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.

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