MARCH 21, 2012

Violent, Failing Schools Will Lead to Unsafe, Ailing America

That's the upshot of a story in this morning's Wall Street Journal.  It begins:

Flaws in U.S. schools are increasingly causing a national-security risk, producing adults without the math, science and language skills necessary to ensure American leadership in the 21st century, warns a report issued Tuesday by the Council on Foreign Relations.

Warning that "the education crisis is a national security crisis," the report says that too many schools are failing to adequately equip students for the work force, and that many have stopped teaching the sort of basic civics that prepare students for citizenship. Resources and expertise aren't distributed equitably, often hurting the most at-risk students. The situation, it says, puts the country's "future economic prosperity, global position, and physical safety at risk."

What do we do, you ask?  Exactly what CF and many parents whose kids are trapped in failing, violent schools have been requesting:

The report urges wider use of charter schools and other alternatives to neighborhood public schools that are underperforming....

The report acknowledges the persistence of the problems it highlights, noting that many of the same risks were identified in "Nation at Risk," a 1983 report commissioned by the Reagan administration that warned of "a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and a people." But it cites reasons for fresh hope, including growing public awareness of the issues and bipartisan support for measures to address them.

"This country has a real but time-limited opportunity to make changes that would maintain the United States' position in the world and its security at home," it concludes.

Indeed.  And you can imagine what comes after that inspiring call to action:  whining from those who are profiting from the status quo.  Here's union boss Randi Weingarten:

Six members of the task force offered "additional and dissenting views," including Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, a leading teachers union. While praising the task force's goals and endorsing the report, she criticized it for "placing inordinate responsibility for school improvement on individual teachers" and for "promoting policies like the current topdown, standardized test-driven accountability that has narrowed the curriculum and reinforced the teaching of lower-level skills."

Memo to Ms. Weingarten:  Violent, failing schools aren't good for teachers, either.  And the amount of money—including from sky-high property taxes due to the pensions for which unions have pushed—that teachers' friends, family members, and neighbors are forced to put into schools that are not giving our nation what it needs is an outrage.  It's time for a new approach.  That would be the same approach we use in virtually every other important decision in life, including higher education:  choice and competition.

posted by CHARLES MITCHELL | 10:30 AM | 0 comment

DECEMBER 9, 2011

Patriot News (Mostly) Endorses School Choice

This week, the Patriot News editorial board wrote an endorsement of a school voucher proposal in Pennsylvania. Here is the key pro argument:

The case for vouchers is obvious: There are about 150 schools in this commonwealth that have consistently underachieved. Some of those schools are in the Harrisburg School District - mere feet from the state Capitol.

Any middle-class family would simply move to a better school district or send their children to a private school. That is not an option for lower-income families.

A museum could be built for all the remedies that have been tried in failing schools and made little difference. The state has substantially increased public education funding in the last decade, there are more charter schools, and a parade of principals and superintendents have given it their best shot. There have even been state takeovers of various districts, where the elected school board steps aside and some sort of appointed board takes the reins.

While there have been pockets of success - such as Harrisburg's SciTech High School - the overall situation remains dire in certain places. Vouchers are not another Band-Aid; they are a true game changer. If the legislation is done correctly, a student can potentially transfer from a school that is not achieving to one that is.

The editorial offers a few improvements, which merit discussion. First:

The reality is there are not enough open spaces at private and charter schools in this commonwealth to accept all the students from the state's worst schools.

A far better option is to do what Gov. Tom Corbett said in his October education speech and allow low-income students to also use their voucher at another public school. At the moment, SB 1 does allow that, although public schools are not required to take voucher students.

To make sure everyone is clear, charter schools are public schools and cannot charge tuition. The voucher component does not affect charters. However, part of Gov. Corbett's education reform agenda includes charter school reform, which would allow alternative authorizers of charter schools, increasing the supply and number of seats available.

In private schools, there is actually a large number of open seats. Perhaps not enough to accommodate "all" the students in the failing schools, but enough to those who will take advantage of the program in the early years. And as demand for private schools increases, so will supply.

As to the Patriot's proposal to require public schools to participate in the voucher program and take students from other districts, this is a good policy. But it will face intense political opposition—as such a plan did during the voucher fights under Gov. Ridge—from many school boards and suburban districts.

Finally, the Patriot writes,

The House should amend the bill to make private schools — or at least students on vouchers — take PSSAs.

But the PSSA doesn't equate to accountability. These failing public schools administer the PSSA, and 60 percent of students don't make proficiency. This is not accountable. The PSSA is a weak test, which inflates proficiency rates. We pointed out in 2008 how the PSSA is less rigorous than the National Assessment of Educational Progress—about 80% more students make proficiency—and the latest evidence indicates that Pennsylvania's standards are getting weaker relative to other states. Why impose a weak standard on private schools? Even public schools complain about this mandate which drives up costs and doesn't improve education.

posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 10:08 AM | 0 comment

DECEMBER 8, 2011

School Choice in Pa. is Cure for Disaster

An excellent commentary by Jeanne Allen in the Delaware County Times sums up the case for school choice and the empirical evidence:

Pennsylvania’s neighbors have led by example and have provided exceptional advice. Students in Washington, D.C.’s Opportunity Scholarship Program posted graduation rates that were 18 percent above their conventional public school peers.

Students who participated in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program for four years demonstrated significantly higher learning gains in math (11 percentage points) and reading (6 percentage points) than their peers in conventional public schools. In addition, they graduated at a rate that was 18 percent higher than students in conventional public schools.

Students who participated in the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program demonstrated a 7-percentage point increase in reading scores and a 15 percentage point increase in math scores over their peers in conventional public schools.

Low-income students participating in a Florida corporate voucher program are keeping pace with — and in many cases outpacing — all students nationwide (not just low-income children), despite the fact that the scholarships are a third of the cost of the per pupil expenditures in conventional schools.

The data do not lie. School choice works.

posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 01:22 PM | 0 comment

DECEMBER 8, 2011

Four of Five Philadelphia Students Not Proficient in Reading or Math

Yesterday, the National Center for Education Statistics (part of the U.S. Department of Education) released district perfomance data on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).  This is part of the "Nation's Report Card" provided biannually.  

The results for Philadelphia (the only Pennsylvania city participating) are disturbing (or should be).

Fewer than 20 percent of Philadelphia students in 4th or 8th grade made proficiency in reading or math.  Performance among low-income students fared even worse. That is, four of every five students don't reach proficient levels. Philadelphia's performance ranks worse than the rest of the nation, even in comparison to other large cities.

The status quo simply is not good enough.

Here are the snapshots for Philadelphia public schools:

Mathematics: Grade 4
Mathematics: Grade 8
Reading: Grade 4
Reading: Grade 8

posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 08:21 AM | 0 comment

NOVEMBER 15, 2011

Is the Education Status Quo a Success?

Former Gov Ed Rendell was in town today to defend the status quo in education, claiming that more spending has produced great improvements in performance.  Is he looking at the same test results I am? 

Based on The 2011 Nation's Report Card:

• Pennsylvania 8^th grade students declined from 2009 results on the NAEP, and average scores have hardly changed since 2002. More than 60 percent of 8^th grade students are not proficient in either reading or math.
• There remains a wide racial and income gap in performance. For example, on the 8^th grade math exam, White students are five times more likely to score proficient than Black students.
• Overall, average scores in Pennsylvania were above the national average, but this is entirely explained by demographics. In fact, average scores for Black and Hispanic students were worse in Pennsylvania than the national average—Pennsylvania simply has a smaller percentage of minority and low-income students than many other states.
• The state test, the PSSA, continues to inflate the number of students proficient at grade level, compared to the NAEP.
  

For more see our prior summary of Pennsylvania on the Nation's Report Card.

Worse yet, these depressing results are statewide totals.  Students in the worst performing schools are far less likely to achieve at grade level.  In fact, in Philadelphia (2009 NAEP data), 80 percent of 8^th students weren't reading or doing math at grade level.

posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 04:26 PM | 0 comment

NOVEMBER 10, 2011

Rep. Ryan Aument & Teacher Evaluations on The BOX

In our newest The BOX Program podcast, State Representative Ryan Aument discusses his role in spearheading education reform in the House with host Matt Brouillette.

How would new teacher evaluation legislation benefit both students and teachers? Listen to find out.

And don't forget to subscribe to The BOX Program in iTunes!

posted by JOHN BOUDER | 03:51 AM | 0 comment

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Chart of the Day: Pennsylvania Spending and Performance

Following yesterday's post highlighting Pennsylvania's performance on the Nation's Report Card, a fan asked us to chart performance side-by-side with public school spending.

The chart below shows the increase in Pennsylvania public school spending (up 56%) compared with average test scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (change of less than 4 percent in 4th- and 8th-grade scores in reading and math).

posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 00:11 PM | 0 comment

NOVEMBER 7, 2011

Nation's Report Card: How Did Pennsylvania Schools Do?

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education released "The Nation's Report Card," looking at students' performance on the National Assessement of Educational Programs, or NAEP, in 2011. 

In Pennsylvania, 4th grade students did slightly better in reading and math, while 8th grade students did slightly worse in both, compared with 2009 results.  Despite dramatic increases in school spending, average scores over the past decade have been effectively flat, as the charts below illustrate.

The NAEP is used to compare performance across states, as each state has their own standardized test.  Pennsylvania's exam, the PSSA, is considered to be much less rigorous than the NAEP, with about 80 percent more students testing proficient.

Indeed, the NAEP results show that more than 60 percent of Pennsylvania 8th graders -- three out of of every five students -- are not proficient in reading or math. Moreover, the Nation's Report Card shows large racial and income achievement gaps.

And yet defenders of the status quo says the system is doing just fine.

posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 00:39 PM | 1 comment

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

The Economic Cost of Education Failure

If you don't have a child in a failing school, you may think that SB 1 and the education reforms it contains are of no benefit to you. Think again. The Alliance for Excellent Education has compiled some startling facts on the cost of education failures in Pennsylvania.

• High school drop-outs hurt our economy. More than 34,300 students from Pennsylvania's "class of 2010" did not graduate high school. The lost lifetime earnings for that class alone totals over $8.9 billion. If the high school dropouts who currently head households had earned their diplomas, the state's economy would have benefited from an additional $2.9 billion in wealth accumulated by families.
  
• High school drop-outs are more likely to be on Medicaid and other welfare programs. Pennsylvania could save an estimated  $505 million in health care costs over the lifetimes of each class of dropouts, had they earned their diplomas.
  
• Colleges are paying for the remediation of high school graduates. If Pennsylvania's high schools graduated all of their students ready for college, the state could save as much as $125 million a year in college remediation costs.
  
• High school drop-outs are more likely to go to prison. Pennsylvania's economy could see a combination of crime-related savings and additional savings of about $288 million each year if the male high school graduation rate increased by just 5 percent.

When our education system fails, it's not just the kids who suffer: Taxpayers pay more for the cost of that failure.

posted by ELIZABETH STELLE | 00:45 PM | 0 comment