Posted on 03/17/2008 9:35:47 AM PDT by GoldwaterInstitute
School Choice Reaches Adolescence : An age that requires more attention, not less
Matthew Ladner, Goldwater Institute Daily Email, March 11, 2008
Rebelling against tedious 12 minute rock songs in 1974, the Ramones invented punk rock by taking 1950s Do-Wop songs and speeding them up to last a minute and half. Music fans have been grateful ever since, even if punk isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Spin Magazine voted them second only to some obscure group from Liverpool when ranking rock bands.
In tribute, I offer my own piece of short entertainment in the form of a blitzkrieg summary of our new study School Choice in Arizona: A Review of Existing Programs and a Road Map for Future Reforms.
Parental choice programs have reached their teen years after starting in 1994. But as any parent knows, that’s not a level of maturity when we can stop paying attention. Choice has benefited both kids in charter schools and those in the public schools that compete against them. But for every child entering a choice program, three new children have entered the public schools, so we’ve not yet provided enough choice. An analysis of open enrollment data shows that parents decide to transfer between public schools based on test scores, not on the socio-demographic profile of the student body. Lawmakers could improve upon all existing programs: eliminate counterproductive racial gerrymandering in open enrollment, provide more charter school authorizers, and less red tape, make the scholarship tax credit easier to use, for example. Above all else, the report argues that it is time to move beyond adolescence to maturity -- a truly competitive system of K-12 education. Personal use tax credits or universal vouchers, please.
There, 283 words instead of 35 pages. I could get used to this, and I’ll bet you could too.
Dr. Matthew Ladner is vice president for policy research at the Goldwater Institute.
Does any candidate have the brass ones to even discuss this?
Well, I don’t think universal vouchers would be such a good idea. We’d just have more expensive and more mediocre private schools. We have this problem in higher education...
What I would do is tie a educational account to performance. If the kid does well on standardized tests, the parent gets more money as an incentive.
Because let’s face it. Most parents aren’t pushing their kids to get the best education in the world.
Actually, since The Ramones songs generally had hooks and a recognizable melody I would classify them more as garage rock than punk.
(1) Print and give out more diplomas.
(2) Fund some race-change surgery to eliminate disparities.
(3) Give out more money to public school teachers, and especially, to administrators. More and more administrators.
(4) I did read a wonderful article in the Atlantic Magazine about "The Ten-Cent Solution" dealing with the inspiring success achieved by cheap private schools, funded entirely by parents, which are educating poor children across the developing world—-- but nah. Nah. Nothing to learn here. Moving right along ---
Till we take draconian efforts, the U.S. will still tank academically.
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