Survey Results are in: Virginians Support School Choice – But what do we do next?
So I should start off with apologies for not having a chance to write on this earlier this week, but those of you who follow us on Twitter know that we’ve been trying to keep up with sharing all the coverage of our announcement of the new survey conducted here in Virginia by the Friedman Foundation on education issues.
On Monday, we were honored to be a part of a large group joining the Friedman Foundation in the release of “Virginia’s Opinion on K-12 Education and School Choice.” (The folks from Friedman have told us that our coalition of release partners was larger than any state so far, including: The Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, Virginia Catholic Conference, The Family Foundation, The Chase Foundation of Virginia, The Alderson Family Foundation, Virginia Council for Private Education, Mid-Atlantic Catholic Schools Consortium, Old Dominion Association of Church Schools, Agudath Israel of America – Mid-Atlantic Region, Verizon Virginia, Markel Corporation, Joe Ragan’s Coffee and Office Products, School Choice Virginia, The Lexington Institute, and Americans for Prosperity – Virginia. National organizations include the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO), Association of Christian Schools International, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, National Catholic Educational Association, and United States-Mexico Cultural and Educational Foundation.)
As if that list of partners wasn’t impressive enough, the findings of the statewide survey added the real punch.
Though it doesn’t come as much of a surprise to those of us on the ground working for education reforms (and those of us who have ever talked to parents about educational choices for their kids), but a majority of likely voters support school choice options (including tax-credit scholarships, vouchers and charter schools) and would opt for schools other than their traditional public schools.
Now before someone jumps in with the old argument that “well they must all be AGAINST public schools then!” – one of the interesting finds of the survey was that actually a majority of Virginians rate their public schools as good or excellent (which Friedman hasn’t found in other states). But while they have high opinions of their public schools, they STILL support more educational choices, showing again what we’ve said all along that this isn’t about public versus private, and that you can support your traditional public schools AND be for school choice.
Second point- this isn’t some right-wing Republican plot against the public school system. Nope. In fact there is strong support for tax-credit scholarships AND vouchers among Democrats, Republicans and Independents. And that support is significant:
* Tax-credit scholarships: D: 64% | R: 68% | I: 66%
* Vouchers: D: 53% | R: 67% | I: 58%
* Special needs vouchers: D: 81% | R: 79% | I: 76%
Yes, you read that right. The majority of Democrats, Republicans and Independents support school choice options- even VOUCHERS! (And here we were being told “voucher” was practically a dirty word!)
Perhaps even more significantly (especially for those of us who enjoy the numbers game), the favor-oppose gaps between those who support versus those who stated their oppposition to these choice options was very large.
* Tax-credit scholarships: D: +43% | R: +46% | I: +44%
* Vouchers: D: +15% | R: +39% | I: +22%
* Special needs vouchers: D: +67% | R: +64% | I: +60%
So, the big question has been: Well, what does this all mean for Virginia?
Well, some of that is in your hands. While we are doing our part to share the results of this survey with newly elected lawmakers, the media, parents and other policy-influencers, you can help by getting involved! Share this survey with your Delegate and Senator. Ask them if they will support education reforms that will provide parents greater access to educational options. Because at the end of the day, a survey is good at telling you the overview, but actually hearing directly from voters living in your own legislative district is even better. So join us in sharing this survey- and join us in sharing your support for education reforms!
Friedman Foundation Survey: “Virginia’s Opinion on K-12 Education and School Choice “
We’ll post more on this later today, but in case you missed it yesterday, we were honored to joined the Friedman Foundation, Virginia Walden Ford and many other state and national education organizations in releasing the latest in the Friedman Foundations Surveys in the State series.
To read more: Virginia’s Opinion on K-12 Education and School Choice
Reform? Go for the whole package!
Great letter to the editor in The Indianapolis Star from Robert Enlow, President of the Friedman Foundation.
As we’ve noted, Indiana has recently joined the ever-growing list of states to embrace school choice, and Governor Mitch Daniels recently hosted former Florida Governor Jeb Bush to share Florida’s successes with education reform.
In his letter, “Go for whole package of school reform, not pieces,” Mr. Enlow urges support for a comprehensive package of education reforms for Indiana in order to ensure success for students. He writes:
Bush argued for a comprehensive package of reforms, all of which were critical to Florida’s success. In his remarks to the Education Roundtable, clear accountability (grading schools), good incentives (merit pay) and real consequences (school choice) were inextricably linked. Without each component working together, success would not have been possible, a fact evidenced by a recent study showing that improvement among failing public schools went from double digits to zero after the Florida Supreme Court removed the school voucher option.
There is no one silver bullet to improve education. But a comprehensive package of reforms, including greater accountability and school choice, will help to give all students a better chance at academic success.
Virginia leaders, too, should take note. While we are encouraged by greater talk about charter schools from the two candidates for Governor, Virginians need to ask whether these candidates are ready to stand up and support a broad package of comprehensive education reforms- a package that includes greater parental choice in education.
Rose Friedman
We are deeply saddened to learn today of the passing of Rose Friedman at the age of 99. Rose, like her late husband, Milton Friedman, was a talented and influential economist and a tireless advocate for freedom, especially in the area of education. The school choice movement has lost a brilliant and passionate advocate today, but her work will undoubtedly continue to have a lasting impact on freedom in this country and, in fact, the world.
The Friedman Foundation- the organization established by the Friedmans in 1996 to promote parental choice in education- today has a remembrance statement posted on their website, recognizing the life and work of Mrs. Friedman.
They share some highlights of Mrs. Friedman’s professional, as well as personal life:
Her most important contribution was the 1980 book Free to Choose, which she co-wrote with her husband, and the accompanying ten-part PBS series. Both were highly successful – the book topped the bestseller list for five weeks – and had a profound impact on the public understanding of freedom. At a time when the nation’s confidence in its founding ideas was at an all-time low, Free to Choose played a decisive role in restoring America’s faith in liberty.
Rose Director met Milton Friedman in 1932 when the two were seated next to each other in alphabetical order as graduate students at the University of Chicago. In their memoir of their lives together, Two Lucky People, Milton acknowledged Rose as having been a crucial partner in nearly all his economic and public policy work. And, in addition to her many other accomplishments, Rose had the distinction of being the only person ever known to have won an argument against Milton Friedman.
Thank you, Rose Friedman, for your enduring commitment to freedom and for inspiring so many to stand up for educational freedom around the world. You will be missed.
Friedman Foundation: Dramatically higher parental satisfaction in Florida tax credit scholarship program
The Friedman Foundation has released a study of parental satisfaction with the Florida tax credit scholarship program, and the results speak for themselves. Parents are report signifcantly more satisfaction with the schools that they are able to choose versus their prior public schools.
From their press release:
Parents participating in the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program report dramatically higher levels of satisfaction with academic progress, individual attention, teacher quality, school responsiveness, and student behavior when compared to the public schools their children previously attended, according to a study released today by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice.
Some of the highlights of their finding include:
- 80 percent of the parents are “very satisfied” with the academic progress their children are making in their current private schools, compared to 4 percent in their previous public schools.
- 80 percent are “very satisfied” with the individual attention their children now receive, compared to 4 percent in public schools.
- 76 percent are “very satisfied” with the teacher quality in their current schools, compared to 7 percent in public schools.
These is good news- especially for these families who seem to be much happier with the schools that they are able to select for their children. We think that all families deserve to have the chance to feel “very satisfied” with the education their child is receiving. To take a look at the rest of the findings, the full report is available on the Friedman Foundation’s website.
Friday School Choice News
Earlier this week we noted the results of a new survey finding that DC parents overwhelmingly support school choice. This continues to make headlines:
To read the full survey results and report, visit the Friedman Foundation.
And in exciting news for DC families, yesterday a bi-partisan group of Senators led by Senator Joe Lieberman announced legislation to save the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program. The legislation includes co-sponsors Diane Feinstein (D-CA), George Voinovich (R-OH), Robert Byrd (D-WV) and John Ensign (R-NV).
From the press release from the Alliance for School Choice:
“This is not a liberal program or a conservative program, but a program that puts children first,” Lieberman said. “And I am proud to say that it’s working.”
Under Senator Lieberman’s bill, the program would be preserved and strengthened significantly. The Lieberman bill would increase scholarship amounts to $9,000 for K-8 students and $11,000 for high school students—indexing the scholarship amounts to inflation. While these amounts remain significantly below the amounts for the D.C. Public Schools, they provide the necessary increases to account for inflation over the past five years.
Several stories have run on this development:
- Senate introduces bill augmenting D.C. voucher program
- Liberal and Conservative Senators Unite on Bill to Reinstate D.C. School Vouchers
Collins, meanwhile, noted that a little girl sitting in the front row was wearing a sticker reading, “What about me?”
“I think that’s the question that you should ask anyone who is opposing our efforts to extend this important program — you should ask, ‘What about me? Don’t I deserve a good education?’
Competing in the Global Economy
So many of the headlines these past few weeks have been stating the concern about the current state of our economy, and with good reason. One important thing we should all consider as we weather the current economic challenges, is what we do to prepare to continue to remain competitive in the ever-increasingly global economy. It’s no longer a matter of comparing how one state ranks compared to another, but now we must be able to compete with nations across the globe.
One critical component to achieve this, is education. Equiping our children, our future work-force, with the knowledge, the critical thinking and the tools they need to be competitive is imperative, and business leaders across the country are recognizing this.
In this article, “How to Succeed in our Global Economy,” for the Friedman Foundation, John Schnatter is the founder, chairman, and former CEO of Papa John’s International, Inc., considers the current state of American education, and explains how choice is critical to make sure we can succeed in a global economy.
In today’s global economy, our children are being educated and trained not only to compete with students in other states, but in nations across the globe. Furthermore, an educated workforce becomes even more important as our society becomes more technologically advanced. By most accounts, our nation’s educational system is failing to adequately educate our students in a manner that will allow our economy to innovate and prosper in the long run.
I’m very troubled by the state of our educational system and how its shortcomings may affect our nation’s economic future. It seems everyday, we hear the experts citing a host of problems as to why our educational system is not operating up to its potential, including lack of funding, limited parental involvement, fewer two parent households, lack of accountability for schools and teachers and the impact of limited school choice. I’d venture to guess that there is no ’silver bullet’ solution to the problem, and that society will need to tackle a number of issues in order to have a substantial impact.
While additional funding might help, funding itself doesn’t seem to be the primary issue, as per capita educational spending on American primary and secondary education has increased 24% (adjusted for inflation) in the past 10 years, and the U.S. spends more per student than nearly every other industrialized nation.
The Proof is in the Results
Last month we noted the latest findings by the Friedman Foundation’s study of Ohio’s EdChoice program, which found empirical evidence that the choice program was benefitting students as well as public schools.
Paul Weyrich, Chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Research and Education Foundation, takes another look at this in his latest column, “Some Empirically Proven Value in School Choice.”
He writes:
One of the arguments which opponents of school choice always make is that it would adversely affect the public school system. Opponents claim that the alternative schools would siphon off the best students, leaving those who remain who are the least able and the poorest and most disadvantaged students. Just as all of the rest of the arguments which opponents have made have proven false, so also has this argument.
Maryland Responds to Education Survey
The Friedman Foundation has released a new survey of 1,200 likely Maryland voters on K-12 education issues.
The underlying theme of the Friedman Foundation’s Survey in the State series is to measure voter attitudes toward their public institutions, leaders, innovative ideas, and the current K-12 power and priority structure. Two messages emerge from the poll’s findings. First, Marylanders say they are not familiar with various school choice ideas and reforms. A second finding indicates that school choice is not a partisan issue among voters in Maryland.
Cato’s “Liberty” blog notes the following interesting findings of the study:
Maryland spends more than $12,000 per student. Only eight percent of Maryland residents guessed that spending was more than $10,000. Taxpayers have absolutely no concept of how badly they are getting fleeced by the teachers unions.
Education tax credits once again outperform vouchers in popularity. Credits pull in 52 percent support, with 48 percent opposed. Vouchers get just 42 percent support, with 58 percent opposed.
You can read the full Maryland survey report online. You can also find survey reports for other states, including Oklahoma, Idaho, Tennessee, and Nevada.
Once again, research shows school choice helps to improve public schools, too!
So we’ve all heard the opposition’s argument about how school choice will hurt public schools. Unfortunately for them, time and time again, the evidence proves just the opposite- showing that choice actually helps public schools improve.
The latest study of Ohio’s EdChoice program has found that once again, public schools in areas participating in school choice programs, have improved as a result of the competition.
“This suggests that, far from harming students in public schools, scholarship programs like EdChoice can actually spur improvements in student learning for those students who remain in the low-performing public schools.”
The study, conducted by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, found many encouraging results of the newly implemented Ohio school choice program:
– In 2006-07, its first year of operation, the EdChoice program produced some academic improvements in Ohio’s most stubbornly underperforming public schools. Positive effects were detected in three grades, and no negative effects were detected in any of the other seven grades studied.
– The positive effects were substantial in size, though not revolutionary. If the effects accumulate over time, in three to four years the public schools studied will have improved by one standard deviation (equal to one-sixth of the distance between the top-scoring and bottom-scoring schools in Ohio).
– The EdChoice program was more restricted in its first year of operation than it is today. Since previous research suggests that the positive impact of vouchers on public schools increases when the programs grow, it is reasonable to expect that the program’s current benefits probably exceed those detected in this study.
UPDATE: Club for Growth also notes these (not so surprising) results on their blog. You can view the full report from the Friedman Foundation online.
