In Connecticut, Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor believes drastic measures are needed to improve the state’s education system: Our state has the dubious distinction of having the largest achievement gap in the nation. This situation cannot be remedied through patient rationalization and modest tinkering. Instead, we must get involved—immediately and vigorously—in the places where students’ performance and life prospects are severely limited by their schools’ struggles. He’s right. Modest tinkering is not enough to cure Connecticut’s education ailments. And while Governor Dannel Malloy (D) is taking some good first steps, … More
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Mississippi legislators are considering a proposal to strengthen the state’s charter school law. This is great news for a state with the weakest charter school policy among the 41 states (and D.C.) that have them. However, because the state Senate Education Committee has moved to ban virtual charter schools, the scope of this new policy is significantly limited. As the Center for Education Reform reports, Mississippi has allowed charter schools since 2010 but has no charter schools in operation. Its law is considered “in name only” and was merely enacted … More
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By Andrew J. Coulson
New research by Harvard professor David J. Deming studied the crime rates of young adults who participated in a random lottery at the middle or high school level. The lotteries decided whether students were able to attend a school of their choice or whether they were forced to attend their assigned public school. Students who [...]
School Choice Lowers Crime is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
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With a growing number of school choice programs comes a growing body of research on how educational opportunity benefits students. These benefits manifest themselves in outcomes such as higher graduation rates, increased academic achievement, and higher levels of parent satisfaction with their children’s schools. Students in school choice programs graduate at significantly higher rates than their public school peers. A 2010 gold-standard evaluation of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP)—a voucher program for low-income children in Washington, D.C.—revealed that over 90 percent of DCOSP students graduated from high school, compared … More
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