Overview
In most places, your zip code determines your school. If you live in a rich neighborhood, you get a good school. If you live in a poor neighborhood, you get a bad school. School Choice says: “That’s unfair. Parents should be able to pick their school, just like they pick their grocery store.”
Core Idea
The core idea is Competition. If schools have to compete for students (and the money that comes with them), they will improve. Bad schools will go out of business.
Formal Definition
Programs offering students alternatives to publicly provided schools assigned by residence. Types: Vouchers, Charter Schools, Magnet Schools.
Intuition
- The Monopoly: Public schools are a monopoly. They have no incentive to improve because you have to go there.
- The Market: School Choice introduces market forces. “Customer Service” for education.
Examples
- Vouchers: The government gives you a coupon (worth $10,000) representing your tax dollars. You can use it to pay tuition at a private school or a religious school.
- Charter Schools: Publicly funded but privately run. They have more freedom (longer days, different curriculum) but must get good results to stay open. (e.g., KIPP, Success Academy).
Common Misconceptions
- It destroys public schools: Critics say it drains money from the public system, leaving the poorest kids in even worse schools. Proponents say it forces public schools to get better.
Related Concepts
- Cream Skimming: The fear that private schools will only take the smart, easy-to-teach kids, leaving the special needs and “difficult” kids in the public system.
Applications
- Urban Education: School choice is most popular in inner cities where public schools have historically failed poor minority students.
Criticism / Limitations
- Segregation: Critics argue that school choice leads to more segregation, as parents self-segregate by race and class.
Further Reading
- Friedman, Milton. Capitalism and Freedom. (The father of the voucher idea).
- Ravitch, Diane. Reign of Error. (The leading critic).