For a number of years I’ve been producing lists of what I call America’s Most Screwed Public School Districts. The kind folks at Center for American Progress, in 2012, worked with me to put out a report on these districts, and how they got where they are. https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/BakerSchoolDistricts.pdf I’ve also shown on this blog that … Continue reading America’s Most “Financially Disadvantaged” (e.g. Screwed) School Districts 2013 →

Here it is – my annual update of America’s most screwed school districts. This time, for stability purposes, I’ve used a 3-year average based on 2009-2011 data (2011 data being released earlier this week). As I’ve explained in my previous posts on this topic (from last year’s post on screwed districts)… It’s important to understand … Continue reading Most Screwed Local Public School Districts Update 2009-2011 →

Contrary to reformy wisdom regarding spending bubbles… the harmlessness …. oh wait… the benefits of spending cuts… and the fact that we all know as a reformy fact that we’ve already dumped plenty of money into our high need districts nationwide – it turns out that there actually are still some school districts out there … Continue reading America’s Most Screwed City Schools: Where are the least fairly funded city districts? →

I’ve been writing this blog since 2009. The initial purpose of the blog was to cut through frequently spewed media bluster about public (and private) schooling. False facts. False premises. Flimsy logic. This blog has often been sarcastic. I’ve tried to use edgy humor to make my points. Some, including my doctoral student Mark Weber, … Continue reading It’s just not funny anymore (and never was): Reflections on educational inequality and generations lost →

Another excerpt from forthcoming work: ====================== In 2011, the Obama administration formed a national equity commission[1] to explore fiscal inequities across U.S. Schools. In one meeting of that commission, participant Eric Hanushek introduced the following table (A-36-1, in Figure 44) from the National Center for Education Statistics to assert that, on average, U.S. States had … Continue reading Persistent Inequity & Dangerously Ignorant Denial →

I’ve been spending much of my spring and summer trying to get a handle on the various business practices of charter schooling, the roles of various constituents, their incentives and interests – financial and otherwise – in the operations of charter schools. Throughout this process, I also try to consider how or whether similar practices … Continue reading We bought it twice but we no longer own it: The bad public policy behind charter school real estate deals →

As 2013 comes to an end, it’s time to review some of the more ridiculous claims and arguments made by pundits and politicians over the course of the past year. A definition of “Ignorati” is important here: Elites who, despite their power, wealth, or influence, are prone to making serious errors when discussing science and … Continue reading Ignorati Honor Roll 2013: Pundit Version →

On a daily basis, I continue to be befuddled by the ignorant bluster, intellectual laziness and mathematical and financial ineptitude of those who most loudly opine on how to fix America’s supposed dreadful public education system.  Common examples that irk me include taking numbers out context to make them seem shocking, like this Newark example … Continue reading Stop School Funding Ignorance Now! A Philadelphia Story →

First, here’s a primer and reading list on the Empire State of School Finance: New York State maintains one of the least equitable state school finance systems in the nation New York State actually allocates a ton of state aid to districts that need it least, exacerbating the disparities Reformy types in New York State … Continue reading A drop in a half empty bucket? In defense of deprivation in NY →