Research & Data

Cool Schools: All-Boys High School Focuses on Building Brotherhood, Being Leaders

In this episode of Cool Schools, Kevin Festerling, founder of Kingdom Prep Lutheran High School, recounts the institution’s first academic year. Festerling says, “Our job isn’t to create Lutherans. Our job is to be Lutheran.” Click to listen, or read the full transcript below. LISTEN ON ITUNES LISTEN ON STITCHER Our Podcast Transcribed Mike McShane: […]

Mapping Drive Times to Hope Scholarship-Accepting Private Schools in Florida

In many ways, Florida is at the top of the class when it comes to private schools and educational choice. Florida has a lot of private schools. In fact, only California, Pennsylvania and Texas have more according to the most recent Private School Universe Survey (PSS) estimates. And when it comes to the number of […]

Want Parents to Stop Cheating and Lying? Fix the Public Education System

Some parents will stop at nothing to provide the best opportunities for their children. The recent college admissions scandal is shining a bright light on this, and given that many of the parents being charged and pleading guilty are (very, very) wealthy individuals, the differences in educational opportunities between wealthy and low-income families couldn’t be […]

New Government Report on Educational Options for American Indian Students Omits Private Schools

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly released a report yesterday titled Public School Choice: Limited Options Available for Many American Indian and Alaska Native Students, which I found thoroughly fascinating. However, the GAO seems to have egregiously omitted the private school options available to those students. As regular readers of this blog know, I’ve been […]

Schooling in America Series Roundup

Schooling in America Series

In our Schooling in America Series, EdChoice Research Assistant Michael Shaw delved deeper into our 2018 national survey data. From evaluating rural communities post-election to K–12 funding, he unpacks data to reveal the views of school parents, public school teachers and the public on K–12 education, the teaching profession, school choice and more. Check out […]

Schooling in America Series: Rural Revisited

Schooling in America Series

Since the 2016 election turned the spotlight on small town and rural Americans, the education policy world has been playing catch up to the experiences and needs of these communities. Authors in the American Enterprise Institute’s No Longer Forgotten: The Triumphs and Struggles of Rural Education in America offer insight into these communities’ educational landscapes. […]

Schooling in America Series: Parents’ Views on Accountability and School Choice

Schooling in America Series

Not long ago, school choice programs in places like Mississippi simply didn’t exist. Now, not only does the state have charter schools, two voucher programs and an education savings account program, but parents are rallying for expanding these and other choices. Are such rallies really an indication that school choice policies are popular among parents? […]

Mapping Drive Times from Private Schools in West Virginia

West Virginia families lack the diverse educational opportunities families in many other states enjoy. But if the state were to create a private school choice program, such as education savings accounts (ESAs), our new study with the Cardinal Institute shows existing West Virginia private schools would be open to participating and have thousands of open […]

Schooling in America Series: Teachers’ Views on Accountability and School Choice

Schooling in America Series

Last fall, a Florida public school teacher went viral when she released a letter decrying the state of her district’s accountability system and the view of students in the K–12 education machine. “Children are not data points,” Hicks wrote. “Teachers are not cattle herders. Yet, the district maintains an incessant and desperate need to pigeon […]

Schooling in America Series: The Public on K–12 Accountability

Schooling in America Series

Late last year, we began taking a deep dive into the results from our 2018 Schooling in America Survey, our annual snapshot of the K–12 landscape in the United States. With education committees in session and semesters in swing, we thought it would be a great time to pick things up where we left off […]