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Hindustan Times
07-08-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
This Is the Pacific Northwest on Drugs
A new study finds that Oregon's and Washington state's experiments with decriminalizing drug possession caused a surge in serious violent and property crime, especially in Portland and Seattle. The paper, a collaboration among five criminologists, is the first to demonstrate that the states' reforms—since undone by their legislatures amid massive public backlash—increased crime relative to the rest of the country. Prior research played down the phenomenon, allowing defenders of decriminalization to pretend the issue wasn't real. The July paper adds to the growing evidence that America's experiments with drug decriminalization have proved disastrous. In particular, the research highlights how decriminalization concentrated crime and disorder in Seattle and Portland, rendering parts of the two already troubled cities almost unlivable. It also counters drug liberalizers' argument that public-safety issues around drugs stem from the substances' criminalization—rather than from the drugs themselves. In 2020, Oregon and Washington took steps to decriminalize drug possession—the former by ballot initiative and the latter by state supreme-court ruling. To estimate the effects of these changes, the paper's authors compare the states with 23 others. They use roughly three years of data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System, a crime-data collection system managed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The authors also use modern econometric methods that allow them to discern decriminalization's effects more precisely than prior research did. The results are startling. In both states, the authors find statistically significant increases in total violent crime, murder, robbery, aggravated assault, total property crime, burglary and motor-vehicle theft. Their results are equivalent to a roughly 14% increase in the daily violent-crime rate in both states. Daily property crimes rose by 21% in Washington and 9% in Oregon. Several 'robustness' checks indicate the effects aren't statistical flukes. These results are probably unsurprising to residents, whose objections to the results of decriminalization helped drive repeal. When I visited Portland in 2023, large portions of the city had been taken over by open-air drug markets. People used drugs openly on public sidewalks, including in front of police officers. It makes sense that such concentrated disorder and dysfunction resulted in a surge in crime. Crime wasn't the only thing that increased—overdose deaths did too. Research from the University of Toronto's Noah Spencer, published in the Journal of Health Economics, finds decriminalization significantly increased overdose deaths in Oregon. He also finds a significant increase in deaths in Washington, though he considers these findings more tentative given the much shorter period in which the state decriminalized. Drug decriminalization increased crime, overdose deaths and visible disorder. Perhaps that's why both Portland and Seattle saw population growth slow, or even reverse, following decriminalization. Drug-liberalization advocates have tried to play down the failures of decriminalization. They've blamed the emergent problems on the pandemic, and the Drug Policy Alliance has labeled criticisms as 'an intense disinformation campaign by drug war defenders.' These advocates insist that decriminalization is an evidence-based, science-backed approach, but the science isn't on their side. America has tried drug decriminalization, and the results are in: more crime, more disorder, more death. Next time radicals try to bring it to the ballot box, voters should remember how it went. Mr. Lehman is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a senior editor of City Journal.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mississippi's education miracle: A model for global literacy reform
In a surprising turnaround, Mississippi, once ranked near the bottom of U.S. education standings, has dramatically improved its student literacy rates. As of 2023, the state ranks among the top 20 for fourth grade reading, a significant leap from its 49th-place ranking in 2013. This transformation was driven by evidence-based policy reforms focused on early literacy and teacher development. The rest of the country might want to take note. That's because Mississippi's success offers a proven solution to the reading literacy crisis facing many states – a clear road map for closing early literacy gaps and improving reading outcomes nationwide. As an expert on the economics of education, I believe the learning crisis is not just an educational issue. It's also economic. When students struggle, their academic performance declines. And that leads to lower test scores. Research shows that these declining scores are closely linked to reduced economic growth, as a less educated workforce hampers productivity and innovation. In 2013, Mississippi implemented a multifaceted strategy for enhancing kindergarten to third grade literacy. The Literacy-Based Promotion Act focuses on early literacy and teacher development. It includes teacher training in proven reading instruction methods and teacher coaching. Relying on federally supported research from the Institute of Education Science, the state invested in phonics, fluency, vocabulary and reading comprehension. The law provided K-3 teachers with training and support to help students master reading by the end of third grade. It includes provisions for reading coaches, parent communication, individual reading plans and other supportive measures. It also includes targeted support for struggling readers. Students repeat the third grade if they fail to meet reading standards. The state also aligned its test to the NAEP, or National Assessment of Educational Progress, something which not all states do. Often referred to as 'The Nation's Report Card,' the NAEP is a nationwide assessment that measures student performance in various subjects. Mississippi's reforms have led to significant gains in reading and math, with fourth graders improving on national assessments. I believe this is extremely important. That's because early reading is a foundational skill that helps develop the ability to read at grade level by the end of third grade. It also leads to general academic success, graduating from high school prepared for college, and becoming productive adults less likely to fall into poverty. Research by Noah Spencer, an economics doctoral student at the University of Toronto, shows that the Mississippi law boosted scores. Students exposed to it from kindergarten to the third grade gained a 0.25 standard deviation improvement in reading scores. That is roughly equivalent to one year of academic progress in reading, according to educational benchmarks. This gain reflects significant strides in students' literacy development over the course of a school year. Another study has found an even greater impact attributed to grade retention in the third grade – it led to a huge increase in learning in English Language Arts by the sixth grade. But the Mississippi law is not just about retention. Spencer found that grade retention explains only about 22% of the treatment effect. The rest is presumably due to the other components of the measure – namely, teacher training and coaching. Other previous research supports these results across the country. Adopting an early literacy policy improves elementary students' reading achievement on important student assessments, with third grade retention and instructional support substantially enhancing English learners' skills. The policy also increases test scores for students' younger siblings, although it is not clear why. Moreover, third grade retention programs immediately boost English Language Arts and math achievements into middle school without disciplinary incidents or negatively impacting student attendance. These changes were achieved despite Mississippi being one of the lowest spenders per pupil in the U.S., proving that strategic investments in teacher development and early literacy can yield impressive results even with limited resources. Mississippi's success is timely. Millions of children globally struggle to read by age 10. It's a crisis that has worsened after the COVID-19 pandemic. Mississippi's early literacy interventions show lasting impact and offer a potential solution for other regions facing similar challenges. In 2024, only 31% of U.S. fourth grade students were proficient or above in reading, according to the NAEP, while 40% were below basic. Reading scores for fourth and eighth graders also dropped by five points compared with 2019, with averages lower than any year since 2005. Mississippi's literacy program provides a learning gain equal to a year of schooling. The program costs US$15 million annually – 0.2% of the state budget in 2023 – and $32 per student. The learning gain associated with the Mississippi program is equal to about an extra quarter of a year. Since each year of schooling raises earnings by about 9%, then a quarter-year gain means that Mississippi students benefiting from the program will increase future earnings by 2.25% a year. Based on typical high school graduate earnings, the average student can expect to earn an extra $1,000 per year for the rest of their life. That is, for every dollar Mississippi spends, the state gains about $32 in additional lifetime earnings, offering substantial long-term economic benefits compared with the initial cost. The Mississippi literacy project focuses on teaching at the right level, which focuses on assessing children's actual learning levels and then tailoring instruction to meet them, rather than strictly following age- or grade-level curriculum. Teaching at the right level and a scripted lessons plan are among the most effective strategies to address the global learning crisis. After the World Bank reviewed over 150 education programs in 2020, nearly half showed no learning benefit. I believe Mississippi's progress, despite being the second-poorest state, can serve as a wake-up call. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Harry Anthony Patrinos, University of Arkansas Read more: AI transformation in the legal sector begins in law schools Do 'sputnik moments' spur educational reform? A rhetoric scholar weighs in Students lose out as cities and states give billions in property tax breaks to businesses − draining school budgets and especially hurting the poorest students Harry Anthony Patrinos does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
