Washington State Public High School Students In Trouble

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 90% of new jobs in the United States are going to require some post-secondary education. Yet according to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, only 15% of Washington State's public high school students go on to earn a college degree.

College Education Is Becoming A Requirement

According to Arthur Rothkopf, senior vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, "90% of the newly created jobs in this country are going to require some post-secondary education."

Where Undergraduates Attend College

15.2 Million Undergraduates In 2006

Where They Attended School:

35% 4 Year Public (69% Of All 4 Year Students)
16% 4 Year Private (31% Of All 4 Year Students)
41% 2 Year Public
8%: Other
Source: College Board

Percentage Of Students Earning A Bachelors Degree

Only 23% of community college students earn a bachelor's degree within six years, compared with 63% of students at four-year institutions, according to the College Board.

Democrats Beginning To Support Private School Choice

The 2006 Democratic nominee for the Governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer, supports tuition tax credits. This is particularly shocking given that the teacher unions, strong supporters of democrats, adamantly oppose tuition tax credits. In addition to Eliot Spitzer, the Democratic nominee for the Governor of Iowa, Chet Culver, also supports tax credits for students who attend private schools.

If these expressions of support for education tax credits by Democrats Spitzer and Culver are indeed authentic, and they don't reverse their positions under pressure from the teacher unions, then it could be a major new source of support for private school choice from the Democratic party, a party that has traditionally been opposed to private school choice.

Stem Cell Research Tax Credit

Embryonic stem cell research has great potential to find cures for diseases. This is why so money people support federal funding for it.

Many other people, however, believe that embryonic stem cell research is murder because it involves the destruction of human embryos. This is why they oppose federal funding for it. Because of this opposition President Bush vetoed the use of federal funds for embryonic stem cell research. There were not enough votes in congress to overturn the President’s veto. This means that there will be no federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

For embryonic stem cell research to receive federal government encouragement, greater support will need to be found among members of congress. The way to get greater support from members of congress is with an embryonic stem cell research tax credit. With an embryonic stem cell research tax credit, those taxpayers who donate to stem cell research would receive a reduction in their tax liability equal to the tax credit. Only those people who support embryonic stem cell research would donate money for it. Since only those people who support embryonic stem cell research would fund it, taxpayer dollars from those who oppose it would not be used. Funding embryonic stem cell research with private dollars from only those who support it is a federal policy that would attract enough support from members of congress to override a presidential veto.

Using federal tax dollars to fund embryonic stem cell research deeply offends those federal taxpayers who oppose such research. Not to fund embryonic stem cell research could delay the discovery of cures for multiple diseases. An embryonic stem cell research tax credit is the best compromise available.

How U.S. News & World Report Ranks Colleges

U.S. News & World Report college ranking methodology:

Peer Assesment: 25%
Six Year Graduation Rate: 16%
Freshman Retention Rate: 4%
Class Size: 8%
Faculty Compensation: 7%
Number of Faculty with Ph.d.s: 3%
Student Faculty Ratio: 1%
Percent of Full Time Faculty: 1%
SAT/ACT Scores: 7.5%
Students in the Top 10% of Their High School Class: 6%
Acceptance Rate: 1.5%
Per-Student Funding: 10%
Predicted vs. Actual Graduation Rate: 5%
Alumni Giving Rate: 5%

Two-Thirds Of College Endowment Money Benefits Less Than 4% Of Undergraduates

An Associated Press analysis of the 47 colleges with endowments of 1 billion dollars or more found that they have nearly two-thirds of the total higher education endowment money but educate less than 4% of all college undergraduates.

Education Pays

AP and IB Classes Harder Than Dual Enrollment Community College Classes

In a letter sent to the chairman of the South Carolina Board of Education, over 100 district instructional leaders protested the Board's new policy of granting the same amount of grade points to dual enrollment courses as are granted for AP and IB courses. Their concern is that dual enrollment courses are not as rigorous as AP and IB courses and granting the same amount of grade points for them would not be an accurate assesment of the academic work achieved.

Wayne Brazell, one such instructional leader, wrote: "You will not find one knowledgeable instructional leader who will equate the rigor of a dual credit course with those of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate classes,"

Mike Casey, Dorchester District 2's director of secondary education, said "there is quite a difference in the curriculum between those courses and our AP courses"

Similar views were found when the Seattle Times newspaper surveyed college admission officials about Washington State's dual enrollment program, the Running Start Program.

D.C. Charter Schools Outperforming D.C. Public Schools

2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress test scores:

Ohio Spends 3% Of It's Education Budget On Private Schools

Public funds for Ohio private schools totaled about $185 million last year - or about $899 per student. Add in about $60 million in transportation costs, since public schools bus private-school students, and Ohio spends about 3 percent of its $7.6 billion education budget on private and religious education.

Florida Private School Choice Program Benefits Minorities

Of the 15,000 students enrolled in the Florida Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program, 60 percent are from single parent homes and 77 percent are minorities.

The Three Different Ways That Government Can Encourage Private School Choice

Who Pays The Education Bills?

Vouchers: GOVERNMENT PAYS (PUBLIC MONEY): GOOD:
Taxpayers --> Government --> Private Schools

Scholarship Tax Credits: PRIVATE GROUPS PAY (PRIVATE MONEY): BETTER:
Taxpayers --> Private Scholarship Organizations --> Private Schools

Tuition Tax Credits: PARENTS PAY (PRIVATE MONEY): BEST:
Parents --> Private Schools

Unionization Rates In Public, Charter, and Private Schools

Political Backlash Builds Over High Stakes Testing

If the teacher unions succeed in softening the punitive measures associated with testing, then their students will be harmed. Better to stress out people in school rather then subject them to the stress of a life of poverty and struggle when they can't find a job that pays a living wage because they don't have the necessary skills to compete in the global economy.

100 Largest School Districts Ranked by 2003 High School Graduation Rate

10 of the 100 largest school districts in America failed to graduate more than 50% of their students.

America's 10 Largest School Districts Each Failed To Graduate More Than 60% Of Their Students

Each of the nation's ten largest public school districts, which enroll more than 8 percent of the nation's public school student population, failed to graduate more than 60 percent of its students.

States Ranked by 2003 Public High School Graduation Rate

Increasing High School Graduation Rates Reduces Crime

Economists at the Joint Center For Poverty Research have calculated that a 1% increase in high school graduation rates leads to 100,000 fewer crimes each year and 1.4 billion dollars in crime related annual savings.

Singapore's 8th Graders Three Grade Levels Ahead Of America's 8th Graders In Math

Public School Teacher Benefits vs. Private Sector Worker Benefits

Teachers' Pay Compared To Other Professions

Arizona Public Schools Spend One-And-A-Half Times More Per Student Than Arizona Private Schools But Get Less For It

Some findings about the Arizona K-12 educational system from the Goldwater Institute:

Number Of Teachers:

Arizona Public Schools: teachers comprise less than one half of the on-site staff
Arizona Private Schools: teachers comprise 72% of the on-site staff

Arizona private school teachers comprise a greater percentage of their schools staff than do Arizona public school teachers.

Teacher Salaries:

2004 Average Annual Private School Teacher Salary: $36,456
2004 Average Annual Public School Teacher Salary: $60,000

Arizona private school teachers are paid less than Arizona public school teachers.

Graduation Rates:

Arizona Public High School Graduation Rate: 70%
Arizona Private High School Graduation Rate: 84%

Arizona private schools graduate a greater percentage of their students than do Arizona public schools.

Given the superior results that Arizona private schools are producing relative to Arizona public schools, doesn't it make sense to support the expansion of private school choice in Arizona?

Iowa Teachers Union In A Bind

The Iowa teachers union has a political problem. While the candidate they have endorsed for governor, Chet Culver, agrees with the union in opposing tuition tax credits, he does support private school choice through scholarship tax credits. Indeed, teacher unions in general will find it harder to oppose scholarship tax credits than vouchers because scholarship tax credits are more politically popular, in part because they are voluntary, do not use public money, and primarily benefit the poor and middle class.

Scholarship Tax Credits Are More Politically Popular Than Tuition Tax Credits

Scholarship tax credits, tax credits given to people who donate money for scholarships given to children other than their own, are more politically popular than tuition tax credits, tax credits given to people who spend money on education for their own children. This is because tuition tax credits are perceived as benefiting rich people while scholarship tax credits are perceived as benefiting the poor and middle class. This distinction could prove useful for supporters of school choice in deciding which school choice method to promote.

Reducing Merit Aid Would Reduce Merit

The Minnesota Private College Council is considering asking the Justice Department to allow it's colleges to reduce merit aid. Reducing merit aid would reduce the incentive for students to earn merit. Therefore, if the Justice Department were to grant the wish of the Minnesota Private College Council there would be less merit.

The Justice Department should reject this desire for less merit aid.

Only 0.08% Of American Students Use School Vouchers

In 2005, 48.4 million students attended U.S. public schools, but only 38,342 participated in one of the five major voucher programs, according to the Institute for Justice, a school-choice advocacy group. While that's up from only 341 in 1991, it represents less than 0.08% of students.

National Education Association Confirms Low Graduation Rate

The president of the National Education Association, Reg Weaver, wrote that the public high school graduation rate is 70%.

Since the teachers know more about schools than anyone, shouldn't we listen to what they have to say about graduation rates and disregard the inflated public high school graduation rates that some claim.

Washington State Public Schools Doing Poorly

Out of 100 Washington State 9th grade public school students, only 15 will earn a college degree.

Community College Is A Poor Way To Get In To Selective Universities

A 2005 Department of Education study found that only 1 out of 1,000 community college students transfer to selective four year schools.

The No Child Left Behind Law Is Better Than Nothing

The best possible way to improve education would be to give parents private school choice for their children through the use of tax credits. But until that time we are left with the government trying to improve public education with legislation. Given the fact that the teacher unions have complete control over state politics, it therefore follows that the federal government is the best branch of government to legislate improvement in public education. State standards for public education have been so thoroughly watered down by the teacher unions that the federal government is the only branch of government with any hope of legislating improvement in public education.

Texas Is Reporting Wrong High School Graduation Rates

The Texas Education Agency is reporting that for the 2002-2003 school year, Texas's public high school graduation rate was 84.2%. Independent researchers have now found that the actual public high school graduation rate for that year was 66.8%, a difference of 17.4%. An even greater difference between the state's reported rate and the actual rate was found in the Dallas public school district. In that district the state reported a graduation rate of 81% while the actual rate was 46%, a difference of 35%.

The Texas Education Agency is claiming that their reported graduation rates are accurate. If they are indeed accurate, then would they have any problem with an independent auditor checking their reported graduation rates? If public corporations are required to provide auditied financial reports, then why not require public schools to provide audited graduation rates?

Teacher Unions Put Their Interests Above Their Students' Interests

Washington State public high school students in the 10th grade in the 2005-2006 school year are required to pass a standardized test, the WASL, in order to receive their high school diplomas. This standardized test measures 10th grade skills. 48% of 10th graders in the 2005-2006 school year failed to pass this test of 10th grade skills.

When 48% of 10th grade students are not proficient in 10th grade skills, how can the public schools claim to be doing a good job?

Given that private school students score higher on standardized tests than public school students, wouldn't it make sense to offer more students the ability to attend private school?

Aren't the efforts of the Washington State teachers to prevent public school students from going to private school harming Washington State public school students, given the higher standardized test scores the students would enjoy by attending private school? Doesn't this prove Washington State teachers are putting their interests above their students' interests?

School Choice Is The Best Way To Help Public School Students

The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research found that increasing school choice options has a greater positive effect on student achievement than increasing education spending or reducing class sizes. In addition, increasing school choice options has the same effect as significantly increasing median household income.