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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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.
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
