Vol. 1 No. 9

The Kentucky Education Digest is a collection of ideas focused on four general themes:

1. Basic school choice information
2. Parent testimonials
3. Best practices from other states
4. Objections to school choice that form the misguided arguments against more educational alternatives.

We invite your input and feedback because we know that healthy debate is the mechanism that produces the ideas that ultimately work.

• School Choice Information
• Parent Testimonials
• Best Practices From Other States
• Objections to School Choice

Home Schooling Grows in Popularity

Many parents who are dissatisfied with the poor quality of public education have decided to take matters into their own hands. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the number of home-schooled students grew by 29 percent between 1999 and 2003.

Concerned parents have good reason to home school their kids. Home-schooled children score an average of 80 points higher on SAT results than kids in public schools and 70 points higher than children attending private schools.

During the 1980s, most home schooling families were white Christians. Now, parents of all different races, religions and socioeconomic backgrounds are realizing they have a viable alternative to poorly performing public schools. Blacks now comprise the fastest-growing segment of families who home-school their children.

There are many good reasons why the popularity of home schooling – already at an all-time high – is growing.

For one, home-schooled children are in demand by prestigious colleges and universities. College administrators know that children taught at home generally are high achievers and will be among the best students on their campuses.

An increasing number of Kentuckians also are now home schooling, which is one of the few alternatives to our state’s mediocre public-education system. Kentucky lacks school-choice legislation that allows for the creation of charter schools, open-enrollment policies or voucher options enjoyed by parents in most other states.

The popularity of home schooling in Kentucky – 12,075 children were home-schooled in our state during 2004 – indicates that parents are losing confidence in our state’s public-school system.

Critics argue that children taught at home are somehow not “normal” and have trouble adapting socially. The evidence says otherwise. Home-schooled kids have generally higher test scores and are at least as prepared for college and life in general as kids in the public-school system.

Sources:

“Laws govern home schooling” by Nancy Rodriguez, (Louisville) Courier-Journal

“School's in … the home” by Cheryl V. Jackson, Chicago Sun-Times

‘I’ve Been Lucky’

Each month, the Kentucky Alliance Digest features a look at school choice from a parent’s perspective. This month’s testimony is from Libby Sternberg, a Vermont parent who wrote recently on the positive impact that school choice has had on her family.

This summer, my husband and I are helping our daughter pack for college. She’s the youngest of our three children, which means we are now finished with K-12 education as parents.

All our children attended a combination of public and private schools. I would also have to say that our K-12 educational experiences were enhanced immeasurably by school choice.

Obviously we benefited from being financially able to make choices for our children in their younger years. But just as they were positively affected by these choices, their high school was positively affected by the choices of students in surrounding towns.

Their public high school is a receiving school for students in nearby tuition towns. I’ve sat through enough of the open houses to witness firsthand how efficiently and aggressively the high school recruits these tuition-town students. Those open houses were some of the best-run programs I attended in the years my children were in school.

Because the high school is trying to recruit these students, the administration has a market incentive to maintain high quality standards. The more they enhance quality, the more likely they are to attract students.

Oh, I’m sure teachers and administrators would tell you that their focus is on quality regardless of what share of students they attract. But it is counterintuitive to think that they would be focused in the same way, with the same vigor and attention to the RIGHT details, if it weren’t for the fact that such a focus can bring them more students and revenue.

As a school choice advocate, I’ve long touted research that shows choice is beneficial – not harmful – to public schools. As a parent, I’ve been lucky enough to feel the effects of marketplace incentives in my own children’s schooling. I wish all children were so fortunate.

Reprinted with permission from the Aug. 9 edition of Vermonters for Better Education.

Parents interested in contributing their story can e-mail it to jwaters@bipps.org.

Sanford’s Stand

It’s no wonder South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is so popular with parents. Sanford fastens his political future to school choice by insisting that parents, not zip codes, should determine where children attend school.

South Carolina’s students rank 49th in ACT test scores and 50th in SAT results. In the midst of such appalling results, parents and at least some of the state’s policymakers are beginning to recognize that the next wave of education reform must directly benefit children.

While Sanford enjoys a 68-percent approval rating, South Carolina’s education superintendent Inez Tenebaum has decided against seeking reelection. Tenebaum further disappointed fellow Democrats by refusing to offer herself as a candidate to unseat Sanford, a Republican.

It seems that Tenebaum’s decision about her career is tied to her attempts at nixing school choice in South Carolina. After emptying political coffers to defeat a voucher bill last year, Tenebaum said, “I think sometimes you know internally when it’s time to go. I think my donors were tired.”

Sanford, meanwhile, is demonstrating how sound policy can be politically beneficial as well. He now enjoys a 68-percent approval rating and appears headed for an easy reelection campaign next year.

The governor plans to put his voucher bill on the front burner again during South Carolina’s next legislative session. Sanford supports offering students a $3,200 voucher to leave failing public schools.

As a U.S. congressman, Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher voted for families in the nation’s capital to enjoy the benefits of school choice. Fletcher has even said in the past that school choice works if it’s done properly.

Yet despite an academic performance that rivals the failures of South Carolina’s public-education system, Fletcher – as Kentucky’s governor – keeps school choice for Bluegrass State families on the back burner.

Sources:

Political Diary for Aug. 25, Wall Street Journal (subscription required)

“Governor, Legislators Show Courage for SC Children” by Ashley Landess, South Carolina Policy Council

“Don’t Change The Subject on School Choice” by Jonathan Butcher, The Heritage Foundation

Help Your Own Kids: Support School Choice

Too many parents refuse to push lawmakers for school choice because they believe their children already attend a good public school.

The truth is, many Kentucky parents don’t really know how their kid’s school is performing. Even if they did, it’s not as if they have much choice in the matter – at least not in our state, which has no school-choice legislation.

While there are some excellent public schools in Kentucky, the latest test scores and graduation rates indicate that far too many fail to make the grade.

Parents whose children attend a good school are the best candidates to lead the fight for educational liberty for all Kentuckians. They should demand that lawmakers give Kentucky families the opportunity to provide a quality education for their children.

Also, by leading the fight for educational liberty, Kentucky parents who are satisfied with the public schools in their community may still be helping their children. The evidence increasingly shows that competition gives schools – even the best ones – an incentive to improve.

Harvard University economics professor Caroline Hoxby highlights the success of Milwaukee’s voucher program in her research about the impact that school choice has on the performance of public schools.

Math results at the city’s most “treated” schools – where a large number of students (primarily from lower-income families) would be eligible to transfer and thus most likely to seek vouchers – improved by 8 national percentile points overall during the 1998-99 and 1999-00 school years. By contrast, the math performance at the city’s “untreated” schools – where students would be the least likely to qualify for vouchers – remained “flat” during the same time period.

This research adds to the existing mountain of evidence indicating that school choice helps all children – even those who remain in poor schools.

Sources:

“School Choice and School Competition” by Caroline Hoxby, Swedish Economic Policy Review

“The NIMBY view on bad schools” by Andrew J. Coulson, Bluegrass Institute