Rhetoric Versus Reality: What We Know and What We Need to Know About Vouchers and Charter Schools

by Brian P. Gill, Michael Timpane, Karen E. Ross, Dominic J. Brewer, Kevin Booker

Overview

Vouchers and charter schools aim to improve education by providing families with more choice in their children's schooling children and by decentralizing provision of educational services. This book reviews the theoretical foundations for vouchers and charter schools and presents new evidence of their effectiveness in academic achievement. It also examines outcomes in family choice, equitable access, racial/ethnic integration, and civic socialization. Recommendations are made for designing voucher and charter policies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780833027658
Publisher:	RAND Corporation
Publication date:	12/03/2001
Pages:	265
Product dimensions:	6.08(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

Dominic James Brewer (Ph.D. in Labor Economics, Cornell University, May 1994) is the Director of RAND Education in Santa Monica, CA.

Read an Excerpt

A detailed look at what is known about the effects of school choice.

Table of Contents

	Preface	iii
	Summary	xi
	Acknowledgments	xxv
Chapter 1	Family Choice and the Common School	1
	The Movement for Choice in Education	3
	Common Features of Voucher and Charter Schools	9
	Admission by Choice	10
	Market Accountability	12
	Autonomous, Nongovernment Operation	12
	Public Policy and Private Choice: A Note on the Scope of Our Inquiry	14
	Challenging the Common School Model	17
	The Common School Model	17
	The Challenge	20
	"Private" or "Public"?	23
	Defining the Relevant Empirical Issues	24
	Academic Achievement	25
	Choice	26
	Access	26
	Integration	27
	Civic Socialization	27
	Values and Knowledge in the School-Choice Debate	28
	Summary: Key Policy Questions in Brief	30
Chapter 2	Vouchers and Charters in Policy and Practice	33
	Policy-Design Dimensions Common to Voucher and Charter Programs	34
	Regulatory Dimensions	34
	Financing Dimensions	37
	Examples of Regulatory and Financing Differences	39
	Differences Between Voucher and Charter Programs	45
	Public Accountability	45
	Religion	47
	Participation of Existing Private Schools	48
	Funding	48
	Education Tax Subsidies	50
	Sample Voucher and Charter Policies	51
	Sample Voucher Programs	52
	Sample Charter Laws	54
	Universal-Choice Systems of Autonomous Schools	55
	Characteristics of Voucher and Charter Schools	58
	Enrollment, School Size, and Pupil-Teacher Ratio	60
	Grade-Level Configuration	62
	Teachers	62
	Program Content	64
	Complementary Programs and Resources	66
	Summary	67
Chapter 3	Academic Achievement	69
	Theoretical Arguments	70
	Effects on Students in Voucher and Charter Schools	72
	Methodological Issues	72
	Evidence from Voucher Programs	76
	Evidence from Charter Schools	91
	Evidence from School Choice in Other Contexts	98
	Literature on Public and Private Schools	101
	Final Thoughts on Achievement in Voucher and Charter Schools	103
	Effects on Students Remaining in Assigned Public Schools	104
	Systemic Effects of Vouchers	105
	Systemic Effects of Charter Schools	110
	Studies of Interdistrict and Public-Private Competition	111
	What Is Not Yet Known About Academic Outcomes	113
Chapter 4	Choice	115
	Theoretical Arguments	116
	Demand for Choice	117
	Extent of Choice in the Current System	117
	Demand for Existing Voucher and Charter Programs	119
	Supply of Autonomous Schools	121
	Existing Empirical Evidence	122
	Constraints on Supply	124
	Parental Satisfaction in Autonomous Schools	128
	Parental Satisfaction in Voucher Schools	128
	Parental Satisfaction in Charter Schools	134
	A Concluding Note on Parental Satisfaction	136
	Summary	137
Chapter 5	Access	139
	Theoretical Arguments	140
	Who Uses Vouchers?	143
	Family Income of Voucher Students	143
	Race and Ethnicity of Voucher Students	146
	Prior Academic Achievement of Voucher Students	147
	Education Level of Voucher Parents	148
	Vouchers and Students with Disabilities	149
	Who Attends Charter Schools?	152
	Charter Schools and Children in Poverty	153
	Race and Ethnicity of Charter-School Students	153
	Prior Academic Achievement of Charter-School Students	154
	Charter Schools and Students with Disabilities	155
	Summary	155
Chapter 6	Integration	157
	The History of Choice and the Racial Politics of Schooling	158
	Theoretical Arguments	160
	Conceptual and Measurement Issues	162
	Integration in Existing Voucher and Charter Programs	164
	Integration in Voucher Schools	165
	Integration in Charter Schools	168
	Evidence from Other Contexts	172
	How Do Families Choose?	172
	Unrestricted-Choice and Open-Enrollment Plans	174
	Controlled Choice and the Importance of Policy Details	177
	Unresolved Complexities and Tensions	178
	Between-School versus Within-School Integration	178
	Integration in School versus Residential Integration	179
	Targeting versus Integration in Charter Schools	180
	Quality of Integration	180
	Choice, Integration, and Social Trust	181
	Summary	182
Chapter 7	Civic Socialization	185
	Historical Perspective	185
	Historic Roots of the Democratic Purposes of Public Schools	186
	Civic Socialization in the 21st Century	187
	Theoretical Arguments Concerning Civic Socialization and Choice	188
	Arguments in Favor of Vouchers and Charters	188
	Arguments in Favor of Conventional Public Schools	189
	Empirical Findings	191
	What Is Civic Socialization?	191
	Evidence from Existing Voucher and Charter Schools	192
	Civic Socialization in Public and Private Schools	194
	Civic Socialization in Catholic Schools	197
	Summary	199
Chapter 8	Conclusions and Policy Implications	201
	Assessing the Challenge	201
	Summarizing the Evidence	202
	What Is Known	202
	What Is Not Known	204
	What Could Be Known	206
	What Might Be Learned Through a Grand Experiment	208
	A Note on Cost	210
	Implications for Large-Scale Choice Programs	213
	Considerations in Policy Design	219
	How Might Policymakers Maximize the Likelihood That Voucher/Charter Schools Will Be Academically Effective?	220
	How Might Policymakers Maximize the Likelihood That Systemic Effects on Nonchoosers Will Be Positive Rather than Negative?	221
	How Can Policymakers Ensure That a Substantial Number of Autonomous Schools Will Be Available?	223
	How Can Policymakers Ensure That Autonomous Schools Will Serve Low-Income and Special-Needs Children?	225
	How Can Policymakers Promote Integration in Programs of Autonomous Schooling?	230
	How Can Policymakers Ensure That Voucher/Charter Schools Will Effectively Socialize Their Students to Become Responsible Citizens of the American Democracy?	231
	Final Thoughts	232
	References	235