School vouchers or ‘Mo Money

Liberal columnist E.J. Dionne has an opinion piece in today’s Washington Post titled “Beyond Vouchers.” He’s pretty much a fence-sitter on the issue, but here are the first two sentences from his concluding paragraph - can you, dear reader, fill in the missing words?

What's required would make both liberals and conservatives uncomfortable. We need to _____ _____ to upgrade the quality of teaching in our poorest schools and to demand accountability from teachers to make sure the money produces results.

The “answer” – the only answer that the left ever offers – is “spend money.” But even Dianne Feinstein can’t escape the failure of the “more money” policy on Washington D.C. schools:

We all know D.C. public schools need improvement. According to the most recent census, the District spends $10,852 per student annually -- the third highest level of per-pupil spending in the nation -- yet test scores lag far behind. In the most recent math and reading assessments administered by the National Assessment of Educational Progress:

• Seventy-six percent of D.C. fourth-graders performed below grade level in math, and only 10 percent read proficiently.

• Seventy-seven percent of eighth-graders performed below grade level in math, and only 12 percent were proficient in reading.

Based on the substantial amount of money pumped into the schools and the resultant test scores, I do not believe that money alone is going to solve the problem. This is why I believe the District should be allowed to try this pilot -- particularly for the sake of its low-income students. [Emphasis added]

Benjamin Franklin said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” It’s time to look for new solutions to education in America.