School Choice in the Real World

by Maranto, Robert; Milliman, Scott; Hess, Frederick; Gresham, April

• ISBN13: 9780813366005
• ISBN10: 0813366003
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-09-01
• Publisher: Westview Pr

Summary

School choice is the most talked about reform of American public education, yet writings about choice remain highly speculative because no state has adopted a free market approach to education--until now. The charter school is fast becoming one of the most significant attempts at public education reform in this country. Over 1100 charter schools operate in twenty-seven states, with several hundred more to be added in the next two years.School Choice in the Real Worldlooks at the charter school movement through a highly focused lens: it examines charter schools in Arizona, which currently account for nearly one-quarter of all charter schools.Since 1994, Arizona has implemented a charter school law with the lowest barriers to entry in the nation. As a result, Arizona has more than 200 charter school campuses. Some districts have even lost more than 10% of their students to charter schools. Using the state of Arizona as a case study, the editors examine the experiences of actual charter school operators, social scientific analysis, policy discussions, and criticism and forecasting for the future. The editors bring together academics, policy-makers, and practicioners, and they explain and evaluate how school choice works in the real world.

Author Biography

Robert A. Maranto is an assistant professor of political science and public administration at Villanova University. He has authored or edited numerous scholarly works, including Politics and Bureaucracy in the Modern PresidencyandRadical Reform of the Civil Service.Scott Milliman is associate professor of economics at James Madison University. His research interests include U.S. education policy and the management of natural resources. Frederick M. Hess is assistant professor of government and education at the University of Virginia. He is the author of Spinning Wheels: The Politics of Urban School Reform. April W. Gresham s a researcher, writer, and statistician living in Villanova, Pennsylvania. She holds a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Minnesota. Robert A. Maranto is an assistant professor of political science and public administration at Villanova University. He has authored or edited numerous scholarly works, including Politics and Bureaucracy in the Modern PresidencyandRadical Reform of the Civil Service.Scott Milliman is associate professor of economics at James Madison University. His research interests include U.S. education policy and the management of natural resources. Frederick M. Hess is assistant professor of government and education at the University of Virginia. He is the author of Spinning Wheels: The Politics of Urban School Reform. April W. Gresham s a researcher, writer, and statistician living in Villanova, Pennsylvania. She holds a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Minnesota. Robert A. Maranto is an assistant professor of political science and public administration at Villanova University. He has authored or edited numerous scholarly works, including Politics and Bureaucracy in the Modern PresidencyandRadical Reform of the Civil Service.Scott Milliman is associate professor of economics at James Madison University. His research interests include U.S. education policy and the management of natural resources. Frederick M. Hess is assistant professor of government and education at the University of Virginia. He is the author of Spinning Wheels: The Politics of Urban School Reform. April W. Gresham s a researcher, writer, and statistician living in Villanova, Pennsylvania. She holds a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Minnesota.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures	ix	(2)
Acknowledgments	xi	(2)
List of Acronyms	xiii
1 Real World School Choice: Arizona Charter Schools	1	(18)
Robert Maranto
Scott Milliman
Frederick Hess
April Gresham
Part One Theoretical and National Perspectives	19	(80)
2 And This Parent Went to Market: Education as Public Versus Private Good	19	(20)
L. Elaine Halchin
3 The Death of One Best Way: Charter Schools as Reinventing Government	39	(19)
Robert Maranto
4 Congress and Charter Schools	58	(10)
David L. Leal
5 Charter Schools: A National Innovation, an Arizona Revolution	68	(31)
Bryan C. Hassel
Part Two Social Scientists Look at Arizona Charter Schools	99	(90)
6 The Wild West of Education Reform: Arizona Charter Schools	99	(16)
Robert Maranto
April Gresham
7 Why Arizona Embarked on School Reform (and Nevada Did Not)	115	(14)
Stephanie Timmons-Brown
Frederick Hess
8 Do Charter Schools Improve District Schools? Three Approaches to the Question	129	(13)
Robert Maranto
Scott Milliman
Frederick Hess
April Gresham
9 Closing Charters: How a Good Theory Failed in Practice	142	(17)
Gregg A. Garn
Robert T. Stout
10 Nothing New: Curricula in Arizona Charter Schools	159	(14)
Robert T. Stout
Gregg A. Garn
11 How Arizona Teachers View School Reform	173	(16)
Frederick Hess
Robert Maranto
Scott Milliman
April Gresham
Part Three Practitioners Look at Arizona Charter Schools	189	(48)
12 The Empowerment of Market-Based School Reform	189	(9)
Lisa Graham Keegan
13 A Voice from the State Legislature: Don't Do What Arizona Did!	198	(14)
Mary Hartley
14 Public Schools and the Charter Movement: An Emerging Relationship	212	(10)
Lee L. Hager
15 Whose Idea Was This Anyway? The Challenging Metamorphosis from Private to Charter	222	(15)
Jim Spencer
Part Four Lessons	237	(12)
16 In Lieu of Conclusions: Tentative Lessons from a Contested Frontier	237	(12)
Robert Maranto
Scott Milliman
Frederick Hess
April Gresham
About the Editors and Contributors	249	(4)
Index	253