Public Education through Post-secondary Completion

K-12 Fast Facts
  • Overall student achievement has increased dramatically since 2002. Nearly 82 percent of schools are meeting the requirements of No Child Left Behind and 75 percent of students are achieving at or above grade level.
  • The Center for Education Policy (CEP) reports that between 2002 and 2008, Pennsylvania was the only state in the nation to make comprehensive academic gains.
  • Research has shown that an effective teacher is the most important school-based factor influencing achievement – more important than class size, school size, afterschool program quality, or which school a student attends.

One of the most important factors influencing the future success of any child is the quality of education received. Children who have the advantage of rigorous schooling and develop knowledge, skills, creativity and determination will carry our state and nation forward as a leader in a global economy. Unfortunately, despite recent achievement gains, all Pennsylvania children don’t have the opportunity to receive a high-quality public education. How we spend money in public education matters, not just how much. 

Additionally, there is a growing awareness that having an effective teacher in every classroom is one of the missing links in assuring that every child learns – every day – from kindergarten until he or she graduates from high school. Pennsylvania has developed elements of an enhanced system to foster effective teachers, but the elements aren’t braided into one reliable system. Such elements include: improved public school funding, rigorous academic standards, student supports, measurements of growth in student achievement, graduation requirements, professional development for building principals and teachers, and improved teacher certification requirements.

For more information, please contact Kelli Thompson at kthompson@papartnerships.org

PA School Funding Campaign

The Pennsylvania School Funding Campaign is an unprecedented coalition of more than 30 statewide and regional education and advocacy organizations representing hundreds of thousands of parents, students, educators, school board members, administrators, and other concerned citizens advocating for adequate and equitable funding of Pennsylvania’s public schools.