Professor Richard Epstein on the inequality debate and related issues in the US.
Silence of the Left | John Goodman
John Goodman points out that while the left are extremely vocal on the issue of income inequality, they are largely silent on the issue of reforming the public education system to create equal opportunity for all students.
Here is the uncomfortable reality:
1.Our system of public education is one of the most regressive features of American society.
2.There is almost nothing we could do that would be more impactful in reducing inequality of educational opportunity and inequality overall than to do what Sweden has done: give every child a voucher and let them select a school of choice.
3.Yet on the left there is almost uniform resistance to this idea or any other idea that challenges the power of the teachers unions.
He tells how newly-elected New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio is opposing expansion of some of the city’s best charter schools:
Among the 870 Success Academy seats blocked was a modest 194-student expansion for Success Academy students in Harlem to move into a new middle school. That triggered days of searing press coverage pointing out that those 194 students, all low-income minorities, were coming from a school, Success Academy 4, that killed it on the new state test scores, with 80 percent of the students passing the math test, and 59 percent the English test. The co-located middle school (P.S. 149) the mayor is protecting ….. 5 percent of students passed the math test, and 11 percent the English test.
Read more at Silence of the Left – John C. Goodman.
Hat tip to John Mauldin.
Inside the Nation’s Biggest Experiment in School Choice | WSJ.com
Stephanie Banchero at WSJ describes how state introduction of charter schools in New Orleans has lifted academic performance.
There is broad acknowledgment that local schools are performing better since Hurricane Katrina washed away New Orleans’ failing public education system and state authorities took control of many campuses here.
Graduation rates went to 78% last year from 52% before Katrina—surpassing Detroit, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Oakland, Calif., cities also struggling to boost achievement among lower-income students. The share of New Orleans students proficient in math, reading, science and social studies increased to 58% in 2012 from 35% before the 2005 storm, state data shows.
….About 84% of its 42,000 public school students attend charters, the largest share of any district in the U.S.
Charter schools are largely free to manage their own budgets and hiring, set curriculum and schedules, and select textbooks. The lowest performing schools are eventually closed by state officials or replaced with new operators.
For the school year that started in August, parents picked among 78 charter schools, as well as eight traditional campuses, one independent school with a board appointed by the governor and 38 private schools that are paid with state-issued tuition vouchers. To help guide the selection, public schools are issued grades of A to F, based on academic performance.
State-issued vouchers promote competition amongst schools and lift performance. The system not only empowers parents but also empowers staff in those institutions, judging them on performance rather than on conformity to strict regulatory controls.
An experiment in the Lombardy region of Italy has also demonstrated that similar competition between state and private institutions in the health care sector reduces costs and improves outcomes. Given the striking success of this model, expect to see growing adoption in both health care and education despite resistance from vested interests.
Read more at Inside the Nation's Biggest Experiment in School Choice – WSJ.com.
Charter schools study shows better outcomes with less public funds
Charter schools receive less funding than equivalent public schools, but in many cases are achieving improved outcomes for disadvantaged kids. Ray Fisman writes:
Minnesota’s charter school law allowed educators and other concerned individuals to apply to the state for permission to operate a government-funded school outside of the public education system. In order to obtain and keep their licenses, these new schools needed to show they were serving their students effectively, based on goals laid out in the school’s “charter.” City Academy, America’s first charter school, opened in St. Paul the following year. Its mission was to get high-school dropouts on track to vocational careers, and it is still operating today.
Principals are able to operate outside the constraints of the public education system and are assessed on results.
…..While they’re funded with public money, they generally operate outside of collective bargaining agreements (only about one-tenth of charter schools are unionized) and other constraints that often prevent principals in public schools from innovating for the good of their students (so the argument goes). In exchange for this freedom, they generally get less funding than public schools (though they’re free to look for private donations, and many do) and have to prove that they are making good on the promises set out in their charters, which often means showing that they improve their students’ performance on statewide standardized tests.
The program has been so successful that there are now almost 6000 charter schools nationwide. Fisman reports on a study of enrolments at six Boston charter schools between 2002 and 2008:
“….Getting into a charter school doubled the likelihood of enrolling in Advanced Placement classes (the effects are much bigger for math and science than for English) and also doubled the chances that a student will score high enough on standardized tests to be eligible for state-financed college scholarships. While charter school students aren’t more likely to take the SAT, the ones who do perform better, mainly due to higher math scores. The upshot of this improvement in college readiness is that, upon graduation, while charter and public school students are just as likely to go on to post-secondary education, charter students enroll at four-year colleges at much higher rates. A four-year college degree has historically meant a better job with a higher salary……. a ticket to a better life for many students.”
He warns that “Not every charter school is right for every kid” but they do highlight the benefits of a decentralized education system where schools are assessed on outcomes rather than conformity to a program. Other studies have shown that increased public funding does not improve education outcomes. Ever wondered why bureaucrats continue to promote this as a solution?
Read more at Do charter schools work? Slate | Ray Fisman