Improving public education has long been a cornerstone of the Democratic platform. Because progressives understand that access to a quality education is the gateway to a better life, their decades-long struggle to promote equal rights and opportunity for all Americans has been deeply tied to their struggle to create an effective public school…

The issues and arguments surrounding school choice are sometimes hijacked to make political points about government control, democratic ideals, the public good, and privatization. In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, David Garcia avoids partisan arguments to offer an accessible, objective, and comprehensive guide to school…

School choice advocates often assume that market-like competition will create a dynamic K-12 educational environment that will result in improved outcomes. We critically examine this assumption and draw on the literature on market failure and social dilemmas to demonstrate that the market metaphor in a public schooling context has limited utility.…

Almost since the time public schools first opened in the United States there have been those seeking to reform them. One of the most persistent cries for reform has been the call to apply the free market economic model of competition through consumer choice on the public school system. Schools, consumer choice supporters posit, when faced with the…

"School Choice and School Improvement" brings together a collection of exemplary, policy-relevant papers that examine how communities, districts, and states use choice as a strategy for improving schools and student learning. The book includes sophisticated and insightful research on private schools and vouchers; charter schools and traditional…

Efforts to introduce school choice have produced pressures on public schools to improve their performance. As a result, many public schools have embraced the total quality management principle of continuous improvement. In this article we explain that while this may be well intentioned, it may have perverse unintended consequences. A likely…

Claims that Joe Nathan's article in the same "Educational Leadership" issue stresses positive school choice examples while ignoring the problems of replacing neighborhood schools with a system of unzoned, competitive enrollments. Raises concerns of equity, school improvement, parent involvement, teacher empowerment, school assessment, funding, and…

Colorado charter schools are public schools operated by a group of parents, teachers, and/or community members as a semiautonomous school of choice within a district. They have increased competition and spurred districts to develop more attractive alternatives. Colorado's Standards Based Education Act requires charter and other schools to adopt…

Seventeen years ago, the Lagunitas School District (California) decided to honor the wide range of parent values and expectations by setting up alternative curricula. Options presently include an Academics and Enrichment program, a Montessori program, open classrooms, home study, and transfer to another school district. Nontraditional student…

In 1996, a voucher scheme was introduced to promote educational provision for preschool children in Scotland. Qualitative and quantitative explorations of the views of parents and providers describe the workings of the educational "market" when one of the competing sectors (public sector) had a substantial monopoly power over the others…

The Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) has launched a new initiative entitled "Doing School Choice Right." Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates, Annie E. Casey, and Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundations, the initiative's goal is to help state and local leaders handle practical issues whose resolution can determine whether school…

The question of whether school choice improves student outcomes persists. This digest explores issues surrounding school choice, highlighting major research findings. Overall, the ultimate impact of choice depends on how parents and schools respond to more schooling options and greater competition. Research indicates that greater parental…

Parental choice represents a promising approach to school improvement; it eliminates the excessive regulation, inefficient operation, and ineffective service that characterize the public monopolies that American schools and school systems have become. However, school reformers should bear in mind the following key points: (1) school performance…

This paper addresses school choice, one proposal to address parental involvement concerns, focusing on historical background, definitions, rationale for advocating choice, implementation strategies, and implications for minorities and low-income families. In the past, transfer payment programs such as tuition tax credits and vouchers were…