Commentary
As the school year winds down, many high school graduates are looking forward to their first year of post-secondary education in the fall. Everyone knows that some universities are better than others. That’s why students compete fiercely to get admitted to top-tier universities. A degree from a prestigious institution opens far more doors than the same degree from a lesser-known institution. We cannot pretend that these differences don’t exist.
And yet, when it comes to K–12 education, we often hear that one public school is as good as another. How else are we to interpret the fierce opposition of teacher unions to any type of school ranking? As far as unions are concerned, the solution to all things ailing public education is to pour more money into the system. The last thing they want to hear is that some schools are better than others….