School Choice
Blog
Los Angeles public school parents are sending a clear message. Is the district listening?
A recent poll shows the district receiving largely positive marks from local parents despite their widespread dissatisfaction with the direction of the state and city. But the same poll shows the district might not know how to leave well enough alone by pushing forward with broad restrictions on classroom technology. ...
Blog
California’s Bad Student Test Scores and Newsom’s Deceitful Edu-Ganda
The state administers its California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CASPP) annually to students in grades 3-8 and grade 11. There are four performance levels on the exam—advanced, proficient, developing, and minimal. For a student to meet grade-level standards, he or she must score at either the advanced or ...
Book
NEW PRI Book Tells Stories of Students, Parents and Educators Fighting Back Against DEI
SACRAMENTO – Students, parents, teachers, school board members and college professors across the country are challenging controversial so-called diversity, equity and inclusion policies (DEI) and winning. Their stories are at the heart of a new book released today by the nonpartisan, California-based, free-market think tank, the Pacific Research Institute. The ...
Blog
Alternative Catholic Education Models Gain Popularity and Attention
Recently, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel on alternative Catholic education models at a retreat conference for the Order of Malta, which is a lay order of the Catholic Church founded a millennium ago and which focuses on medical, social, and humanitarian aid projects. The panel gave insight ...
Blog
How a Private Scholarship Fund Makes a Difference for Kids at a California Catholic School
Based in Oakland, The BASIC Fund is California’s largest non-denominational PreK-8 organization that gives needs-based scholarships to low-income children on a first-come, first-served basis to help pay for tuition so they can attend private schools. The BASIC Fund gives families the opportunity to choose from among more than 250 private ...
Blog
Ni Estudian – Ni Trabajan – On California’s Poor Education System and Its Consequences for Public Safety
The prospects for California’s high school grads are not good as they face a shrinking job market and a correspondingly high youth unemployment rate. In Latin America, they are known as the “Nini’s” – out of school and out of work. According to a November 2025 LA Times article, a ...
Blog
The BASIC Fund Gives Hope for a Better Education to Low-Income Children
According to the organization, “Scholarships are awarded on a sliding scale, covering 25%, 50%, or 75% of the Family Portion of the school’s tuition up to a maximum of $2,750 annually per child.” Thus, parents are asked to fund part of their child’s private school costs to ensure that the ...
Blog
New Study Shows Success of School Choice in Action
Recently released scores on California’s state tests in English and math show huge proportions of students failing to achieve proficiency in the basic subjects. More than half of California students taking the 2025 state English exam failed to score at the proficient level. On the state math test, more than ...
Education
Kerry McDonald – Joyful Learning
From FreedomFest 2025 in Palm Springs, Tim talks with Kerry McDonald, senior fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education and State Policy Network education fellow about her new book Joyful Learning, which explores new, low-cost K–12 learning models that favor individualized, learner-centered education. They also talk about the Trump administration’s ...
Blog
In America’s Education Darkness, Catholic Schools Are a Bright Spot
On the 2024 NAEP eighth-grade reading test, Catholic-school students scored 20 points higher than public school students. On the eighth-grade math test, Catholic-school eighth graders scored 21 points higher than their public-school peers. According to education policy analyst Matt Ladner, the academic advantage for Catholic-school students has been growing over ...
Los Angeles public school parents are sending a clear message. Is the district listening?
A recent poll shows the district receiving largely positive marks from local parents despite their widespread dissatisfaction with the direction of the state and city. But the same poll shows the district might not know how to leave well enough alone by pushing forward with broad restrictions on classroom technology. ...
California’s Bad Student Test Scores and Newsom’s Deceitful Edu-Ganda
The state administers its California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CASPP) annually to students in grades 3-8 and grade 11. There are four performance levels on the exam—advanced, proficient, developing, and minimal. For a student to meet grade-level standards, he or she must score at either the advanced or ...
NEW PRI Book Tells Stories of Students, Parents and Educators Fighting Back Against DEI
SACRAMENTO – Students, parents, teachers, school board members and college professors across the country are challenging controversial so-called diversity, equity and inclusion policies (DEI) and winning. Their stories are at the heart of a new book released today by the nonpartisan, California-based, free-market think tank, the Pacific Research Institute. The ...
Alternative Catholic Education Models Gain Popularity and Attention
Recently, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel on alternative Catholic education models at a retreat conference for the Order of Malta, which is a lay order of the Catholic Church founded a millennium ago and which focuses on medical, social, and humanitarian aid projects. The panel gave insight ...
How a Private Scholarship Fund Makes a Difference for Kids at a California Catholic School
Based in Oakland, The BASIC Fund is California’s largest non-denominational PreK-8 organization that gives needs-based scholarships to low-income children on a first-come, first-served basis to help pay for tuition so they can attend private schools. The BASIC Fund gives families the opportunity to choose from among more than 250 private ...
Ni Estudian – Ni Trabajan – On California’s Poor Education System and Its Consequences for Public Safety
The prospects for California’s high school grads are not good as they face a shrinking job market and a correspondingly high youth unemployment rate. In Latin America, they are known as the “Nini’s” – out of school and out of work. According to a November 2025 LA Times article, a ...
The BASIC Fund Gives Hope for a Better Education to Low-Income Children
According to the organization, “Scholarships are awarded on a sliding scale, covering 25%, 50%, or 75% of the Family Portion of the school’s tuition up to a maximum of $2,750 annually per child.” Thus, parents are asked to fund part of their child’s private school costs to ensure that the ...
New Study Shows Success of School Choice in Action
Recently released scores on California’s state tests in English and math show huge proportions of students failing to achieve proficiency in the basic subjects. More than half of California students taking the 2025 state English exam failed to score at the proficient level. On the state math test, more than ...
Kerry McDonald – Joyful Learning
From FreedomFest 2025 in Palm Springs, Tim talks with Kerry McDonald, senior fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education and State Policy Network education fellow about her new book Joyful Learning, which explores new, low-cost K–12 learning models that favor individualized, learner-centered education. They also talk about the Trump administration’s ...
In America’s Education Darkness, Catholic Schools Are a Bright Spot
On the 2024 NAEP eighth-grade reading test, Catholic-school students scored 20 points higher than public school students. On the eighth-grade math test, Catholic-school eighth graders scored 21 points higher than their public-school peers. According to education policy analyst Matt Ladner, the academic advantage for Catholic-school students has been growing over ...