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9780833027658

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

by ; ; ; ;
  • ISBN13:

    9780833027658

  • ISBN10:

    0833027654

  • Format: Paperback
  • Copyright: 2001-12-03
  • Publisher: RAND Corporation

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Summary

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.

Table of Contents

Prefacep. iii
Summaryp. xi
Acknowledgmentsp. xxv
Family Choice and the Common Schoolp. 1
The Movement for Choice in Educationp. 3
Common Features of Voucher and Charter Schoolsp. 9
Admission by Choicep. 10
Market Accountabilityp. 12
Autonomous, Nongovernment Operationp. 12
Public Policy and Private Choice: A Note on the Scope of Our Inquiryp. 14
Challenging the Common School Modelp. 17
The Common School Modelp. 17
The Challengep. 20
"Private" or "Public"?p. 23
Defining the Relevant Empirical Issuesp. 24
Academic Achievementp. 25
Choicep. 26
Accessp. 26
Integrationp. 27
Civic Socializationp. 27
Values and Knowledge in the School-Choice Debatep. 28
Summary: Key Policy Questions in Briefp. 30
Vouchers and Charters in Policy and Practicep. 33
Policy-Design Dimensions Common to Voucher and Charter Programsp. 34
Regulatory Dimensionsp. 34
Financing Dimensionsp. 37
Examples of Regulatory and Financing Differencesp. 39
Differences Between Voucher and Charter Programsp. 45
Public Accountabilityp. 45
Religionp. 47
Participation of Existing Private Schoolsp. 48
Fundingp. 48
Education Tax Subsidiesp. 50
Sample Voucher and Charter Policiesp. 51
Sample Voucher Programsp. 52
Sample Charter Lawsp. 54
Universal-Choice Systems of Autonomous Schoolsp. 55
Characteristics of Voucher and Charter Schoolsp. 58
Enrollment, School Size, and Pupil-Teacher Ratiop. 60
Grade-Level Configurationp. 62
Teachersp. 62
Program Contentp. 64
Complementary Programs and Resourcesp. 66
Summaryp. 67
Academic Achievementp. 69
Theoretical Argumentsp. 70
Effects on Students in Voucher and Charter Schoolsp. 72
Methodological Issuesp. 72
Evidence from Voucher Programsp. 76
Evidence from Charter Schoolsp. 91
Evidence from School Choice in Other Contextsp. 98
Literature on Public and Private Schoolsp. 101
Final Thoughts on Achievement in Voucher and Charter Schoolsp. 103
Effects on Students Remaining in Assigned Public Schoolsp. 104
Systemic Effects of Vouchersp. 105
Systemic Effects of Charter Schoolsp. 110
Studies of Interdistrict and Public-Private Competitionp. 111
What Is Not Yet Known About Academic Outcomesp. 113
Choicep. 115
Theoretical Argumentsp. 116
Demand for Choicep. 117
Extent of Choice in the Current Systemp. 117
Demand for Existing Voucher and Charter Programsp. 119
Supply of Autonomous Schoolsp. 121
Existing Empirical Evidencep. 122
Constraints on Supplyp. 124
Parental Satisfaction in Autonomous Schoolsp. 128
Parental Satisfaction in Voucher Schoolsp. 128
Parental Satisfaction in Charter Schoolsp. 134
A Concluding Note on Parental Satisfactionp. 136
Summaryp. 137
Accessp. 139
Theoretical Argumentsp. 140
Who Uses Vouchers?p. 143
Family Income of Voucher Studentsp. 143
Race and Ethnicity of Voucher Studentsp. 146
Prior Academic Achievement of Voucher Studentsp. 147
Education Level of Voucher Parentsp. 148
Vouchers and Students with Disabilitiesp. 149
Who Attends Charter Schools?p. 152
Charter Schools and Children in Povertyp. 153
Race and Ethnicity of Charter-School Studentsp. 153
Prior Academic Achievement of Charter-School Studentsp. 154
Charter Schools and Students with Disabilitiesp. 155
Summaryp. 155
Integrationp. 157
The History of Choice and the Racial Politics of Schoolingp. 158
Theoretical Argumentsp. 160
Conceptual and Measurement Issuesp. 162
Integration in Existing Voucher and Charter Programsp. 164
Integration in Voucher Schoolsp. 165
Integration in Charter Schoolsp. 168
Evidence from Other Contextsp. 172
How Do Families Choose?p. 172
Unrestricted-Choice and Open-Enrollment Plansp. 174
Controlled Choice and the Importance of Policy Detailsp. 177
Unresolved Complexities and Tensionsp. 178
Between-School versus Within-School Integrationp. 178
Integration in School versus Residential Integrationp. 179
Targeting versus Integration in Charter Schoolsp. 180
Quality of Integrationp. 180
Choice, Integration, and Social Trustp. 181
Summaryp. 182
Civic Socializationp. 185
Historical Perspectivep. 185
Historic Roots of the Democratic Purposes of Public Schoolsp. 186
Civic Socialization in the 21st Centuryp. 187
Theoretical Arguments Concerning Civic Socialization and Choicep. 188
Arguments in Favor of Vouchers and Chartersp. 188
Arguments in Favor of Conventional Public Schoolsp. 189
Empirical Findingsp. 191
What Is Civic Socialization?p. 191
Evidence from Existing Voucher and Charter Schoolsp. 192
Civic Socialization in Public and Private Schoolsp. 194
Civic Socialization in Catholic Schoolsp. 197
Summaryp. 199
Conclusions and Policy Implicationsp. 201
Assessing the Challengep. 201
Summarizing the Evidencep. 202
What Is Knownp. 202
What Is Not Knownp. 204
What Could Be Knownp. 206
What Might Be Learned Through a Grand Experimentp. 208
A Note on Costp. 210
Implications for Large-Scale Choice Programsp. 213
Considerations in Policy Designp. 219
How Might Policymakers Maximize the Likelihood That Voucher/Charter Schools Will Be Academically Effective?p. 220
How Might Policymakers Maximize the Likelihood That Systemic Effects on Nonchoosers Will Be Positive Rather than Negative?p. 221
How Can Policymakers Ensure That a Substantial Number of Autonomous Schools Will Be Available?p. 223
How Can Policymakers Ensure That Autonomous Schools Will Serve Low-Income and Special-Needs Children?p. 225
How Can Policymakers Promote Integration in Programs of Autonomous Schooling?p. 230
How Can Policymakers Ensure That Voucher/Charter Schools Will Effectively Socialize Their Students to Become Responsible Citizens of the American Democracy?p. 231
Final Thoughtsp. 232
Referencesp. 235
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

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