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Centralization in public schools through school district consolidation was pitched as a way to save administrative costs in American public schools. Instead, public school administration has mirrored the trend of virtually every other government input: growth. Such centralization has contributed to a decrease in the ability of parents to “vote with their feet” for better […]
Following Eric Cantor’s speech about school choice last week, The Washington Post published an article called “Eric Cantor and Bill de Blasio exchange fire over schools”. One exchange in the comments section claiming that private and charter schools aren’t better at improving student outcomes serves as a perfect example of how common it is for […]
Milton Friedman said if the traditional public schools are as good as its defenders claim, they shouldn’t be afraid of competition. In a similar vein, some school choice supporters argue that if private schools are performing well then they shouldn’t fear state standardized tests. Such is the implication of a new policy toolkit released yesterday by […]
Despite the message of those adorable AT&T commercials that “more is better,” there is evidence to the contrary regarding money for public schools. In a little-discussed report, issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in September 2007, economist Rajashri Chakrabarti, Ph.D. presented a highly quantitative and rigorous analysis of the effect of school choice […]
Yesterday education historian Diane Ravitch recognized the Friedman Foundation’s research on her blog, specifically our new survey showing where Americans rank the efficaciousness of seven education reforms. However, I am concerned Ms. Ravitch believes “surprise (and, no doubt, embarrassment)” overcame our foundation given the results. We actually were quite encouraged by the findings. Survey respondents […]
A new Friedman Foundation report released today found what education reforms were most popular, in terms of their perceived effectiveness, among surveyed adults. The graphic below shows where Americans ranked them in importance, with one perceived as the most efficacious, and seven viewed as the least efficacious. When looking at Americans’ top three favored reforms […]
In a new Friedman Foundation report, I used survey data from the Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES) to examine several specific questions about public opinion and support for school choice: Is there a significant difference in support for choice based on reasons for school choice? (“Reasons” were defined as increasing equality, introducing competition, or facilitating […]
Today’s featured commenters come from the comments section of a Huffington Post piece called “Debbie Squires, Education Official, Says Teachers Know What’s Best For Kids, Not Their Parents”. More and more people are debating the true value of colleges of education and teacher licenses. Regardless, we believe when all families have school choice, they will choose […]
Alabama – Stephanie Linn @StephanieJLinn Alabama will likely hit the $25 million cap for corporate and individual donations for the new tax-credit scholarship program. As of December 20, Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs) have received $23.8 million in actual or indicated donations. If the cap is reached, SGOs could give out scholarships worth $8,800 to around 2,700 […]
TOP FIVE 1. Pro-voucher candidates win suburban school board election. In November 2013, pro-school choice candidates seeking to keep or gain seats on Colorado’s Douglas County school board won in a highly contested race. In 2011, after “DougCo” school board members enacted a series of education reforms, including a universally available school voucher program, unions […]