Education

Commentary

How Good is Your Public School?

Richard John Neuhaus writes that school choice is a moral issue, but that many middle-class families, with some justification, fear that vouchers would harm their own children’s schools. We certainly think those fears are misplaced, but the question got us thinking: How good are those schools, anyway? The Pacific Research ...
Commentary

School-choice successes grow

Georgia approves private-school scholarships funded with tax credits Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue signed into law last week a universal school-choice program that uses corporate and individual tax credits to create $50 million in scholarships to private schools. The law is the latest advance in the school-choice movement, which has seen ...
Commentary

Investigate Grand Theft Education

SACRAMENTO – Last month the California Department of Education (CDE) paid out $4.6 million to settle the longstanding case of CDE employee James Lindberg. Though previously addressed in this column, the case remains rich in lessons for legislators, educators, taxpayers, and even law enforcement. Mr. Lindberg got in trouble not ...
Commentary

Testimony submitted to the CA Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation – AB-2605

Vicki E. Murray, Ph.D. and senior fellow in Education Studies, gave invited testimony on AB 2605, the Tax Credits for Non-Public School Families bill, at a meeting of the California Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee on May 6, 2008. Non-public schools are a vibrant and integral part of California’s educational ...
Commentary

California Report Card Shows Dismal Results

School Reform News (The Heartland Institute), May 1, 2008 A February 15 report card from the Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a free-market think tank based in California, evaluated and graded 17 aspects of California’s K-12 education system, finding the state’s performance disastrously poor. Among the factors evaluated are the state’s ...
Commentary

California Dropout Study Sparks Controversy

A study of California’s high school dropout rate has sparked a debate about the merits of nontraditional schools. According to the study, 41 percent of California’s dropouts come from nontraditional schools such as charter and alternative schools, which educate 12 percent of the state’s children. Critics of the study, released ...
Education

Impact – April 2008

PRI Ideas in Action – April 2008 Policy Update and Monthly Impact Report PRI continues to impact public policy in California, the nation, and abroad. Click below to view PRI’s recent contributions.
Commentary

Testimony submitted to the CA Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation – AB-2561

Vicki E. Murray, Ph.D. and senior fellow in Education Studies, gave invited testimony on AB 2561, the Pupil Opportunities Transfers bill, at a meeting of the California Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee on April 28, 2008. California school children are in desperate need of high-quality schools. Nearly 1.7 million students ...
Commentary

Beware ‘less-than-best’ schools

FORBES magazine recently released another popular “best” list, this one rating the top suburbs in America. The selections derive from several factors, including school quality. The indicators, however, do not necessarily guarantee a top-quality school. Forbes’ analysis looked at graduation rates, per-pupil spending, and student-to-teacher ratios. However, none of this ...
Commentary

School safety loses in Sacramento

Nine of 10 elementary and secondary students statewide, including in Orange County, attend schools reporting incidents involving violence, physical injuries or weapons. Yet, in a vote this month, the state Assembly Education Committee failed to uphold California students’ inalienable right under the state constitution to attend schools that are “safe, ...
Commentary

How Good is Your Public School?

Richard John Neuhaus writes that school choice is a moral issue, but that many middle-class families, with some justification, fear that vouchers would harm their own children’s schools. We certainly think those fears are misplaced, but the question got us thinking: How good are those schools, anyway? The Pacific Research ...
Commentary

School-choice successes grow

Georgia approves private-school scholarships funded with tax credits Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue signed into law last week a universal school-choice program that uses corporate and individual tax credits to create $50 million in scholarships to private schools. The law is the latest advance in the school-choice movement, which has seen ...
Commentary

Investigate Grand Theft Education

SACRAMENTO – Last month the California Department of Education (CDE) paid out $4.6 million to settle the longstanding case of CDE employee James Lindberg. Though previously addressed in this column, the case remains rich in lessons for legislators, educators, taxpayers, and even law enforcement. Mr. Lindberg got in trouble not ...
Commentary

Testimony submitted to the CA Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation – AB-2605

Vicki E. Murray, Ph.D. and senior fellow in Education Studies, gave invited testimony on AB 2605, the Tax Credits for Non-Public School Families bill, at a meeting of the California Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee on May 6, 2008. Non-public schools are a vibrant and integral part of California’s educational ...
Commentary

California Report Card Shows Dismal Results

School Reform News (The Heartland Institute), May 1, 2008 A February 15 report card from the Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a free-market think tank based in California, evaluated and graded 17 aspects of California’s K-12 education system, finding the state’s performance disastrously poor. Among the factors evaluated are the state’s ...
Commentary

California Dropout Study Sparks Controversy

A study of California’s high school dropout rate has sparked a debate about the merits of nontraditional schools. According to the study, 41 percent of California’s dropouts come from nontraditional schools such as charter and alternative schools, which educate 12 percent of the state’s children. Critics of the study, released ...
Education

Impact – April 2008

PRI Ideas in Action – April 2008 Policy Update and Monthly Impact Report PRI continues to impact public policy in California, the nation, and abroad. Click below to view PRI’s recent contributions.
Commentary

Testimony submitted to the CA Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation – AB-2561

Vicki E. Murray, Ph.D. and senior fellow in Education Studies, gave invited testimony on AB 2561, the Pupil Opportunities Transfers bill, at a meeting of the California Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee on April 28, 2008. California school children are in desperate need of high-quality schools. Nearly 1.7 million students ...
Commentary

Beware ‘less-than-best’ schools

FORBES magazine recently released another popular “best” list, this one rating the top suburbs in America. The selections derive from several factors, including school quality. The indicators, however, do not necessarily guarantee a top-quality school. Forbes’ analysis looked at graduation rates, per-pupil spending, and student-to-teacher ratios. However, none of this ...
Commentary

School safety loses in Sacramento

Nine of 10 elementary and secondary students statewide, including in Orange County, attend schools reporting incidents involving violence, physical injuries or weapons. Yet, in a vote this month, the state Assembly Education Committee failed to uphold California students’ inalienable right under the state constitution to attend schools that are “safe, ...
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