As policy makers call for the dramatic expansion of school choice and voucher programs across the U.S., it becomes all the more important for educators and advocates to consider lessons learned in countries--such as the Netherlands, New Zealand, and England--that have already gone down this path. Efforts to promote choice and school…

Measured how competition among New Zealand's schools have affected student learning as perceived by teachers and principals. Findings suggest the competition brought about by New Zealand's implementation of full parental choice in 1992 has had negative effects on the quality of student learning and other aspects of schooling in New Zealand…

Describes New Zealand's school reform as a possible model for the United States. New Zealand abolished its central education bureaucracy and turned over the running of each school to locally elected boards of trustees dominated by parents. Parents also have the right to choose which school their children will attend. Positive and negative effects…

This paper is for policymakers, advocates, and analysts who understand that the issues surrounding the introduction of more market-based mechanisms into education are complex and who accept the view that evidence is useful in sorting out the issues. It uses the market framework of demand, supply, and market pricing to organize the extensive but…