Vicki E. Murray

Education

Early Graduation is a Student-Centered Option

Already, 21 states allow early graduation, according to the Education Commission of the States. And among the other 29, it’s not entirely clear whether state law actually prohibits it. Thirty-five states allow students to finish high school based on mastering proficiency standards in state tests rather than satisfying course credit ...
Commentary

Milwaukee School Choice Program Sets Example for California, Nation

Low-income Milwaukee students using vouchers to attend independent schools have a graduation rate 18 percent higher than students in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), according to Graduation Rates for Choice and Public School Students in Milwaukee, 2003-2008, a new report by John Robert Warren of the University of Minnesota. California would ...
Education

Garden State Ripe for Tax-Credit Scholarships

So what changed? The study doesn’t say, but the Wall Street Journal notes that taxes on incomes starting at $500,000 increased 40 percent, from 6.37 percent to 8.97 percent beginning in 2004. Today, New Jersey faces a $2.2 billion budget deficit. Governor Chris Christie proposed freezing some spending and coming ...
Commentary

Tax-credit scholarships could ease school funding burden

Gov. Chris Christie has proposed freezing $475 million in education spending to help shrink New Jersey’s $2.2 billion budget deficit, focusing on school districts with budget surpluses. (“Deep budget cuts carry economic risk for N.J.,” Feb. 14.) This plan raises concerns about punishing fiscally responsible school districts. It also raises ...
Education

Taking the “Public Option” in Schooling to Task

For anyone still unconvinced that a single-payer (i.e. government-run) healthcare system is a good idea, try looking at the government-run schooling sector. The average per-pupil expenditure in government-run schools nationwide is nearly $11,000 compared to average private school tuition that’s less than $8,600. In spite of a 20 percent funding ...
Education

“Scholar Ladies” Sing Praises of Their Milwaukee Private School

As the Chicago Tribune reported, “The middle school students at HOPE Christian Schools may be single, but more important, they are scholars. The Milwaukee campus has become an online sensation by posting a video called ‘Scholar Ladies,’ mimicking Beyonce’s hit ‘Single Ladies’.” In the video the scholar ladies have gloss ...
Education

Will the Senate Save the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program?

Sens. Lieberman and Collins will hold a press conference this morning on the importance of saving the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) and their plans to offer a bipartisan reauthorization proposal as an amendment to legislation that is moving in the Senate. Last summer, Sens. Lieberman and Collins, along with ...
Education

The President’s Budget: “No Justifiable Reason” for Killing the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program

Still, buried within the appendix of president’s budget (p. 1244) is a $3.8 million cut to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DC OSP), which reduces funding for this much-needed program from $13.2 million to $9.4 million. To put this into better perspective, consider that eliminating about $4 million from a ...
Education

Rethinking Big ED

Federal education spending per student has nearly tripled in real, inflation-adjusted dollars since 1970, but student achievement has, at best, flatlined. Last week President Obama admitted “On the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math tests, 4th graders showed no signs of progress for the first time in many ...
Education

The Obama Administration and the DC Student Voucher Program

Independent Women’s Forum, January 5, 2010 In his September 8 back-to-school speech, President Obama urged students to take responsibility for their actions. That is also good advice for the president himself and for his Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, considering that their recent actions are hurting the prospects of low-income ...
Education

Early Graduation is a Student-Centered Option

Already, 21 states allow early graduation, according to the Education Commission of the States. And among the other 29, it’s not entirely clear whether state law actually prohibits it. Thirty-five states allow students to finish high school based on mastering proficiency standards in state tests rather than satisfying course credit ...
Commentary

Milwaukee School Choice Program Sets Example for California, Nation

Low-income Milwaukee students using vouchers to attend independent schools have a graduation rate 18 percent higher than students in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), according to Graduation Rates for Choice and Public School Students in Milwaukee, 2003-2008, a new report by John Robert Warren of the University of Minnesota. California would ...
Education

Garden State Ripe for Tax-Credit Scholarships

So what changed? The study doesn’t say, but the Wall Street Journal notes that taxes on incomes starting at $500,000 increased 40 percent, from 6.37 percent to 8.97 percent beginning in 2004. Today, New Jersey faces a $2.2 billion budget deficit. Governor Chris Christie proposed freezing some spending and coming ...
Commentary

Tax-credit scholarships could ease school funding burden

Gov. Chris Christie has proposed freezing $475 million in education spending to help shrink New Jersey’s $2.2 billion budget deficit, focusing on school districts with budget surpluses. (“Deep budget cuts carry economic risk for N.J.,” Feb. 14.) This plan raises concerns about punishing fiscally responsible school districts. It also raises ...
Education

Taking the “Public Option” in Schooling to Task

For anyone still unconvinced that a single-payer (i.e. government-run) healthcare system is a good idea, try looking at the government-run schooling sector. The average per-pupil expenditure in government-run schools nationwide is nearly $11,000 compared to average private school tuition that’s less than $8,600. In spite of a 20 percent funding ...
Education

“Scholar Ladies” Sing Praises of Their Milwaukee Private School

As the Chicago Tribune reported, “The middle school students at HOPE Christian Schools may be single, but more important, they are scholars. The Milwaukee campus has become an online sensation by posting a video called ‘Scholar Ladies,’ mimicking Beyonce’s hit ‘Single Ladies’.” In the video the scholar ladies have gloss ...
Education

Will the Senate Save the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program?

Sens. Lieberman and Collins will hold a press conference this morning on the importance of saving the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) and their plans to offer a bipartisan reauthorization proposal as an amendment to legislation that is moving in the Senate. Last summer, Sens. Lieberman and Collins, along with ...
Education

The President’s Budget: “No Justifiable Reason” for Killing the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program

Still, buried within the appendix of president’s budget (p. 1244) is a $3.8 million cut to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DC OSP), which reduces funding for this much-needed program from $13.2 million to $9.4 million. To put this into better perspective, consider that eliminating about $4 million from a ...
Education

Rethinking Big ED

Federal education spending per student has nearly tripled in real, inflation-adjusted dollars since 1970, but student achievement has, at best, flatlined. Last week President Obama admitted “On the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math tests, 4th graders showed no signs of progress for the first time in many ...
Education

The Obama Administration and the DC Student Voucher Program

Independent Women’s Forum, January 5, 2010 In his September 8 back-to-school speech, President Obama urged students to take responsibility for their actions. That is also good advice for the president himself and for his Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, considering that their recent actions are hurting the prospects of low-income ...
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