Progressives admit what we’ve been saying all along: School choice works
October 12, 2024
Even progressives are now admitting that school choice works. It’s especially effective for those who fare the worst in the current public school system—low-income students, minorities, and those with special education needs. The obvious conclusion is that we need more school choice.
In a report from the Progressive Policy Institute:
“A new report from the Progressive Policy Institute finds that over the last decade, low-income students in large districts that aggressively expanded public school choices have started to catch up to their peers statewide — and performance levels are rising in both charter and district-led schools.”
This puts the Progressive Policy Institute in a difficult position. They want to argue that education vouchers are a bad idea, while also acknowledging that the public education system, with no competitive pressure, fails to improve. As a result, they find themselves endorsing charter schools. Here’s why:
“Pankovits examined the U.S. cities where charters have reached a ‘critical mass’ in terms of student enrollment, defined as 33% or more. In all 10 of those cities, overall student performance improved citywide, narrowing the gap with the statewide average of performance. Evidently, the growth of enrollment in charter schools creates a positive competitive dynamic with the traditional district schools, which have to up their game to attract parents and students. This is a complicated phenomenon that invites further research and study. But this report should bolster our growing confidence that we can fix underperforming schools and provide excellent learning environments to all children in low-income communities.”
The logic here is straightforward. Competition drives improvement, just like Walmart’s low prices push Albertsons to offer better deals, or a better car from Ford forces GM and Chrysler to improve. In education, the same principle applies: if one school improves, others must follow, or they risk losing students.
This is why districts with more charter schools see overall improvement. Even non-charter schools are compelled to improve in order to attract students for the next academic year. Competition raises standards across the entire system, not just in charter schools.
However, the progressives at the PPI want to limit this concept of competition to charter schools alone. As staunch progressives, they’re reluctant to extend the idea to broader forms of school choice, such as vouchers. But the same competitive pressures apply even more broadly. More schools—of different types—would create stronger competition and drive higher standards than a system restricted to just charter schools.
It’s like the way competition from Costco, Safeway, King Soopers, and Whole Foods pushes Albertsons to improve more than Walmart alone could. Or how GM and Chrysler improve not just due to Ford, but also thanks to competition from trains, planes, imports, BMW, and Volkswagen.
Progressives are now admitting that school choice, through charter schools, improves educational standards across all schools. The logical next step is recognizing that true school choice, through vouchers, would expand these benefits even further. The challenge now is getting them to acknowledge this, and once they do, we’ll be on the path to improving all schools nationwide.