Education
Class Size vs. School Vouchers on the Achievement of Minority Students
The continuous achievement gap between African-American students and their white peers is a major problem in American education. The gap in fourth-grade reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) diminished in the 1970s, but since the early 1980s it has remained unchanged.
Evidence from many studies suggests that African-American students may benefit more than other students from improvement in educational quality. For example, class size effects have been greatest for African-American children.
This paper focuses on the effects of two programs -- voucher program and programs that reduce class size -- on the achievement of African-American children, and relative studies on both minority and non-minority students. Evidence for effects of both programs is presented. In many studies in many locations, both voucher programs class size reduction has been found to significantly increase student performance. The policy implications of these findings…...
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Bibliography
Krueger, A. And Whitman, D. (March, 2001). Would Smaller Classes Help Close the Black-White Achievement G. Industrial Relations.
Krueger, A. And Whitmore, D. (April, 1999). The effect of attending a small class in the early grades on college attendance plans.
McGarvey, J. (2001). Vouchers Vs. Small Class Size: Comparing Effects, Costs, and Public Support. American Federation of Teachers.
Metcalf, K. (January 15, 2004). Study: voucher students perform same as public school peers. Washington Update.
Education: Publically Funded Vouchers to be Used for School ChoiceIntroductionSchool vouchers are an important tool for ensuring school choice and educational equity. By providing parents with a way to send their children to the school of their choice, vouchers give families more control over their childs education. Additionally, vouchers can help to level the playing field between public and private schools by providing students from low-income families with access to higher quality schools. research has shown that school vouchers can improve academic outcomes for students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. For these reasons, it is clear that school vouchers are an effective way to promote school choice and educational opportunity.In my own personal opinion based on experience, school vouchers will expand the opportunities for students that otherwise do not have the option of choice financially when it comes to their parents selecting a private school to attend. With them, parents…...
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References
Alleman, N. F. (2015). The Christian college advantage? The impact of Christian versus secular training among faculty at Christian colleges and universities. Journal of Research on Christian Education, 24(3), 252-270.
School Choice
Throughout the nation the American public has clamored for school change and reform. One of the alternatives that has moved to the forefront of the arena is the ability of parents to choose the public school that their children will attend without geographic boundaries and mandates.
Experts continue to debate whether or not school choice ability will force the hand of the public school system to make the desired changes. Some believe that parents having the ability to move their children to the school of their choice will force all schools to improve to compete, while others think it will harm the economically disadvantaged schools with little benefit to the then overcrowded wealthy schools. This paper presents a research proposal that addresses the question of school choice. This might include the choice to choose a different public school, choose to home school, and choose private school or another choice.
The paper…...
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References
CHESTER E. FINN, JR. & REBECCA L. GAU, New ways of education. Vol. no130, The Public Interest, 01-15-1998.
Gail Russell Chaddock, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor, Public schools enter a new world of competition., The Christian Science Monitor, 03-30-1999, pp FEATURES,.
Author not available, As home schooling rises, districts fail to meet needs., USA Today, 08-21-2002, pp 09A.
Author not available, What's so liberal about keeping children in dreadful schools?., The Washington Post, 02-23-2003, pp B08.
These issues of professionalism and innovation seem to be a major problem in many public schools in America. In recent years these issues have come to light as teachers have been disciplined and even fired for their interactions with students that have been unprofessional and even criminal at times. Teachers have an ethical responsibility to act professionally and when they fell to do so the ability of students to excel academically is also compromised.
The aforementioned authors also mention the lack of innovation that often occurs as a result of using democratic methods. One of the reasons why school choice is even an issue is because the curriculums that have been implemented in public schools lack variety. Part of the reason for this lack of innovation has to do with bureaucracy and government mandates such as the No Child Left Behind Act. This particular act stifles innovation because many teachers…...
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Works Cited
Cullen, J.B. Brian A. Jacob and Steven D. Levitt (2005) The impact of school choice on student outcomes: an analysis of the Chicago Public Schools. Journal of Public Economics. 89 (5-6):729-760
Hastings, Justine S. Thomas J. Kane Douglas Staiger (2005) Parental Preferences and School Competition: Evidence from a Public School Choice Program .Yale Economic Applications and Policy Discussion Paper No. 10
Moe, Terry. 2001. Schools, Vouchers and the American Public. Washington: Brookings Institution Press
Sikkink, D., Emerson M.O. (2008) School choice and racial segregation in U.S. schools: The role of parents' education. Ethnic and Racial Studies 31(2): 267-293
The case snowballed and grew until the nation viewed Zelmanv Simmons-Harris as the test case to try the legal boundary between church and state. It was also looked to for the purpose of redefining the meaning and scope of public education in America.
Enacted by the Ohio legislature in 1995, the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program allows 4,000 low-income children to attend private religious and secular schools with up to $2,250 in public support (Vitteritti, 2002). Participating schools must cap their tuition at $2,500 a year; the state pays up to 90% of whatever the school charges, depending on family income (Vitteritti, 2002). Following a high-profile legal battle, the program was upheld by the Ohio Supreme Court in 1999, prompting opponents to take their case into federal court (Vitteritti, 2002). On the day before school was to open that year, federal district court judge Solomon Oliver struck down the program, ruling…...
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References
Text of U.S. Supreme Court decision: Zelman, superintendent of Public Instruction of Ohio, et al. v. Simmons-Harris et al. (Features). Journal of Church and State | Date: June 22, 2002 | More results for: Zelman vs. Simmons-Harris No. 00-1751 536 U.S. -- (2002) Argued February 20, 2002 Decided June 27, 2002
Vouchers on trail: will the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Zelman end the voucher debate? (Feature).(Statistical Data Included) Education Next | Date: June 22, 2002 | Author: Viteritti, Joseph P. | More results for: Zelman vs. Simmons-Harris
Zelman: the court gets it right. (Opinion).(school voucher case)
First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life | Date: January 1, 2003 | Author: Uhlmann, Michael M. | More results for: Zelman vs. Simmons-Harris
School Uniforms
Perhaps the biggest debate of public education over the past decade besides school vouchers has been the debate over whether or not it is legal to require students to wear a uniform to school. Increased crime, gang violence, poor academic performance in public schools has sparked the movement towards mandatory school uniforms. hile school uniforms may seem the perfect solution to the problem, to some its as good as putting a band-aid on a three-inch deep wound. There are many arguments for and against school uniforms in public schools; the main concern has to do with the legality of making uniforms compulsory for public school students. The focus of this paper will be to discuss the issues presented by those both for and against school uniforms. Additionally, the legality of such a policy if implemented will also be presented. Finally, facts and figures on those schools that have implemented…...
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Works Cited
Brunsma, David and Kerry A. Rockquemore. "The Effects of Student Uniforms on Attendance, Behavior Problems, Substance Use, and Academic Achievement." 92(1): 53-62. The Journal of Educational Research (1998).
School Choice Program
This study aimed to determine the impact of school choice through a comparative study of two private schools, which serve primarily, or exclusively African-American students, and a public school.
Data in student achievement in math and reading and data on student attendance were used to determine the impact of choosing a school. Qualitative data derived from interviews with administrators and faculty as well as classroom observation were used to provide additional insight regarding the intellectual climate of the two private schools and the public school.
The focus of this study was on mathematics and reading in middle school students in both public and private schools in Milwaukee, as well as the focus of reform in the state -- reading in Michigan, writing in Vermont and California. This approach enabled me to adequately address my research questions and prove or disprove my hypotheses.
To begin, I conducted structured interviews with teacher educators…...
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Bibliography
Brown, Andrew (1995). Organizational Culture. London: Pitman Publishing.
Dianda, Marcella. Corwin, Ronald. (February 1993). What a Voucher Could Buy: A Survey of California's Private Schools. Far West Lab for Educational Research and Development, San Francisco, California and Southwest Regional Lab Survey Results.
Fuller, Bruce. (1995). Who Gains, Who Loses from School Choice: A Research Summary. ERIC Document Reproduction Services No. ED385928.
Greene, Jay. Peterson, Paul. Du, Jiangtao. (1997). Effectiveness of School Choice: The Milwaukee Experiment. Occasional Paper 97, Program in Education Policy and Governance Center for American Political Studies, Department of Government, Harvard University.
Her point is to get support for her views, and she did, because three months after she wrote this piece there was a rally at the State Capitol in Austin where 5,000 people called for school choice in front of the Capitol building. Therefore, her words helped people make up their minds and seek action from their legislators. However, she failed to convince the legislators, who did not even address school choice during the 2007 legislative session (Editors). Either this means that the legislators are not listening to the will of the people, or that her rhetoric failed to gain their support.
The media has certainly picked up this issue, and it is an issue all around the country, not just in Texas. The Milwaukee school district has had a voucher system like this for over sixteen years, and it has proven to be a money saving plan for taxpayers,…...
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References
Editors. "School Choice Legislation." CEOAustin.org. 2008. 4 May 2009.
Storey, Jamie. "The Dropout Drain: How Dropouts -- Not School Choice -- Take Money From Public Schools." Texas Public Policy Foundation. 2007. 4 May 2009.
Schools operating in rich areas will ask more than the basic voucher price, while schools operating in the most difficult circumstances, dealing with socially excluded groups will be restricted to the basic voucher amount. Funds should be targeted to schools that need them, not schools who are already succeeding.
Another disadvantage is that education cannot be a market. Supply cannot adjust fast enough to changing demand so some pupils will always end up stuck in dying, under-funded schools because over-subscribed schools cannot expand fast enough.
The major drawback of a voucher system is that by funding non-government schools on the same basis as state schools, it makes them vulnerable to the same level of government regulation. The success and popularity of non-government schools is arguably due to their greater autonomy and independence.
eferences
Backingham, J. (n.d). The Case for School Choice and How to Fund it. etrieved May 5, 2005, from Policy Web…...
Private vs. Public Schools
Many parents find themselves caught in a dilemma when trying to decide on which choice of education to take for their children. They ask themselves whether to take their children to private schools or public schools. For a parent to choose the ideal school for their children they always have to take into consideration all the available options. They consider things like the cost of the school, how much time they will invest as a parent, the social impact that the school have on their children based on the specific need of their children as well as the family.
Private schools offer the best option for the parent who is in need of better and quality education for their children. Private schools have a nearly perfect graduation rates which market them a great deal. Their performance is better as compared to the public schools. This is evident in…...
Educational Vouchers: Multiple Issues and Contradictory esults
The Merriman-Webster online dictionary offers three definitions for "voucher": "...a documentary record of a business transaction; a written affidavit or authorization; a form or check indicating a credit against future purchases or expenditures." None of the three even approaches the emotionally charged version of the term "voucher" when it comes to the current debate swirling around public vs. private schools. This paper digs into the "vouchers" - or "scholarships," or "subsidies," if you prefer - provided to families in several cities and states, to move their children from less desirable, academically troubled public schools to more desirable, for-profit private, mainly religious schools.
Long before there was any discussion about vouchers, Horace Mann of Massachusetts - the "Father of American public school education" - was in the vanguard of the movement (1837) to solidify support for quality public education, excellence in teacher training, and free libraries…...
American Federation of Teachers (2002). [Online] "Report Reveals Right-Wing Backers of BAEO" "Milwaukee Vouchers Cost Twice the Tuition Amount Charged Non-Voucher Students http://www.aft.org/research/vouchers/ .
Public School Funding
ith reports on the lower standardized test scores among the nation's students, policy makers are once again turning their attention to the issue of education reform. For many educators, one of the culprits behind this is not only the dearth of money spent on public education. Rather, the available funding is disbursed unequally, benefiting the already more affluent school districts.
This paper examines the inequity that exists in funding public school education.
The first part of this paper looks at examples of this unequal funding throughout the country. The next part of the paper then looks at the various reasons for these disparities, from the government level to the lack of public support.
In the conclusion, this paper argues that there remains a strong need to increase public support for education funding, and to re-work the current formula used by states to determine how school funds are disbursed. After all, whether…...
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Works Cited
Brooks, Charles. 2002. "Poor and minority districts get thousands less per student." New York Amsterdam News. August 15.
Jencks, Christopher and Meredith Phillips. 1998. The Black-White Test Score Gap. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
McDermott, Kathryn. 1999. Controlling Public Education: Localism vs. Equity. Lawrenc: University Press of Kansas.
Reed, Douglas. 2001. "Not in My Schoolyard: Localism and Public Opposition to Funding Schools Equally." Social Science Quarterly. March.
With 6,153,000 covered under the IDEA, schools are eligible to receive $18.01 billion federal funds. Regrettably, schools are just receiving a paltry $7.5 billon. (National Education Association: IDEA Funding Coalition Offers Proposal -Plan would make funding mandatory)
To look at it in another way schools are at present receiving just approximately 17% rather than the federal commitment of 40% of APPE. Even though that is a considerable amount, schools will make expenditure in excess of $102 billion on those students. Apart from that, there are additional components within IDEA that are financed individually and cater extra purposes. There are many ways by which federal shortfall hurts the school districts. Whereas a lot of interest has been generated to mounting federal expenses meant for special education since previous few years, new federal funding has not kept pace with the mounting costs at the regional levels. Indeed, special education costs meant for…...
recruitment problem for my school is predominantly the poverty levels that are quite high hence making many children not to be able to attend school. With the voucher system, there has been an upsurge of application for recruitments so as to take advantage of the benefits that come with the voucher. This then presents a new problem of overpopulating the school such that the teacher-student ratio will not be manageable.
The main aim of the school now is to ensure that the enrolment rates go higher and that more students get the chance to join high school to get education. The school is also focused on ensuring the voucher system works out to the benefit of the students and that the system attracts the maximum possible number of students to the school. The quality of education is also another fundamental consideration in light of the fact that the middle class…...
Nearing the end of the 1960s, the analytic or language philosophy became the central focus point which led to the isolation of the classroom setting and the problems that came with it (Greene, 2000).
Most of the educational philosophers of the time were inclined towards restricting themselves to the official aspects and problems like the sovereignty of the system without any influence from the society and the surrounding environment and the assessment of the calls and school structure conducted for its growth or for the progression of the epistemology that it embodied (Greene, 2000).
All those setups that seemed to be coming across as invasive or seemed to add a personalized bias where it didn't belong were quickly identified and removed. This was one of the reasons that led to the obsession of the possible consequences that could exist due to the practicality of the philosophical theories. Inflexibility was adeptly achieved…...
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References
Aleman, a.M. (1999). Que Culpa Tengo Yo? Performing Identity and College Teaching. Educational Theory 49, no. 1: 37-52;
Arons, S. (1984). Playing Ball with the Rodriguez Court: Three Strikes and You're Out. Educational Theory 34, no. 1: 23-27.
Brameld, T. et al., (1952). Existentialism and Education. Educational Theory 2, no. 2.
Buchmann, M. (1987). Impractical Philosophizing about Teachers' Arguments. Educational Theory 37, no. 4: 361-411.
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