Krugman's folly: expensive college for all

Chris Tessone / March 13, 2012

Expanding access to higher education—and preparing students well for postsecondary challenges during K-12—is a key priority for the nation's economic competitiveness. The last year alone has seen a variety of initiatives to bend the cost curve, including Rick Perry's $10K bachelor's degree and MIT's certificates (or "badges") for online learning. Community college enrollment also boomed during the financial crisis, with students and parents hunting for a decent education at a "Great Recession"-friendly price. Since college costs have grown faster than inflation (or health care!) since the early 1980s, improving access and controlling costs must be linked.

There's nothing "un-American" about choosing an affordable college over an a elite school. Photo by Chris Barry.

Paul Krugman sees something sinister, even un-American, in all this talk of value for money, however. He quotes Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney on this point as proof that the GOP doesn't care about education:

Here’s what the candidate told [a student worried about college costs]: “Don’t just go to one that has the highest price. Go to one that has a little lower price where you can get a good education. And, hopefully, you’ll find that. And don’t expect the government to forgive the debt that you take on.

My parents are both what Krugman calls

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Krugman's folly: expensive college for all

Charter schools and the new urbanism

Chris Tessone / March 8, 2012

Ask almost any leader of a growing urban charter school about their biggest worries, and real estate is likely to be at the top of the list. City-dwelling young parents want schools that are convenient to their homes and—increasingly—public transit. Government has (appropriately) high expectations of school buildings but provides little to no money for charter school facilities in most jurisdictions. Educators and school leaders want all of the above to provide a fantastic experience for their students—without breaking the bank. This is not something the real estate market can provide in most cities. 

Cities like Newark, New Jersey are experimenting with creative uses of space to improve education options. Photo by William F. Yurasko.

To make the problem even more difficult, city centers are redeveloping, with entire neighborhoods gentrifying, building mixed-use housing and innovative commercial spaces. Young professionals who a generation ago might have fled for the ‘burbs as they settled into careers and started having children are now staying. This has resulted in vibrant, revitalized neighborhoods—but the pressure continues to build on large urban school districts to provide high-quality seats to meet the needs created by this cultural shift. 

Increased density and the creative reuse of space can help ease the space crunch. Public charter schools have led the way

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Charter schools and the new urbanism

Untie teachers' hands on ed tech

Chris Tessone / March 6, 2012

Once upon a time, corporate IT departments lived by the slogan "no one ever got fired for buying IBM." Big Blue's products were a safe bet in a rapidly evolving industry. The over-reliance of the Fortune 500 on that safe bet proved to be a problem for those companies, which missed out on innovations adopted by more nimble rivals, and for IBM itself, which stagnated in the absence of pressure from customers to push the envelope. District schools suffer from the same "buy IBM" problem, with state policies and district budget decisions making it difficult for principals and teachers to adopt promising new options for delivering instruction.

An EdWeek piece today documents the struggle ed-tech startups wage to get their products adopted, and catalogues a number of promising companies that are gaining headway despite those challenges. One of the greatest barriers is the fragmented but highly regulated market that results from the "buy IBM" mindset of thousands of risk-averse districts:

In addition, big companies have clung to their monopolies because investors were reluctant to dive into the education sector.

"The timeline is

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Untie teachers' hands on ed tech

Measuring poverty, one chicken nugget at a time

Layla Bonnot / March 1, 2012

Guest blogger Layla Bonnot is a research intern at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.

Is the number of free and reduced-price lunch participants an accurate proxy for the number of poor kids in America’s schools? New Jersey’s acting education commissioner, Chris Cerf, isn’t so sure. A recent article in The Star-Ledger highlights Cerf’s two concerns: first, that the self-reported basis of Free and Reduced Lunch Program (FRLP) participation makes the count prone to errors and—potentially—fraud, and second, that this number alone might not be a reliable proxy for the number of students living in poverty.

Mr. Cerf, I wouldn’t throw out school lunches quite yet—maybe just add a few other ingredients into the mix. Photo by U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The issue of fraud in the lunch room pops up every couple of years. Detailed audits have shown that some students who should receive benefits do not, some parents or schools make honest mistakes on the application, and yes, there are some instances of fraud. Given our current situation of squeezed budgets and a National School Lunch Program that cost $9.7 billion in FY 10 and relies on self-reported income, those small instances of fraud can really add up (A 2009 2007

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Measuring poverty, one chicken nugget at a time