Ken Snowdon has released a paper that echoes our criticisms about Ian Clark’s recent article advocating “California Style”differentiation in Ontario. OCUFA, our publisher, has the complete document and a short summary.
Snowdon’s analysis reveals several facts that should give policy-makers pause before they rush to emulate California: Clark’s analysis is a bad case of “apples-to-oranges” comparisons; there is little evidence that California’s system is any cheaper per student, or any better in terms of outcomes; and invalid comparisons of this type distract from urgent policy issues in Ontario, such as the chronic underfunding of research and teaching in our institutions.
