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The problem with this line of thinking is that low educational attainment is strongly correlated (and causally related) to low family income levels. Low family
by jude- 12y ago
The problem with this line of thinking is that low educational attainment is strongly correlated (and causally related) to low family income levels. Low family income levels mean that parents can't afford to send their kids to the "best" schools, even with voucher systems, since (1) schools can raise the price of admission higher than the voucher, (2) the "best" schools tend to be located closer to the affluent, not the poor (and commuting long distances is disproportionately expensive to the poor), and (3) in many states, non-public schools can expel students for not performing well academically. (3) especially is the reason a lot of non-public schools (particularly BASIS) appear to look high-performing (while not actually being high performing). Unless these concerns (and more) are addressed, abolishing public schools will screw over the children who need the best schools the most.
- bilbo0s 12y ago"...The problem with this line of thinking is that low educational attainment is strongly correlated (and causally related) to low family income levels..." To be fair... The point of the article is that, in a lot of places across the US, low educational attainment is correlated with ALL family income levels. And the problem is how do you handle a situation like that? Put another way... even if the poor could get their kids into the top schools via vouchers or what have you... chances are, they would still not get as good an education as their international counterparts. Now there are some states, mostly in the North East and Midwest that buck that trend. But for everyone else... the test results aren't all that stellar regardless of income (or rather, familial level of educational attainment).