Actions Speak Louder Than Words, Mr. President | Andrew J. Coulson | Cato Institute: Commentary

Actions Speak Louder Than Words, Mr. President | Andrew J. Coulson | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Since 1970, inflation-adjusted public school spending has more than doubled. Over the same period, achievement of students at the end of high school has stagnated, according to the Department of Education's own National Assessment of Educational Progress. Meanwhile, the high school graduation rate has declined by 4% or 5%, according to Nobel laureate economist James Heckman. So the only thing higher public school spending has accomplished is raising taxes by about $300 billion annually without improving outcomes, which is not exactly a recipe for economic growth.

On the subject of getting good grades, by contrast, the president's Department of Education has discovered a strikingly successful federal program right under its nose. In April, the department reported that Washington, D.C.'s Opportunity Scholarships program, which pays K-12 private school tuition for 1,700 low-income students, is significantly raising academic achievement. Children who've attended private schools under the program for three years are now reading two grade-levels ahead of a randomized control group of students who've remained in public schools.

These voucher recipients are getting the improved grades the president says he wants, but instead of supporting this program, President Obama killed it just weeks after the Education Department released its favorable report. He has said that it should admit no new students and should cease when the last of its current participants finish school."

"So today, while the president is telling schoolchildren to get good grades and stay in school, his actions and policies are lowering student achievement, fomenting dropouts, and slowing the U.S. economy. Actions speak louder than words, Mr. President."