallocation of funds by school board ...
Commentary
Report: Milwaukee Voucher Program Serving Students, Taxpayers Well
A new study shows children receiving vouchers from the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program—the nation’s oldest voucher program—are getting at least as good an education as their peers in public schools, at half the cost. “The Comprehensive Longitudinal Evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program,” released by the University of Arkansas’ ...
Commentary
Obama’s Voucher Plan Isn’t Enough
In order to head off a public-relations catastrophe, Barack Obama has spun a partial about-face in his opposition to the school-choice voucher program for low-income students in Washington, DC. The president’s move, however, falls far short of truly saving the program and helping the legions of disadvantaged children in the ...
Commentary
Giving Failure a Pass
SACRAMENTO – The Los Angeles Unified School District, the largest in California, spends $10 million a year to “house,” with full pay and benefits, about 160 teachers deemed unsuitable for the classroom, according to “Failure Gets a Pass,” a recent series in the Los Angeles Times. “If I had my ...
Commentary
Options are the Best “Alternative” Education Policy for Parents
(This post was co-authored by Evelyn B. Stacey, Education Studies Policy Fellow at the Pacific Research Institute in Sacramento, California. Located about an hour north of San Francisco, Santa Rosa is a gateway city to California’s renowned Wine Country in the Sonoma and Napa Valleys. This “jewel of Northern California” ...
Commentary
One Last Hope for DC Voucher Program
In early May, President Obama presented a revised 2010 budget that included $12.2 million for the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program. The proposal represented a “compromise” solution to DC’s embattled voucher program, but is hardly a gain for low-income students and their parents. The DC voucher plan currently awards up to ...
Diplomas Count…If You Can Get Them
Women’s Independent Forum, June 16, 2009 This post was co-authored by Evelyn B. Stacey, Education Studies Policy Fellow at the Pacific Research Institute in Sacramento, California. Education Week just released its annual “Diplomas Count ” report. It found that nearly 31 percent of students ended up without a high school ...
California’s Textbook Case
Governor Schwarzenegger last month announced a first-in-the-nation plan to offer free digital math and science textbooks for high school students. Facing a $24 billion budget deficit, the governor touts the need for “such innovative ways to save money and improve services.” Shifting the curriculum online might help reduce the state’s ...
Want Better Teachers? Improve Working Conditions
New research finds that compared to their public school counterparts, private school teachers are much more satisfied with their jobs. Why? Private schools hire based on talent and empower their teachers with decision-making about classroom discipline, curricula, and standards. In contrast, public schools often squander teacher talent, with only 68 ...
Florida proves what real education stimulus is
Orlando Sentinel (FL), June 1, 2009 Twenty-six years ago this May, the National Commission on Excellence in Education published A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform. It warned that “the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our ...
Not As Good As You Think: The Myth of the Middle Class School
Lance Izumi was a guest on Radio America, with host G. Gordon Liddy. Lance discusses the recently released documentary called, Not As Good As You Think: The Myth of the Middle Class School, which exposes the many failing public schools in California and the misallocation of funds by school board ...
Report: Milwaukee Voucher Program Serving Students, Taxpayers Well
A new study shows children receiving vouchers from the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program—the nation’s oldest voucher program—are getting at least as good an education as their peers in public schools, at half the cost. “The Comprehensive Longitudinal Evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program,” released by the University of Arkansas’ ...
Obama’s Voucher Plan Isn’t Enough
In order to head off a public-relations catastrophe, Barack Obama has spun a partial about-face in his opposition to the school-choice voucher program for low-income students in Washington, DC. The president’s move, however, falls far short of truly saving the program and helping the legions of disadvantaged children in the ...
Giving Failure a Pass
SACRAMENTO – The Los Angeles Unified School District, the largest in California, spends $10 million a year to “house,” with full pay and benefits, about 160 teachers deemed unsuitable for the classroom, according to “Failure Gets a Pass,” a recent series in the Los Angeles Times. “If I had my ...
Options are the Best “Alternative” Education Policy for Parents
(This post was co-authored by Evelyn B. Stacey, Education Studies Policy Fellow at the Pacific Research Institute in Sacramento, California. Located about an hour north of San Francisco, Santa Rosa is a gateway city to California’s renowned Wine Country in the Sonoma and Napa Valleys. This “jewel of Northern California” ...
One Last Hope for DC Voucher Program
In early May, President Obama presented a revised 2010 budget that included $12.2 million for the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program. The proposal represented a “compromise” solution to DC’s embattled voucher program, but is hardly a gain for low-income students and their parents. The DC voucher plan currently awards up to ...
