Education Archives - Voice For Liberty

Mar

School spending in the states

School spending in the states, presented in an interactive visualization. The Elementary/Secondary Information System (ElSi) is a project of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). NCES is "the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations. NCES is located within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences." Here is data from ElSi regarding per-pupil revenue and spending in the states. (more…)

Nation’s report card has little good news

Oct

By Bob Weeks

Nation’s report card has little good news

This year's results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) hold little good news. Following, the Center for Education Reform summarizes. Statement on Shocking Education Report Assessment Finds Majority of U.S. Students Have Declined in Core Subjects WASHINGTON D.C. (10.30.19) — The Center for Education Reform (CER), a national leader in the fight to achieve educational excellence in the United States, today issued a statement by CER founder and CEO Jeanne Allen regarding the new scores revealed this morning by the National Center on Education Statistics in the annual National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), also known as “The…

Sep

By Bob Weeks

In NAEP mapping study, Kansas shines

In a new edition of a study that assesses the stringency of state school assessments, Kansas performs well. States are free to create their own tests to measure the performance of students in their schools. There is variability in how stringently states construct their tests. The U.S. Department of Education, through the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), conducts the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) every other year. Known as "The Nation's Report Card," it is "the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas." [1. National Assessment of…

Oct

By Bob Weeks

Education gap on Wichita City Council

Currently there is discussion in Wichita on whether higher education is valued by residents. Following, from April 2011, a look at the educational achievement of the Wichita City Council. The members of the council cited below were Lavonta Williams, Sue Schlapp, Jim Skelton, Paul Gray, Jeff Longwell, and Janet Miller. Carl Brewer was mayor. Before Jim Skelton left the council in January, none of the four men serving on the Wichita City Council had completed a college degree. The three women serving on the council set a better example, with all three holding college degrees. Of the candidates running in…

Tax benefits for education don’t increase education

Apr

By Bob Weeks

Tax benefits for education don’t increase education

Here's evidence of a government program that, undoubtedly, was started with good intentions, but hasn't produced the intended results. Tax season ended last week. Taxpayers have filed for over $30 billion in credits and deductions for college expenses they paid in 2017. Evidence now clearly shows that these credits have zero effect on college attendance. The tax credits surely make those who get them better off, but they do nothing to increase education. If their intent is to increase schooling, they are a failure. Continue reading at The Brookings Institution article The tax benefits for education don’t increase education.

NAEP results for 2017 available in interactive visualizations

Apr

By Bob Weeks

NAEP results for 2017 available in interactive visualizations

When properly considered, Kansas often underperforms the nation in the most recent assessment of "The Nation's Report Card." The results for the 2017 administration of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, were recently released. I've prepared interactive visualizations of some of the results. To access the visualizations, click on National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). When considering NAEP results, it's important to consider subgroups, such as race/ethnicity and school lunch status, which is a proxy for poverty. It's important because states vary widely in the composition of subgroups. For example, consider an accompanying example from the visualization. We…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

Public education factbook for 2017

The fifth edition of data on public schools in Kansas is available. Kansas Policy Institute has released a new edition of its Public Education Fact Book. KPI describes this book: KPI’s fifth annual Public Education Fact Book is a one-stop shop for data on public school information from The Sunflower State. Numerous scientific surveys show that citizens are grossly misinformed on many pertinent facts of public education in Kansas. Aid and spending per-pupil are much higher than many Kansans believe, and student achievement is lower than understood. This fact book series aims to rectify this situation. This document is available…

Jan

By Bob Weeks

Fake news, meet fake research

Do you think we have a problem with fake news? Let me introduce you to fake research. Think of the term "peer-reviewed research." What comes to my mind is the academic or scientific researcher, wearing a white lab coat, dispassionately and impartially following the data and experiments down whatever path they lead. But it isn't always that way. Retraction Watch tracks research papers that have been retracted. There are a variety of reasons for retractions. Honest mistakes are made, yes. But striking is how much outright and blatant fraud exists in the academic publishing world. Here is a sampling of…

Sep

By Bob Weeks

School choice and funding

Opponents of school choice programs argue the programs harm traditional public schools, both financially and in their ability to serve their remaining students. Evidence does not support this position. The prevalent argument is that charter schools and other school choice programs drain funds from public schools. That is, if a public school student chooses to attend a charter or private school, and if the money follows the student to the other school, the public school district loses money that it otherwise would have received. Therefore, the public school district is worse off, and so too are its students. A rebuttal…

The nation’s report card and charter schools

Sep

By Bob Weeks

The nation’s report card and charter schools

An interactive table of NAEP scores for the states and races, broken down by charter school and traditional public school. Some states have few or no charter schools. In many states, minority students perform better on the NAEP test when in charter schools. The U.S. Department of Education, through the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), conducts the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) every other year. Known as "The Nation's Report Card," it is "the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas."[1. National Assessment of Educational Progress. About.…