SOTU: Bush’s ‘Pell Grants for Kids’ Plan Is Vouchers In Disguise
SOTU: Bush’s ‘Pell Grants for Kids’ Plan Is Vouchers In Disguise
Bush said: “To open the doors of these schools to more children, I ask you to support a new $300 million program called Pell Grants for Kids. We have seen how Pell Grants help low-income college students realize their full potential. Together, we have expanded the size and reach of these grants. Now let’s apply that same spirit to help liberate poor children trapped in failing public schools.”
FACT — PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS PERFORM THE SAME IF NOT BETTER THAN PRIVATE SCHOOL STUDENTS IN MATH: In a comparative analysis, “the average for public schools was significantly higher than the average for private schools for grade 4 mathematics and not significantly different for reading. At grade 8, the average for private schools was significantly higher than the average for public schools in reading but not significantly different for mathematics.” [NCES, 2006]
FACT — PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS PERFORM THE SAME IF NOT BETTER THAN RELIGIOUS SCHOOL STUDENTS: In a 2006 comparative analysis, the average adjusted school mean for Conservative Christian schools “in reading was not significantly different from that of public schools. In mathematics, the average adjusted school mean for Conservative Christian schools was significantly lower than that of public schools.” [NCES, 2006]
FACT — MAJORITY OF AMERICANS OPPOSE RATHER THAN SUPPORT SCHOOL VOUCHERS: Asked in 2006 if they “favor or oppose allowing students and parents to choose a private school to attend at public expense,” 60 percent of Americans opposed vouchers while only 36 percent were in favor. “The average response from the 1998 peak to today has been 57 percent opposed and 40 percent in favor.” [Center for American Progress, 9/15/2006]
FACT — VOUCHERS DO NOT LEAD TO SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENT GAINS: A 2002 study, “which examined privately funded voucher programs, found no significant achievement gains for students using vouchers versus students in public schools.” [GAO, 2002]
FACT — VOUCHERS DRAIN MONEY FROM PUBLIC SCHOOLS: In 2002-2003, “nearly half: the cost of the voucher program in Milwaukee “came as a reduction in funding to the Milwaukee Public Schools.” “In 2001-2002, up to 238 Wisconsin school districts were forced to raise property taxes to make up for funding lost to the vouchers program.” [American Federation of Teachers]
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The SOTU – You are looking at the most hated man on earth; and for good reason.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:23 pmSomeone PLEASE stand up for this country and SCREAM
January 28th, 2008 at 9:25 pmYOU FU(KING TRAITOR!!!!!
The 3 words I want the next Prez to say as his/her first words after being sowrn in…
January 28th, 2008 at 9:29 pmARREST THESE MEN.
the last thing bush ought to be doing, upon leaving office, is making any proposals of any kind. what he really ought to do is say, “i’m sorry, i was a disaster.”
January 28th, 2008 at 9:32 pmAnd a poor disguise at that. How stupid does Shrub think we are?
“We will embolden the purveyors of false populism?” WTF??? He just said that, and I don’t believe for a moment that he has any idea what the hell he’s saying. Then again, what’s new?
January 28th, 2008 at 9:34 pmhe CUT the pell grant for my daughter’s college ed…
January 28th, 2008 at 10:08 pmthen touted a “raise” after 3 or so years…
none of it CLOSE to what was offered my son 5 years earlier…
Damn right katy. How is a return to previous levels (if that is even what it is) a raise???
January 28th, 2008 at 11:19 pmis fixing the “failing public schools” just too obvious of a solution?
January 28th, 2008 at 11:55 pmI find it very interesting that you choose to equate “faith schools” with Fundamentalist Protestant ones. The majority of religiously-affiliated private schools in the U.S. are Catholic. There has been a lot of research showing that Catholic schools do a much better job educating low-income minority students than government-run schools do. So much so, in fact, that researchers comparing private and government-run schools often deliberately exclude Catholic schools from consideration.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:46 amBush’s ‘Pell Grants for Kids’ Plan Is Vouchers In Disguise
As soon as he said “Pell Grants for kids” (or whatever), that was my exact thought: “Vouchers by another name”. “Kill public education”. The Republicans hate public education. In their world, a kid gets the best education … his parents can afford. And that ensures that they’ll have a lower class to prey on.
Cheers,
January 29th, 2008 at 12:29 pm#7 Sabyen91:
Damn right katy. How is a return to previous levels (if that is even what it is) a raise???
They’re talking Republican, not English.
Cheers,
January 29th, 2008 at 12:30 pmI’d rather see the millions of school children in our country receive just ONE MONTH’S WORTH of the Iraq occupation budget: $10 BILLION dollars. http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=575
January 29th, 2008 at 4:44 pm