Tag: School Choice
Updated on January 18, 2017 by South Carolina Policy Council
By SHANE McNAMEE CHOICE GETS THE BLAME FOR THE STATE’S EDUCATIONAL ILLS. YET CHOICE HASN’T BEEN TRIED. The Post and Courier’s recent five-part series, “Left Behind: The unintended consequences of school choice,” leads one to believe that the hardships experienced by some students at a North Charleston high school are the effects of school choice …
Updated on January 21, 2016 by South Carolina Policy Council
INCREASED FUNDING MIGHT – MIGHT – GET YOU A “MINIMALLY ADEQUATE” EDUCATION. CHOICE CAN DO FAR BETTER. A year ago the South Carolina Supreme Court issued a decision in the case of Abbeville County School District vs. The State of South Carolina. In the 3-2 ruling the court held that the state was failing to …
WHEN THE ARGUMENT IS ABOUT EVIDENCE, SCHOOL CHOICE WINS. EVERY TIME. Over the last thirty years or more, well-meaning reformers have tried valiantly to improve educational results within public education systems. Prominent among their reforms have been increasing education funding and expanded pre-school programs, but these efforts have failed to live up to their promise. The one reform that has …
Updated on August 28, 2015 by South Carolina Policy Council
SAME BAD ARGUMENT, DIFFERENT TAX It is a long held view among many elected officials that the only thing preventing exemplary achievements for students in state run schools is insufficient funding. If funding goes up without any apparent results, it simply means funding has not gone up enough. Recently, individuals of this mindset in South …
Updated on August 4, 2015 by South Carolina Policy Council
EVERY YEAR, LAWMAKERS TRY TO PASS POTENTIALLY CONTROVERSIAL CHANGES THROUGH THE STATE BUDGET. BUT NOT EVERY PROBLEM IS A FUNDING PROBLEM. Legislators returned to Columbia July 6 for a third week of extended session. The purpose, in part: to vote on the governor’s budget vetoes and thereby finalize the fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget. The …
Updated on August 19, 2015 by South Carolina Policy Council
HOW TO THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT EDUCATION IN S.C. It’s no secret that South Carolina has some of the worst public schools and some of the lowest levels of student academic achievement in the country. The most important factors generating this failure are these: (a) a strong reluctance to experiment in education, combined with (b) an unthinking …
AS EVER, THE EASY ANSWER IS THE WRONG ONE A new study by the Cato Institute reinforces the findings of SCPC and other researchers: more money doesn’t produce better results. The Cato study examines SAT scores from 1972 to 2012 in each state. Student SAT participation rates and demographics are controlled for using an improved …
Updated on March 13, 2014 by South Carolina Policy Council
THIS YEAR, AT LEAST ONE PROPOSAL IS ACTUALLY ABOUT SCHOOL CHOICE Fourteen representatives in the House came together on February 6 to co-sponsor the most significant attempt at school choice from General Assembly in recent years. The bill – H.4624 – has the potential to improve the education of, not just some, but all South …
Updated on September 19, 2013 by South Carolina Policy Council
EDUCATION OR INDOCTRINATION? We recently laid out answers to some frequently asked questions about Common Core in South Carolina. To recap: Common Core is already being implemented in our state; it is a de facto federal education program; and given the power structure of our state government, it isn’t going to be easy to get …
Updated on August 22, 2013 by South Carolina Policy Council
THE REASON HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IDEOLOGY It’s a tale of two legislative sessions. In one state, lawmakers passed significant tax reform that lowers tax rates across the board, took a meaningful step towards school choice, and expanded Second Amendment rights. In another state, lawmakers talked a big game about government restructuring, reforming the …
Tag: School Choice
School Choice Isn’t the Problem — It’s the Solution
Updated on January 18, 2017 by South Carolina Policy Council
By SHANE McNAMEE CHOICE GETS THE BLAME FOR THE STATE’S EDUCATIONAL ILLS. YET CHOICE HASN’T BEEN TRIED. The Post and Courier’s recent five-part series, “Left Behind: The unintended consequences of school choice,” leads one to believe that the hardships experienced by some students at a North Charleston high school are the effects of school choice …
Category: Research Tags: K-12 education, School Choice
Education Task Force Recommends More of the Same
Updated on January 21, 2016 by South Carolina Policy Council
INCREASED FUNDING MIGHT – MIGHT – GET YOU A “MINIMALLY ADEQUATE” EDUCATION. CHOICE CAN DO FAR BETTER. A year ago the South Carolina Supreme Court issued a decision in the case of Abbeville County School District vs. The State of South Carolina. In the 3-2 ruling the court held that the state was failing to …
Category: Education, Research Tags: School Choice
The Five Worst Arguments against School Choice
Updated on June 30, 2016 by South Carolina Policy Council
WHEN THE ARGUMENT IS ABOUT EVIDENCE, SCHOOL CHOICE WINS. EVERY TIME. Over the last thirty years or more, well-meaning reformers have tried valiantly to improve educational results within public education systems. Prominent among their reforms have been increasing education funding and expanded pre-school programs, but these efforts have failed to live up to their promise. The one reform that has …
Category: Education Tags: K-12 education, School Choice
ANALYSIS: Imposing a Statewide Property Tax
Updated on August 28, 2015 by South Carolina Policy Council
SAME BAD ARGUMENT, DIFFERENT TAX It is a long held view among many elected officials that the only thing preventing exemplary achievements for students in state run schools is insufficient funding. If funding goes up without any apparent results, it simply means funding has not gone up enough. Recently, individuals of this mindset in South …
Category: Budget, Education, Research, Taxes & Regulation Tags: Educational Performance, K-12 education, Property Taxes, School Choice
Why S.C. Lawmakers Can’t Pass a Budget on Time
Updated on August 4, 2015 by South Carolina Policy Council
EVERY YEAR, LAWMAKERS TRY TO PASS POTENTIALLY CONTROVERSIAL CHANGES THROUGH THE STATE BUDGET. BUT NOT EVERY PROBLEM IS A FUNDING PROBLEM. Legislators returned to Columbia July 6 for a third week of extended session. The purpose, in part: to vote on the governor’s budget vetoes and thereby finalize the fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget. The …
Category: Budget, Commentary Tags: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, School Choice, South Carolina state budget
Educational Freedom: How to Achieve It
Updated on August 19, 2015 by South Carolina Policy Council
HOW TO THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT EDUCATION IN S.C. It’s no secret that South Carolina has some of the worst public schools and some of the lowest levels of student academic achievement in the country. The most important factors generating this failure are these: (a) a strong reluctance to experiment in education, combined with (b) an unthinking …
Category: Education Tags: K-12 education, School Choice, School Choice Barriers
Study: More Money, No Improvement
Updated on April 3, 2014 by South Carolina Policy Council
AS EVER, THE EASY ANSWER IS THE WRONG ONE A new study by the Cato Institute reinforces the findings of SCPC and other researchers: more money doesn’t produce better results. The Cato study examines SAT scores from 1972 to 2012 in each state. Student SAT participation rates and demographics are controlled for using an improved …
Category: Education Tags: Educational Performance, K-12 education, School Choice
School Choice in South Carolina: 2014
Updated on March 13, 2014 by South Carolina Policy Council
THIS YEAR, AT LEAST ONE PROPOSAL IS ACTUALLY ABOUT SCHOOL CHOICE Fourteen representatives in the House came together on February 6 to co-sponsor the most significant attempt at school choice from General Assembly in recent years. The bill – H.4624 – has the potential to improve the education of, not just some, but all South …
Category: Education Tags: School Choice, School Choice Barriers
What Will Our Children Learn Under Common Core? – Part I
Updated on September 19, 2013 by South Carolina Policy Council
EDUCATION OR INDOCTRINATION? We recently laid out answers to some frequently asked questions about Common Core in South Carolina. To recap: Common Core is already being implemented in our state; it is a de facto federal education program; and given the power structure of our state government, it isn’t going to be easy to get …
Category: Commentary, Education Tags: Common Core, K-12 education, Lesson Plans, School Choice
Reforms Pass in North Carolina … But Not Here
Updated on August 22, 2013 by South Carolina Policy Council
THE REASON HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IDEOLOGY It’s a tale of two legislative sessions. In one state, lawmakers passed significant tax reform that lowers tax rates across the board, took a meaningful step towards school choice, and expanded Second Amendment rights. In another state, lawmakers talked a big game about government restructuring, reforming the …
Category: Commentary, Education, Taxes & Regulation Tags: 8 point reform agenda, Corporate Taxes, Educational Performance, Income Taxes, K-12 education, Reform agenda, Sales Taxes, School Choice