Do Private Schools “Choose” Their Students?
Opponents of school choice are great at coming up with witty one liners to make their point. A recurring example...
Do Private School Choice Programs “Take Money Away” from Public Schools?
In a recent post, I argued that the claim that school choice was “welfare for the rich” was a red...
Anecdotes Are Not Data
If you spend any time reading and listening to debates about education in Missouri, you encounter a lot of arguments...
Does Missouri Need DESE?
Several years ago, I made an interesting discovery—I had been blocked by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education...
Raising the Student/Teacher Ratio Would Increase Teacher Salaries
In policy, as in our daily lives, our decisions have trade-offs. I can buy a new car and make payments...
Governor Parson Opens Door to (At Least) One Special Session
Over the last month, there were rumblings in the media and on Twitter that not only might Governor Mike Parson...
Hail to the Chiefs! And Pay for Your Own Stadium
If you thought Tyreek Hill getting traded to Miami was going to be the last surprise Chiefs fans got this...
Missouri Is 49th in a Meaningless Statistic!
Earlier this week a headline came across my Twitter feed blaring “Missouri ranked No. 49 in state K-12 funding in...
Teachers Unions Set Their Sights on Micro-schools
Kelly Smith is a very nice guy. On his Twitter profile, he describes himself to his 400 followers as a...
The Star PPP-Shames Kansas City Private and Charter Schools
The government filings of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans have provided ideologically motivated journalists and advocates a treasure trove for...
Patrick Tuohey on KCPT’s Ruckus
Show-Me Institute’s Patrick Tuohey appeared on the latest episode of KCPT’s Ruckus to discuss the proposed KCMO budget plan, major...
Don’t Worry, We’re All Confused
You know a good report card when you see it, and the recently released annual performance reports (APR) for Missouri...
St. Louis Blight Authority: Philanthropy Might Provide What Markets Cannot
St. Louis has many serious problems. One is the city’s downwardly spiraling population, which has been in decline for decades....
An Open Letter to Waddell & Reed Employees
Dear Waddell & Reed employees, I read with interest a story in The Kansas City Business Journal that your company...
Bike Lanes Won’t Create 12,600 Jobs, Either
My colleague recently wrote a post skeptical of the Bike KC Master Plan claim that spending $400 million on bike...
Despite What You’ve Heard, Teaching Is a Great Profession
There is a growing chorus of voices claiming that teaching is a terrible job. Over the past two years, teachers...
New York Shouldn’t Have Offered Amazon $3 Billion. No One Should Have.
This week Amazon announced that it was scrapping its plan to establish a “second headquarters” in New York. The company’s...
Zoned
What if the choices we make for our health care were governed by the same rules that control the choices...
There Is Not a Teacher Retention Crisis in Missouri
I wasn’t able to attend the recent meeting for the Missouri State Board of Education, but from what I can...
Want More Great Teachers? Then Pay Great Teachers More
The Kansas City Star has been running a series on public policy called the “Missouri Influencer Series.” The series highlights...
