Saturday, June 27, 2015

Who'd a thunk it? Sweden teaches us about the perils of school privatization


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/06/24/1396069/-Who-d-a-thunk-it-Sweden-teaches-us-about-the-perils-of-school-privatization?detail=email


In 1992, the normally socialist democratic Sweden implemented a series of school reforms that would be the wet dream of most conservatives. Vouchers were issued to parents to send their children to any schools around the country, private or public. Companies were allowed to start for-profit schools. Private equity firms ran hundreds of schools.
The results? Exactly what any liberal would have predicted:
Test scores fell consistently starting in 1995. Source.
Social stratification and ethnic and immigrant segregation increased. Source.
The better teachers went to schools with students of higher socio-economic status. Source.
In 2013, one of the biggest private education firms declared bankruptcy, disrupting the education of 11,000 students. Some1,000 people lost their jobs. The company's total unpaid debt was around 1 billion crowns ($150 million). Source.
In 2001, a convicted pedophile set up several schools quite legally. Source.
In one study, Swedish researchers found:
We find that an increase in the private school share moderately improves short-term educational outcomes such as 9th-grade GPA and the fraction of students who choose an academic high school track. However, we do not find any impact on medium or long-term educational outcomes such as high school GPA, university attainment or years of schooling. We conclude that the first-order short-term effect is too small to yield lasting positive effects.
republicans and big business investors know the pros and cons even though studies show no long term advantage the time in between makes billions for those who invest privatization is meant to me a money machine for what ever application school, prisons and just an assembly line for those that make it profitable with no equal sharing.  wake up everybody right wing republican ventures are for them to make more money they put lipstick on it but it still is a gussied up detriment to you and a smile on the way to the bank for them. recognize