The Case for Choice in Schooling: Restoring Parental Control of Education

by Matthew J. Brouillette, Mackinac Center for Public Policy

After 40 years of struggle, school choice is now at the center of the debate over school reform in America, and it is of primary importance that the public understand the facts-and avoid the myths-surrounding this issue.

The Mackinac Center has published a three-part primer designed to:

  • educate and inform citizens about all aspects of school choice
  • equip them to participate in the debate as fully informed members of their communities

The report contains:

  • a historical overview of tax-funded schooling
  • demonstrates the failure of many popular reforms of the past and present
  • explains the various types of school choice
  • identifies the barriers to education reform
  • dispels myths surrounding school choice
  • outlines strategic plans parents and other concerned citizens can follow to advance the cause of greater school choice

The full report can be downloaded at http://www.mackinac.org/archives/2001/s2001-01.pdf.

Below is the table of contents, which outlines the specific chapters in the report.

Click here to download a pdf-version of report

Contents

Executive Summary

Introduction

Part I: Government Schooling Comes to America

  • The Origins of Government Education in the United States
  • Early Colonial Period to the American Revolution
  • Revolution to the 1830s
  • The 1830s and 40s
  • The 1850s and Beyond

Part II: The Crisis in Government Schooling and the School Choice Solution

  • The Effects of Monopoly in Schooling
  • Consolidation of School Districts
  • Ballooning Costs
  • Plummeting Student Achievement
  • Expensive New Obligations
  • Unprepared Graduates
  • Lack of Basic Academic Skills
  • Violence and Drugs in Schools
  • Three Types of Education Reform
  • Rules
  • Resources
  • Incentives

How School Choice Works

    • Types of School Choice Programs
    • Limited Educational Choice (Intra-District Choice, Inter-District Choice, and Charter Schools)
    • Full Educational Choice (Vouchers, Private Scholarships, Tax Credits, and Universal Tuition Tax Credits)

Part III: Barriers to Education Reform

  • Constitutional and Statutory Barriers to School Choice
  • Political Barriers to School Choice
  • Knowledge Barriers to School Choice

Myth #1: School choice will lead to the social, racial, and economic stratification of students in American schools


Myth #2: School choice violates the separation of church and state


Myth #3: Private schools are unaccountable to the public


Myth #4: School choice allows only private schools to do the choosing, not parents


Myth #5: Parents will use the wrong criteria to choose schools or they will make bad decisions for their children


Myth #6: School choice will encourage the creation of radical or fraudulent schools


Myth #7: School choice will bankrupt the already underfunded government schools


Myth #8: School choice does not improve education


Myth #9: School choice is just a tax break for the rich


Myth #10: School choice is unnecessary-government education is doing well and improving


Myth #11: School choice is just an anti-teacher ploy


Myth #12: School choice reforms do not address the needs of some families for transportation or special education


Myth #13: Private schools will not be able to accommodate the gifts of new students under a school choice plan

Part IV: Sustaining School Choice Victories

  • Five Strategies to Preserve and Advance School Choice

Conclusion: Restoring a Free Market in Education

Appendix A: Glossary of Education-Related Terms
Appendix B: School Choice Resources
Endnotes (1 of 2)
Endnotes (2 of 2)
Acknowledgments