There are many issues to consider in the upcoming election, but none is more important than education. In a nutshell, Joe Biden is on record as being aggressively against school choice, having said, for example, that he would “ban for-profit charter schools,” would oppose all voucher programs and Education Savings Accounts, and have a “teacher-oriented Department of Education.” Donald Trump, on the other hand, said in June: “We’re fighting for school choice, which really is the civil rights of all time in this country…because all children have to have access to quality education.”
There is much data on public school failure. For example, according to the US Department of Education’s Digest of Education Statistics, public schools in Washington DC spend over $30,000 per pupil, but on National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests in 2019, just 23% of eighth graders in DC public schools scored “proficient or better” in math, and only 23% in reading. A parent in DC could take that $30K a year, find a top-notch private, charter, or parochial school in their area – or even a well-versed private tutor – and be much m ...
