ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matthew Ladner
My background story
What I did before joining Step Up For Students
What do I do on my day off?
How to reach out?
04/22/25 | Matthew Ladner
The inevitable is always certain but not always punctual: self-driving school carpools
Back in 2017, techno-optimist Jason Bedrick made the skeptical Robert Pondiscio a bet on the adoption rate for self-driving cars in the Phoenix area: “Robert and I are putting our...
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04/17/25 | Matthew Ladner
Texas choice triumph calls for celebration and a shift for the movement
Texas school choice opponents are strong. I recall going to look up the number of lobbyists on retainer by groups opposed to choice during the 2013 legislative session, and the...
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04/15/25 | Matthew Ladner
Lessons from SNAP wargames
On Dec. 16, 2017, the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture held a committee hearing on “Pros and Cons of Restricting SNAP Purchases.” SNAP is a federally financed food assistance program...
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04/08/25 | Matthew Ladner
Open enrollment is the King Kong of Arizona district enrollment loss
If you look at enrollment trends in the Arizona districts with the largest total enrollment losses, look at the Arizona Open Enrollment report and the Quarterly ESA report, you get...
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04/01/25 | Matthew Ladner
Arizona continues to build Schools to Nowhere
In examining the 2024 NAEP results for Arizona, a rather stark picture emerged that Arizona charter and Arizona districts had strongly diverged– Arizona charter schools show academic recovery, whereas Arizona...
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03/25/25 | Matthew Ladner
Texas 2025 debate resurrects Edgewood Horizon claims
The current debate over ESAs in Texas has brought irresponsible claims about the Edgewood Horizon program back to life. A voucher program funded by philanthropists, Edgewood Horizon made all Edgewood...
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03/18/25 | Matthew Ladner
It all keeps adding up
I received some interesting responses to last week’s post where I showed some math on how few votes it could have swung control of the Arizona State Senate in the...
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03/04/25 | Matthew Ladner
Arizona legislative races may have swung on K-12 choice in 2024
Arizona’s politics might be described as “Chaotic Purple,” but 2024 elections proved quite red at the state legislative level, with Republicans making gains in both the Arizona Senate and House....
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02/25/25 | Matthew Ladner
Nation’s report card has better grades for charter schools
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) created a new measure of socioeconomic status for the 2024 exams. This is a welcome addition, and a better measure of student economic...
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02/18/25 | Matthew Ladner
Why school systems fail
Authors Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson distinguished between “inclusive” and “extractive” institutions in their 2012 book “Why Nations Fail.” Inclusive political institutions allow broad political participation and are a...
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02/11/25 | Matthew Ladner
Can Arizona regain the lost golden age of NAEP improvement?
“Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head; And this our life, exempt from public haunt, Find...
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02/04/25 | Matthew Ladner
Nation’s Report Card documents continued academic decline
The NAEP released 2024 results last week, and the results continued to disappoint, especially for disadvantaged student groups. While scores began to recover among high end performers, the decline continued...
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01/27/25 | Matthew Ladner
Bootleggers don’t find religious tolerance convenient or profitable
In 2022 I wrote a piece here at Next Steps declaring myself President of the “Religious Charter Schools Should Be Permitted, Mandatory and Non-existent” club. Every other group under the...
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01/21/25 | Matthew Ladner
Shall we play a game?
Australian defense economist/YouTube PowerPoint superstar Perun has provided another insightful video which is must-see viewing for anyone seeking to understand politics. US Navy Procurement Disasters – The Littoral Combat Ship...
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01/14/25 | Matthew Ladner
Can you get ‘enough’ school variety?
Last week I had an opportunity to speak in Boise, Idaho, on school choice and the Arizona experience. In an interview on NPR, I addressed claims by choice opponents that...
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01/07/25 | Matthew Ladner
Growth vs. decline
The Brennan Center has released projections of congressional reapportionment following the 2030 Census. The Brennan Center projects Florida and Texas to be the big winners, with each state gaining four...
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12/24/24 | Matthew Ladner
ESA opponents endorse Anarcho-Capitalism in surprise move
When I was in graduate school, one of my fellow students described the movie Sudden Death to me. Something about terrorists, the vice president, a professional hockey game and Jean-Claude...
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12/17/24 | Matthew Ladner
ProPublica goes full Dale Gribble
The television classic “King of the Hill” included a character known as Dale, who despite being a conspiracy theorist is entirely oblivious to the fact that that his wife is...
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