Education
Charter Schools
Read about PRI's new national education survey
New Poll Shows Voters See Room for Improvement in School Boards
The just-released national survey, conducted for the Pacific Research Institute by Echelon Insights, found that 49% of respondents said that their local public school boards were fair/poor/very poor. Just 36% thought their boards were excellent or good. Those who rated their school board’s performance as poor or very poor were ...
Lance Izumi
September 11, 2023
Blog
Read about an innovative new California school
New School Year, New Hope for At-Risk Students
I report on a lot of bad news about education in California, which is why it was so invigorating to attend the inaugural opening day of Cristo Rey Orange County, an innovative Catholic school that combines rigorous academics with a unique work-study program that has proved successful for countless students ...
Lance Izumi
August 29, 2023
Education
Lance Izumi – Back to School
Our guest this week is Lance Izumi, senior director of education at PRI. Lance discusses all things education – from the Supreme Court’s decision on the Harvard case on Asian American admissions discrimination, to wokism in our schools – including the new woke math in California. Lance also highlights the ...
Pacific Research Institute
August 28, 2023
Education
Read new survey on public education
New PRI Poll: As New School Year Begins, Voters See Room for Improvement with Local Schools
SACRAMENTO – As students head back to school, a new national survey commissioned by the California-based, nonpartisan, free-market think tank, the Pacific Research Institute finds that voters are more dissatisfied with their local school boards than their neighborhood schools, and see room for improvement in public education. When asked how ...
Lance Izumi
August 28, 2023
Blog
Read about latest attacks on charter schools
Los Angeles and Oakland Get “F” Grades for Charter Funding Gaps
The University of Arkansas study compared funding for regular public schools and charter schools in 18 cities across the country using 2019-2020 budget data. Historically, regular public schools have been funded more generously than charter schools, which are autonomous publicly funded schools independent of school districts, but that gap is ...
Lance Izumi
August 21, 2023
Education
Heather Mac Donald – When Race Trumps Merit
Our guest this week is Heather Mac Donald, bestselling author and Thomas W. Smith fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Pacific Research Institute
August 7, 2023
Classroom Ideology
Harvard-UNC SCOTUS ruling puts pressure on K-12 to do better
With the U.S. Supreme Court striking down race preferences in university admissions in the much-anticipated Harvard-University of North Carolina case, the pressure is now on K-12 schools to produce college-ready students, especially those from underrepresented minority groups. In the Harvard-UNC case, the court said that both institutions discriminated against Asian American applicants, who had the highest objective academic ratings, by using subjective ...
Lance Izumi
July 10, 2023
Classroom Ideology
66% of US 4th graders are below proficient in reading
Why Can’t Children Read? Blame the Failed Way We Teach Reading
As the reading abilities of America’s children plummet, the question arises: why? Contrary to popular belief, the COVID pandemic is not the main cause. The real answer lies in the failure of most teacher training programs to instruct aspiring teachers in the most efficient and scientifically proven methods of teaching ...
Lance Izumi
June 29, 2023
Charter Schools
Read the latest on the COVID shutdown's effect on the classroom
COVID-19 classroom crash: Charter and home schooling better than public schools
New research has been released showing staggering learning losses for public school students during the COVID-19 pandemic, which raises key questions about why the losses occurred and, even more important, what parents can do in response. A recent joint study by Harvard and Stanford universities found that student-learning loss during ...
Lance Izumi
June 27, 2023
Blog
Charter schools provide good learning options for all kids
Classical Academy Charter School Keeps Excelling and Innovating
One of the most rewarding aspects of my job has been the opportunity to meet innovative education leaders whose learning models are making a big difference in the lives of students. Amongst these educators, Cameron Curry, who helped to start Classical Academies and now serves as CEO, is right at ...
Lance Izumi
June 19, 2023
Read about PRI's new national education survey
New Poll Shows Voters See Room for Improvement in School Boards
The just-released national survey, conducted for the Pacific Research Institute by Echelon Insights, found that 49% of respondents said that their local public school boards were fair/poor/very poor. Just 36% thought their boards were excellent or good. Those who rated their school board’s performance as poor or very poor were ...
Read about an innovative new California school
New School Year, New Hope for At-Risk Students
I report on a lot of bad news about education in California, which is why it was so invigorating to attend the inaugural opening day of Cristo Rey Orange County, an innovative Catholic school that combines rigorous academics with a unique work-study program that has proved successful for countless students ...
Lance Izumi – Back to School
Our guest this week is Lance Izumi, senior director of education at PRI. Lance discusses all things education – from the Supreme Court’s decision on the Harvard case on Asian American admissions discrimination, to wokism in our schools – including the new woke math in California. Lance also highlights the ...
Read new survey on public education
New PRI Poll: As New School Year Begins, Voters See Room for Improvement with Local Schools
SACRAMENTO – As students head back to school, a new national survey commissioned by the California-based, nonpartisan, free-market think tank, the Pacific Research Institute finds that voters are more dissatisfied with their local school boards than their neighborhood schools, and see room for improvement in public education. When asked how ...
Read about latest attacks on charter schools
Los Angeles and Oakland Get “F” Grades for Charter Funding Gaps
The University of Arkansas study compared funding for regular public schools and charter schools in 18 cities across the country using 2019-2020 budget data. Historically, regular public schools have been funded more generously than charter schools, which are autonomous publicly funded schools independent of school districts, but that gap is ...
Heather Mac Donald – When Race Trumps Merit
Our guest this week is Heather Mac Donald, bestselling author and Thomas W. Smith fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Harvard-UNC SCOTUS ruling puts pressure on K-12 to do better
With the U.S. Supreme Court striking down race preferences in university admissions in the much-anticipated Harvard-University of North Carolina case, the pressure is now on K-12 schools to produce college-ready students, especially those from underrepresented minority groups. In the Harvard-UNC case, the court said that both institutions discriminated against Asian American applicants, who had the highest objective academic ratings, by using subjective ...
66% of US 4th graders are below proficient in reading
Why Can’t Children Read? Blame the Failed Way We Teach Reading
As the reading abilities of America’s children plummet, the question arises: why? Contrary to popular belief, the COVID pandemic is not the main cause. The real answer lies in the failure of most teacher training programs to instruct aspiring teachers in the most efficient and scientifically proven methods of teaching ...
Read the latest on the COVID shutdown's effect on the classroom
COVID-19 classroom crash: Charter and home schooling better than public schools
New research has been released showing staggering learning losses for public school students during the COVID-19 pandemic, which raises key questions about why the losses occurred and, even more important, what parents can do in response. A recent joint study by Harvard and Stanford universities found that student-learning loss during ...
Charter schools provide good learning options for all kids
Classical Academy Charter School Keeps Excelling and Innovating
One of the most rewarding aspects of my job has been the opportunity to meet innovative education leaders whose learning models are making a big difference in the lives of students. Amongst these educators, Cameron Curry, who helped to start Classical Academies and now serves as CEO, is right at ...