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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DMaA who wrote (141515)	4/30/2001 9:54:56 PM
From: greenspirit	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769667

Study: Catholic schools do more than LAUSD with less dailynews.com By Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer Catholic schools in Los Angeles effectively educate low-income and minority students at costs sharply lower than the Los Angeles Unified School District's and achieve a much lower dropout rate, according to a study released Thursday by a conservative think tank. The Pacific Research Institute found that Catholic schools pay their teachers lower salaries and have higher student-teacher ratios, but generally get better results. The study attributed their success primarily to decentralization, which gives principals more authority and creates better accountability. The study focused on children in the Los Angeles Archdiocese's scholarship program, which targets low-income and minority children, as a way of measuring the Catholic schools' effectiveness in urban environments. "The real story here is that the (Catholic) schools are doing more with less in terms of funding," said study co-author Thomas Dawson. ` `They spend dramatically less money. Plus the kids who participate in this (scholarship) program are the kids ... research has shown are the most likely to benefit from Catholic schools." Elementary school students in Los Angeles Catholic schools take different proficiency exams than those given to LAUSD students, and the researchers did not compare test scores. The authors noted, however, that other researchers have found higher achievement levels in Catholic school students. Principals and teachers, who generally don't have tenure, are held accountable for getting results and can be fired more easily for poor performance, the authors said. The San Francisco-based institute is nonprofit and nonpartisan, but promotes principles of limited government and private-sector initiative. Public school supporters called the study biased. They noted that parents who send their students to Catholic schools are generally more committed to education and involved with their children. Catholic schools can expel students much more easily, they pointed out, and Catholic schools also have limited special-education programs, which account for increasingly large portions of the budgets in public school districts. "You give me the right class of students, and my teaching will improve wonderfully," said Day Higuchi, United Teachers Los Angeles president. "Here you have the self-selection factor. These are children of parents who've taken the time and trouble and invested significant money sending their kids to a religious school." Also, according to the American Federation of Teachers, numerous researchers have tried to make equal comparisons between public and private schools, screening for factors such as family background, and found very similar achievement results. While the 42-page study draws a wide series of conclusions and cites numerous facts and figures, some of its statistics -- such as a per-pupil spending figure of $9,029 in the LAUSD -- were questioned. A district official said the figure is actually $5,985, but that is still higher than Catholic school per-student spending. Catholic elementary schools spend $2,200 per student. Catholic high schools spend $5,000 per student. Among other findings: Dropout rates: The Catholic school rate is under 3 percent, according to the study. In the LAUSD, it is almost 22 percent, according to a district official. Catholic schools pay teachers overall roughly 22 percent less than LAUSD teachers earn. For example, a starting credentialed teacher in the LAUSD earns about $37,000, while a starting credentialed Catholic school teacher earns about $27,000. Catholic schools, however, have a lower proportion of fully credentialed teachers -- only about 56 percent of their teachers, compared with 73 percent in the LAUSD. Catholic schools also have more students per teacher than public schools do -- around 25 students in Catholic high schools and 27 in Catholic elementary schools, compared with an average of 21 throughout the LAUSD. Catholic schools generally have much smaller campus populations than do LAUSD schools, which the authors said is a more effective contributor to educational success than smaller class size. The average elementary school in the Los Angeles Archdiocese has 311 students. In the LAUSD, the figure is 708.