One of the easiest ways to mislead with data is by showing percent change.

For example, the 88% increase represents just 1.7% of all staff in 2000, and the 37% increase represents 2.5%. Meanwhile, 51.5% of all staff were teachers in 2000.

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While the American right-wing keeps pushing voucher schemes that devastate student outcomes…

…study after study emerges to reinforce the link between public school spending and student success.

New paper NBER focusing on Black students in the South👇

The last four evaluations of statewide voucher schemes found some of the largest *negative* effects the research community has ever seen—for any intervention.

On par with what COVID or Katrina did to test scores.

Why? Vouchers mainly prop up sub-prime and pop-up church schools.

The real headline in the state’s report is that 67.5% of Indiana voucher users in 2023-24 had never been in Indiana public schools—up from 63.4% in 2022-23.

Nearly spot-on with every other state estimate of ~7/10 voucher users never having attended public school.

Two inarguable features of voucher evidence:

The past decade led to some of the largest academic declines ever seen on any education topic.

And most of today’s voucher users were never in public school.

I’m glad those results are reaching the level of The New Yorker coverage.

FYI Rollbacks to child labor protection laws have accompanied the “education freedom” voucher push over the last year—nearly every state to pass one has passed the other soon after.

abcnews.go.com/amp/US/despite…

Sadly close to reality. Folks don’t realize how much of the voucher push is about bailing out subprime private schools—or jump starting shady pop-up schools that close quickly later.

I’m glad Iowa’s leading paper is finally covering this (it broke May 7)

But if you’re going to quote a right-wing politician calling a study “flawed”

At least talk to the authors too—who’ve answered those critiques now repeatedly.
bleedingheartland.com/2024/05/23/faq…

In every state that’s expanded or passed “universal” vouchers, the share of voucher users becomes more white, while the population at-large becomes more diverse.

This is a direct result of new vouchers primarily going to kids already in private school.

The Privateers shows that vouchers’ (re)turn to culture war—around race, gender, abortion and even election denial—happened not just in spite of but partly as a *direct result* of the horrific voucher impacts on academic outcomes over the last decade.

josh-cowen.com

The reason new voucher bills have no accountability is:

The voucher lobby knows as well as I do that the results are piss-poor and don’t want a repeat of headlines like these The New York Times 👇

Don’t kid yourself, headlines like this are a major reason for the voucher push today.

Research shows that when vouchers come to town, they become the key source of revenue not just for the struggling private schools —but for the parishes themselves👇
direct.mit.edu/rest/article/1…

Welcome to the school voucher world, U.S. FDA

rb.gy/dg2m81

Vouchers: “the handmaiden of conservative calls for ‘school choice’”

Read this review The New Yorker of recent books on race and right-wing education schemes—then pre-order a copy of The Privateers for a deep dive on how the voucher piece gets done👇
a.co/d/0YXMWKv

Two inarguable features of voucher evidence:

The past decade led to some of the largest academic declines ever seen on any education topic.

And most of today’s voucher users were never in public school.

I’m glad those results are reaching the level of The New Yorker coverage.

At UT Austin, 71% of the 50 faculty and staff terminated due to the new #DEI ban were women and 73% were non-white, Phil Jankowski 🌟 and Marcela Rodrigues report.

#txlege #txed #tellEWA #highered

The Privateers shows that vouchers’ (re)turn to culture war—around race, gender, abortion and even election denial—happened not just in spite of but partly as a *direct result* of the horrific voucher impacts on academic outcomes over the last decade.

josh-cowen.com

Some conservatives claim Iowa's private schools raised tuition because of inflation.
Which doesn't explain why private schools in Nebraska didn't do the same, or the difference Fontana and Jennings found in tuition hikes based on ESA eligibility in Iowa. bleedingheartland.com/2024/05/23/faq…

And for the voucher schemes we *did* get data for before the voucher lobby shut down data access after 2019?

The last decade of results have been catastrophic for kids.

Re-upping my piece TIME 👇
time.com/6272666/school…

Vouchers: “the handmaiden of conservative calls for ‘school choice’”

Read this review The New Yorker of recent books on race and right-wing education schemes—then pre-order a copy of The Privateers for a deep dive on how the voucher piece gets done👇
a.co/d/0YXMWKv