Public Schools
Commentary
Charter Students Outperforming Their Public School Counterparts in California
Charter schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) outperform traditional public schools on nearly every student achievement measure, according to a new study from the California Charter School Association. The study, Charter School Performance in Los Angeles Unified School District: A District and Neighborhood Matched Comparison Analysis, compared ...
Commentary
Court Re-Connects with Reality in Homeschool Reversal
SACRAMENTO – Earlier this year, California’s Second District Court of Appeal shocked parents and lawmakers by effectively banning the homeschooling of children. In my column “Court Out of Touch with Reality in Homeschool Decision ,” I pointed out that the court had ignored a longtime state practice that gave approval ...
California
A New Lesson for California School Superintendent
When middle-class parents in California opened their newspapers recently and read that the leviathan Los Angeles Unified School District had overpaid their employees by $53 million, many likely took comfort in the belief that at least the school districts in their own cozy suburban neighborhoods were well managed. These parents, ...
Commentary
What Bill Gates says “Isn’t Supposed to Happen” – Did
Bill Gates, one of the most successful men in history, has weighed in on a problem that will prevent others from achieving success like his. American students now languish near the bottom on international rankings. “This isn’t supposed to happen,” Bill Gates told Oprah Winfrey on an August 7, 2008, ...
Commentary
Florida Low-Income and Minority Students Outperform Average California Students
San Francisco—The Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a free-market think tank based in California, today released a report showing that a disadvantaged socio-economic background does not necessarily consign students to poor academic performance. According to Demography Is Not Destiny: Reform Lessons from Florida on Overcoming Achievement Gaps, low-income students in Florida ...
Education
Demography Is Not Destiny: Reform Lessons from Florida on Overcoming Achievement Gaps
The Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a free-market think tank based in California, today released a report showing that a disadvantaged socio-economic background does not necessarily consign students to poor academic performance. According to Demography Is Not Destiny: Reform Lessons from Florida on Overcoming Achievement Gaps, low-income students in Florida consistently ...
Commentary
Demography Is Not Destiny: Florida Schools California
Today California ranks 48th in basic reading and math skills. A challenging student population is a popular scapegoat, especially Hispanic students.” By this “logic,” Hispanic populations are growing rapidly, Hispanic students under-perform, therefore southwestern states are doomed. But states like Florida prove demography is not destiny. “A decade ago, Florida ...
Commentary
Self-inflicted budget wounds
For one, state has billions in land it won’t sell Even on the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s tax-and-spend, expansive terms, the state need not be facing a $15 billion budget deficit. Because state government hoards hundreds of billions of dollars in real estate, it has missed a grand opportunity ...
Commentary
Schools turning out defective products
When a new automobile – either purchased or leased – is so riddled with problems that even the manufacturer cannot fix it within 18 months – a reasonable time period, the vehicle is declared a lemon in California under the Tanner Consumer Protection Act, California Civil Code 1793.22 (2004). Unfortunately, ...
Commentary
Education Reform Leaves out Choice
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared 2008 would be “The Year of Education Reform.” Now, more than halfway through the year, California parents continue to wait for promised relief. If the governor’s blueprint for reform is any indication, they may be waiting for a long time. Gov. Schwarzenegger unveiled “Students First: Renewing ...
Charter Students Outperforming Their Public School Counterparts in California
Charter schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) outperform traditional public schools on nearly every student achievement measure, according to a new study from the California Charter School Association. The study, Charter School Performance in Los Angeles Unified School District: A District and Neighborhood Matched Comparison Analysis, compared ...
Court Re-Connects with Reality in Homeschool Reversal
SACRAMENTO – Earlier this year, California’s Second District Court of Appeal shocked parents and lawmakers by effectively banning the homeschooling of children. In my column “Court Out of Touch with Reality in Homeschool Decision ,” I pointed out that the court had ignored a longtime state practice that gave approval ...
A New Lesson for California School Superintendent
When middle-class parents in California opened their newspapers recently and read that the leviathan Los Angeles Unified School District had overpaid their employees by $53 million, many likely took comfort in the belief that at least the school districts in their own cozy suburban neighborhoods were well managed. These parents, ...
What Bill Gates says “Isn’t Supposed to Happen” – Did
Bill Gates, one of the most successful men in history, has weighed in on a problem that will prevent others from achieving success like his. American students now languish near the bottom on international rankings. “This isn’t supposed to happen,” Bill Gates told Oprah Winfrey on an August 7, 2008, ...
Florida Low-Income and Minority Students Outperform Average California Students
San Francisco—The Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a free-market think tank based in California, today released a report showing that a disadvantaged socio-economic background does not necessarily consign students to poor academic performance. According to Demography Is Not Destiny: Reform Lessons from Florida on Overcoming Achievement Gaps, low-income students in Florida ...
Demography Is Not Destiny: Reform Lessons from Florida on Overcoming Achievement Gaps
The Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a free-market think tank based in California, today released a report showing that a disadvantaged socio-economic background does not necessarily consign students to poor academic performance. According to Demography Is Not Destiny: Reform Lessons from Florida on Overcoming Achievement Gaps, low-income students in Florida consistently ...
Demography Is Not Destiny: Florida Schools California
Today California ranks 48th in basic reading and math skills. A challenging student population is a popular scapegoat, especially Hispanic students.” By this “logic,” Hispanic populations are growing rapidly, Hispanic students under-perform, therefore southwestern states are doomed. But states like Florida prove demography is not destiny. “A decade ago, Florida ...
Self-inflicted budget wounds
For one, state has billions in land it won’t sell Even on the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s tax-and-spend, expansive terms, the state need not be facing a $15 billion budget deficit. Because state government hoards hundreds of billions of dollars in real estate, it has missed a grand opportunity ...
Schools turning out defective products
When a new automobile – either purchased or leased – is so riddled with problems that even the manufacturer cannot fix it within 18 months – a reasonable time period, the vehicle is declared a lemon in California under the Tanner Consumer Protection Act, California Civil Code 1793.22 (2004). Unfortunately, ...
Education Reform Leaves out Choice
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared 2008 would be “The Year of Education Reform.” Now, more than halfway through the year, California parents continue to wait for promised relief. If the governor’s blueprint for reform is any indication, they may be waiting for a long time. Gov. Schwarzenegger unveiled “Students First: Renewing ...
