The original article can be found at The Washington Policy Center Today the Louisiana legislature passed the LA GATOR program, offering an Education Savings Account (ESA) to all Louisiana students. The law now goes to Governor Jeff Landry, who is expected to sign. With his signature Louisiana will become the twelfth state in the nation to pass universal school choice, joining Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah and West Virginia. As EdChoice President and CEO Robert Enlow declared “This is an exciting moment for Louisiana families, who are no longer constrained by zip codes, but empowered to seek the best educational path for … [Read more...]
Aunt Becky and the ‘Underpaid Teachers’ Myth
This article was published at the National Review and written by Andrew G. Biggs on Dec 2, 2019. Do you agree or disagree? What the college-admissions scandal can teach us about public-school teacher pay. According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) — a liberal think tank affiliated with teachers’ unions — public-school teachers earn, on average, 21.4 percent less than private-sector workers in other fields who have similar educational and demographic characteristics. According to EPI, by offering higher pay, public schools could attract and retain better teachers, leading to better test scores, higher graduation rates, and better jobs for the future. It’s a compelling … [Read more...]
School vouchers – should parents have choice?
As Charter Schools gain traction. As religious/private schools grow. As Home Schooling expands...the question coming to the fore more and more is whether parents should have vouchers and use those to determine where their children go to school. Is the public school system antiquated and out of touch? As parents exit the public school system are the children remaining more challenged and thus perform at a lower level? What are the Pros and Cons of Vouchers and should parents have the right to use the money the way they see fit? How many states (as of early 2017) have a Voucher program? State_Voucher_List_March_2017 You will see that 16 States do have a Voucher system. That number … [Read more...]
Students Can’t Hide From Common Core No Matter What School they Attend
From an article at Nancy Bailey's Education Website The more I read about Common Core and education reform, the more I am convinced that one of the most important issues is that all students will have to be instructed with these standards if they choose to attend college. A misconception exists about students in private or parochial schools being lucky that they won’t have to mess with the Common Core. But this is a myth, unless these schools will be willing to take criticism when their seniors wind up not answering correctly on the SAT/ACT tests to get into their dream colleges. I’m not saying students will be better prepared for college, but they will have to learn what is on … [Read more...]
From Common Core To Competency-Based Education: The Slimy Tentacles Of Billionaire Foundations
From an article at Exceptional Delaware Their reach is everywhere. Foundations who say they represent the best interests of children. Who want to fix education so all children can get a shot. Why then, do so many of the children of these philanthropists, politicians, and corporate education reformers, attend private schools? Ones without the invasive education technology and Common Core standards? That alone should tell everyone they are not in it for the kids. For them, it is about the profit. Servant and master. They feel we should bow down to their infinite wisdom and do as they say. The reports from the Department of Labor showing increasing jobs don’t paint the … [Read more...]
What’s your ideal educational system?
This from an article at The Freedom Foundation - author is Jamie Lund. You can get more information about him on his Facebook Page We spend ten billion dollars each year to assure that citizens are educated. The recent public debate over charter schools highlighted some strong differences of opinion about what the ideal education system should look like. The diagram simplifies the discussion. A system of public education can have many or few who are permitted to offer education. Likewise, a system can have one or many acceptable learning outcomes. Our current system in Washington is nearly a monopoly on providers and fairly uniform on learning targets. It is indicated by the red … [Read more...]