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DECEMBER 9, 2009 | Testimony by NATHAN BENEFIELD
Costing-Out the Price of Education
In the last two years, Gov. Rendell has used the "costing-out" study to justify proposed increases in state education subsidies. Yet while costing-out or "adequacy" studies have been conducted in over 35 states to quantify the amount of education funding needed, in no case did spending increases result in dramatic improvement of adequacy standar
JULY 27, 2009 | Commentary by NATHAN BENEFIELD
Who's For the Children?
In the television comedy The Office, dim-witted boss Michael Scott remarks that he likes giving presents because they are “like this tangible thing that you can point to and say ‘Hey man, I love you this many dollars-worth.’” Gov. Rendell and many lawmakers apply this mentality to the state budget—only they
MARCH 19, 2009 | Commentary by MATTHEW BROUILLETTE
State Can't Spend Its Way to Student Success
For years, the educational establishment has claimed that not enough is being spent on public schools – that if more money is pumped into the system, student achievement will improve. Unfortunately, too many policymakers have bought into the “more dollars equals more scholars” myth. Last year, Governor R
Recent Blog Posts
FEBRUARY 2, 2010
Milwaukee Voucher Program Raises Graduation Rates
A new study from School Choice Wisconsin finds that students receiving a scholarship through the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) were 18% more likely to graduate than Milwaukee Public School (MPS) students.
Based on six years of data, John Robert Warren, Ph.D., a recognized academic expert on calculating high school graduation rates, shows that low-income students in the Milwaukee school choice program were 18% more likely to graduate than students from across the economic spectrum in the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS).
This despite the fact that the MPCP scholarships are limited to a maximum amount only 46% what the MPS spends per pupil.
And for those critics who might use the 20-year-old talking points of the public school employees' unions that vouchers lead to "creaming": MPCP students represent, on average, lower-income families, a similar percentage of African-American and Hispanic student, only slightly higher levels of parental education, and lower average test scores upon entry than Milwaukee Public Schools students.
posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 01:16 PM | 0 comment
DECEMBER 10, 2009
The ABC's of School Choice
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, a renowned advocate for school choice programs, recently published their 2009-10 edition of "The ABC's of School Choice" in which they highlight scholarship and tax credit programs from across the nation offering more educational freedom to students and their parents.
Among the highlighted programs is Pennsylvania's Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program, in which corporations are eligible to receive credit on the state's corporate income tax by contributing to scholarship-awarding and public school initiative organizations. The EITC program served over 38,000 students in 2009, with the average scholarship totaling $1,022 per year for Kindergarten through 12th grade.
To view the full publication click here.
posted by MICHAEL NEROZZI | 08:28 AM | 0 comment
DECEMBER 8, 2009
State Report on PA's Educational Improvement Tax Credit
The Pennsylvania Legislative Budget and Finance Committee put out a preliminary report on the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) a few months ago, but the report has been sitting on my desk waiting for my Internet access to go down before I read it.
The report includes a lot of numbers about usage of the program, which are not new, but also includes new information about incomes of students receiving scholarships. The average family income for students getting EITC scholarships was $29,000 (far below the the maximum income allowed of $50,000 plus $10,000 per dependent child).
posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 08:30 AM | 0 comment
