Monday, January 14, 2013

Heritage Education Review: Education Dollars Going Down the Drain

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Heritage Education Review
IN THIS EDITION
What to Watch
Indiana legislators want to expand school choice.
Number of the Week
Billions of tax-payer dollars are being spent on the Head Start program.
Quote of the Week
School choice provides a quality education to all children.
Don't Miss
Common Core meetings are closed to the public.

Education Dollars Going Down the Drain of Government Bureaucracy
By Rachel Sheffield

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) just released its latest batch of Head Start data, revealing, once again, that its students are receiving far less than a “head start.”

The study, which was finally released the weekend before Christmas after more than a year’s delay, examines the third-grade outcomes of two groups of Head Start students: those who began the program at age three and another who began at age four.

In 2010, HHS released a similar report looking at first-grade outcomes. Both studies show similar results: Not only does Head Start have no impact on children’s academic outcomes, but it also has little to no impact on other measures of child well-being and, in some cases, even has some negative impacts.

What To
Watch
Indiana Legislators Considering Expanding School Choice Program

Indiana, already home to one of the nation’s largest school choice programs, may expand educational opportunity even farther.

Number of the Week

$180 Billion
Over 180 billion taxpayer dollars have been spent on the federal Head Start program since it began nearly five decades ago, but research time and again confirms the program’s ineffectiveness.

In the latest Head Start study researchers found that the program had no impact on children’s academic outcomes and very little impact on any other outcomes measured.
 
See Head Start Impact Evaluation Report Finally Released
  Quote of the Week
“I don't believe taxpayers pay taxes to subsidize a failing government school system. What they want is quality education provided to every child…. If we turn our backs on school choice, it won't be only some of our most deserving children who will be the losers. It will be our entire state.”

Don’t Miss

Tax-Sponsored Common Core Meetings Closed to Public

“Though 46 states will spend an estimated $5 to $12 billion to implement a new set of national education standards called the Common Core, public officials are arranging these standards in hundreds of closed-door meetings,” writes Joy Pullman of The Heartland Institute.
National School Choice Week is planning “the first-ever nationwide, whistle-stop train tour in support of school choice.” Check it out here!
About The Heritage Foundation
Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institute -- a think tank -- whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.
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