Benefit-cost analysis can be a useful method for informing evidence-based policy when done right.
But this EdChoice report makes a few missteps -- it leaves out any analysis of cost, and it miscalculates the benefits so that they're overstated by many orders of magnitude
I'm posting a lot of non #EconSky #NumbersDay content. I yearn for a day when I'll feel able to get back to it more exclusively.
But, each of us is a full person in a society. When pillars of society start cracking under assault, I will discuss. Mostly not as an economist, just as an American.
Our neighbors are being kidnapped by the federal government.
This father has an active asylum case, a court date for 2027, a valid work permit, and a Social Security number. They detained him and his 10-yr-old daughter and sent them to Texas detention center. www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...
This happened during a Washington House Appropriations hearing yesterday. It was a tough act to follow...
Excited to share my new chapter in dual enrollment (DE), co-authored with Reid Sagara and @dsknight99.bsky.social, just published in the Higher Education Handbook of Theory and Research. link.springer.com/rwe/10.1007/...
That this warning even needs to be stated publicly is unfortunate, but no accident. It’s a product of irresponsible researchers spreading bad research. “Spending is up but test scores are down” is good click bait but we’re better than that
Screenshot of a NYT article from Paul Krugman entitled “Beware Economists Who Won’t Admit They Were Wrong”
Just came across another “Does money matter in education?” debate in the Year of Our Lord 2025. I’m tired
how to show you're not a serious contributor to conversations on money and schools: (what the actual research says: www.shankerinstitute.org/sites/defaul...)
If you’re attending #APPAM2025, join us this afternoon for a Communities session on early childhood policy.
We’ll have a special guest speaker you won’t want to miss!
Details below: convention2.allacademic.com/one/appam/ap...
Important report from Afterschool Alliance on inequitable access to after school programs.
What's driving this? As with many challenges in ed policy, a key factor is inadequate and inequitable state school finance systems:
www.the74million.org/article/shut...
Children in Poverty is a Policy Choice 2021 expansion of tax credits like the CTC and EITC dramatically reduced poverty. Now we are back to unacceptable levels of children’s hardship.
Why are children still struggling for the basics in one of the wealthiest countries in the world?
itep.org/child-povert...
Really excited to have this piece out on the Brown Center Chalkboard blog with @lmasonwms.bsky.social, @afgilmour.bsky.social, & @lizbettini.bsky.social on the importance of targeted solutions to special education teacher staffing challenges. See below!
It was an honor and privilege to share some of our research on K-12 school finance with the Yakima Rotary Club in Yakima, WA: www.linkedin.com/posts/yakima...
Fun fact! The Yakima Rotary Club is the 31st largest Rotary club in the world!
Article abstract reading "Concerns about school staff shortages are longstanding. However, data on shortages are limited, dated, and rare for non-teaching staff. I use administrative data on unfilled certificated positions in Illinois public schools from the fall of 2022 to paint a detailed picture of shortages across teaching, administrative, and other roles, between districts, and between schools. Teacher and administrator shortage rates are low on average, but shortages of other staff - mostly paraprofessionals - are more severe. However, staff-to-student ratios have increased recently for all staff types. Shortages vary substantially between schools within districts and across urbanicity, grade level, and student characteristics, often in ways that likely exacerbate inequities."
New from me in Education Finance & Policy: Pandemic-Era School Staff Shortages: Evidence from Unfilled Position Data in Illinois
doi.org/10.1162/edfp...
We're so excited to be releasing a working paper, data visualizer, and fact sheets about the composition, distribution, and stability of the special education teacher workforce across seven states as part of @sparccenter.bsky.social. See below for more details!
I was honored to serve on Washington's K-12 Funding Equity Workgroup and co-Chair the subgroup on Accountability & Efficiency. The workgroup was authorized through House Bill 2049 (lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/202...)
Our Phase I report is now posted here: ospi.k12.wa.us/about-ospi/w...
Flyer announcing an Oct 30th, 2025 event at AC Davis High School in Yakima, WA featuring presentations on K-12 school finance in Washington.
If you're in Yakima, WA on October 30th, this Thursday night, join us for presentations and discussion about K-12 public school finance!
I'll will be sharing new research on the distribution of property taxes, as well as some old research about how/why/where money matters. See flyer!
We are partnering with a group of Washington K-12 school district superintendents to hold learning sessions and build a vision for needed school finance reforms.
Thank you Yakima Herald for picking up the story:
www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/e... Read more here: education.uw.edu/ctp/node/1300
The federal administration is severely misguided in its call to cut the English Language Acquisition Program (ESEA Title III) as part of a $5 B federal K12 funding cut.
(here is what Title III actually does: www.newamerica.org/education-po...)
learningpolicyinstitute.org/blog/5-billi...
Who benefits from universal K-12 school voucher programs? Mostly wealthier households.
This article summarizes key points about the federal voucher policy, ECCA, part of the so called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” // @seattletimes-rss.bsky.social @nepc.bsky.social www.seattletimes.com/education-la...
Dear journalists:
The President has not fired Lisa Cook. The President is *trying* to illegally fire her.
Your words shape people’s reality. Please be accurate in your reporting.
The Trump megabill will give the top 1 percent tax cuts totaling $1.02 trillion over the next decade. For comparison, the bill’s cuts to the Medicaid health care program will total $930 billion over the same period.
Read more at: itep.org/top-1-to-rec...
We have partnered with a group of Washington school district superintendents over the past year to hold K-12 school finance learning sessions. You can read about what we've learned so far here: www.education.uw.edu/ctp/node/1300.
And more recent coverage here: www.cascadiadaily.com/2025/aug/06/...
Critiques of the free market by school choice researchers often come too late, and rarely discuss how wealthy donors have successfully leveraged their influence to push failed school choice policies.
We explain more in this AJE Forum piece (w/ @DrDeMatt): sites.psu.edu/ajeforum/202...
Reading individual stories of professionals who have devoted their careers to improving the nation's public school system is helpful for understanding how important their work was, and the challenges coming now that the Education Department is officially gutted:
www.npr.org/2025/08/01/n...
A new analysis of a school finance lawsuit hints at lessons learned for those hoping to obtain state-level education funding that is both adequate and equitable. @dsknight99.bsky.social bit.ly/46qG7uN
Justice Sotomayor: "When the Executive publicly announces its intent to break the law, and then executes on that promise, it is the Judiciary’s duty to check that lawlessness, not expedite it." 💯 www.npr.org/2025/07/14/n...
If you support detailed reporting on student math and reading test scores for children in grades 4 and 8, add you comments to the ED's May 2025 proposal here: www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PR... (which reverses the data collection). This isn't more tests, it's just SEA's reporting data centrally.
File under headlines that should not exist:
www.edweek.org/policy-polit...
I thought the federal administration was giving power back to the states?
Nondiscrimination on the basis of gender identity has been the law since 2006 in Washington. Threatening school funding for a political agenda is just wrong. www.cascadepbs.org/news/2025/05...
