The S.C. Policy Council released another in its series of “Best and Worst” policy reports Monday, this one focusing on various ideas aimed at improving the state’s worst-in-the-nation education system.
“What we need instead (of new spending) is fundamental education reform focused on increasing student and parental choice, fostering competition, and reducing administrative burdens and expenses,” the report concluded.
Among the reforms the organization praised were tuition tax credits for all parents, charter schools, weighted student funding (a.k.a. “backpacking”), school district consolidation and spending transparency.
South Carolina public schools continue to fall further behind the rest of the nation despite massive funding increases. In fact, the $12,000 that the state will spend per pupil this year is a record amount – despite bureaucrats’ claims that their budgets have been cut.
What have Palmetto State students and parents received for that massive investment?
Not a lot …
South Carolina’s rural graduation rate ranks dead last in the country, while its overall graduation rate remains among the worst in the nation. Those figures are consistent with our state’s declining SAT and ACT scores, too.
Amazingly, at a time when we should be tightening up the ship, educrats recently decided to dumb down our state’s academic standards, basically guaranteeing that more students will be promoted despite their failure to advance academically.
Of course that only results in higher costs down the road, as evidenced by the Charleston school district, where 20% of incoming high school freshmen are reading at a fourth grade level.
Hmmmm … perhaps testing reform is something the think tank might consider adding to its list …
WEB EXTRA
By Liberty For Me December 7, 2009 at 6:53 pm
All you can really ever say about these kind of things is….abolish public school.When will people learn?..it is as simple as that.
By Truth Seeker December 7, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Liberty you are an idiot too!
By Gillon December 7, 2009 at 8:19 pm
“Fundamental reform”…. based on “increasing choice, fostering competition, and reducing administrative burdens and expenses.” If you were talking about health care, you might be on to something.
And “Liberty for Me,” If your thought processes and writing ability is the result of a public school education, then I guess you do help make the point for reform. Tell us you didn’t go to a private school.
By baker December 8, 2009 at 8:13 am
“”Among the reforms the organization praised were tuition tax credits for all parents, charter schools, weighted student funding (a.k.a. “backpacking”)…..”
No, really??
This comes from a “best-and-worst” special report? Good grief, I thought the Policy Council sent out something like weekly press releases promoting so-called school choice.
By HMMM December 8, 2009 at 8:37 am
For your readers who mistakenly assume you know what you’re talking about when you address education issues: South Carolina’s standards are exactly the same. Students will be promoted if they perform on grade level on PASS (that was called “Basic” on PACT and it’s called “Met” on PASS, and it’s exactly the same thing). The ONLY thing that has changed is that we’ll now use “Met” for purposes of federal accountability under No Child Left Behind, as virtually every other state does, which has nothing AT ALL to do with student promotion or retention. It only means that fewer schools will be punished because 100 percent of their students — special education students, non-English speaking students, every single one — don’t make the equivalent of a B in every subject at every grade level, which is what schools were expected to accomplish before under federal law.
By Toyota Kawaski December 8, 2009 at 8:59 am
Yesah Mr. Rich right aways sirs. No sirs the Policy Council is not irrelevant.Theys bee’s very well thought of down hear’s
By hate December 8, 2009 at 10:18 am
Scpc aint got that yankee love no more is word I got … Betta check yo sources.
By SCCON December 8, 2009 at 11:32 am
Public “education” in South Carolina is a great big gaping black hole where we throw our children, our tax dollars, and any hope of climbing out of the morass of joblessness and moral ignorance in which we presently find ourselves as a state. Our public schools produce neither knowledgeable nor upright citizens, and children who are not taught both cannot be called educated.
By Liberty For Me December 8, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Gillon .. Yes..I am an idiot because I type fast and misspell a word now and then..
But I would rather wear that moniker than to spout ideas with no substance, and promote failed policies…What tools you people are.
Your right..“increasing choice, fostering competition, and reducing administrative burdens and expenses.” would not help education..You really said that??
By weighing in December 8, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Wow, Liberty is a sharp tool in the knife drawer…
“abolish public school”
Good idea. That will certainly solve the problem. Maybe starting January 2010 when the kids come back, we can find enough private schools to house the 700,000+ kids that will need somewhere to go.
Brilliant – Get on it Liberty, you have close to 30 days… come on fella, you can do it.
By BIN News Editorial Staff December 8, 2009 at 7:25 pm
After reading the SC Policy Scam’s latest attack on the Children of SC, our Funding Editor was asked for her reaction.
She took a sip of Metamucil, loudly passed gas and began to snore.
The entire BIN News Staff agrees.
It stinks. There’s nothing new from the SC Policy Scam or Howie’s other voucher clowns. They don’t care about real problems facing education.
They don’t care about the poverty, the latent racism or the embarrassing “minimally adequate” standard SC allows to fester. They don’t care that vouchers would only leave those who need help the most further behind.
You see, to the voucher clowns this has nothing to do with helping all the children in SC. It’s about money. Helping those who can afford it.
Solve for this math problem.
sic(k) willie+
voice for vouch clowns+
sc policy scams+
irresponsible sc voucher scams+
howie’s dirty money=
how many elected voucher pimps?
Answer: Not Nearly Enough.
Vouchers are dead in SC.
A Midlands’ elected official has said so.
By mackone December 9, 2009 at 5:45 pm
I must say that this a spirited bit of dialogue. Are vouchers the answer?
No! Abolishing Public School, you have to be kidding. It boils down to getting Government out of schools. We are spending entirely too many dollars on non important education issues. We have too much administration, poor use of funds that are available and not having a clue of what the school districts need. We do not live in a one size fits all state and we do not have a one size fits all education system. It is imperative that we abandon the foolishness of No Child Left Behind, School to Work Intitiatives and whatever else they can come up with. Let’s study why children, especially in minority communities fall so far behind by 5th grade and get so disheartened they drop out. I don’t believe that poverty is the only issue. I know plenty of people who came from severe circumstances in my only family who were able to do well. Every child is not meant to go to college or on to some high paying technical job.
The time has come to look long and hard to the basics, not just the 3 R’s,
(I never understood that, you don’t spell arithmatic with just an r)but specific direction in future employment training. You cannot accomplish any legitimate place in education with out English, Math, History,(not this revisionist crap)thedifferent Sciences and being able help the student in directions that are more in line with their own goals.
Do you really think money is the answer? South Carolina has to remember we are not as financilly well off as many of our neighbors and we have to realize that you can’t if you can’t afford champagne, learn to enjoy the taste of beer.
Our children deserve better education, of this there is no doublt, but let’s place the blame on the shoulders of the responsible parties. I hate say it but it is on the system itself. The government, the school boards, the school districts and now that my fingers are getting tired, place part of it on my shoulders. I could have done more in encouraging my own children.