What accountability is there to assure children get a good education at the schools they choose?
A big concern is that kids currently zoned to the worst public schools will not be admitted to the best private schools, which are allowed to pick and choose who they admit. If every child is allowed to use ESAs, what incentivizes schools to admit students who do not have a good public option?
The best form of accountability is parents. They know whether their kids are learning. Today, that incentive to care much about what their kids are learning or if they're learning is distorted because of "free public schools." The problem is that these government schools are not free in terms of cost to taxpayers and the learning loss or declining student outcomes. There will also be forms of accountability with more competition as parents move their kids from one form of schooling as necessary along with the ESA funds. Harmful forms of schooling will fail while suitable forms flourish, just like most other markets. We need substantial educational change through markets driven by parents and educators rather than politicians and bureaucrats. Thoughts?
Spot on! Ignore the Randi Weingarten's and their rantings.
The simple fact is that no one cares about and understands children's needs more than their parents.
I've seen private schools do fantastic education on $5k per kid. If we unleashed competition and innovation in schooling we'd see that number cut in half while the quality increased.
I have long mourned the lack of emphasis on well functioning markets in policy discussions, but it doesn’t really work in education. Public schools take ALL kids with all challenges. Private schools do not and can pick and choose their students. Most families cannot afford the best private schools, even with the ESAs, and in markets, a sudden availability of government cash (via ESAs) will drive schools to raise their prices, making them less affordable. There has to be a mechanism where schools are required to accept students with learning and physical disabilities. Otherwise you cannot compare private schools and public schools.
What accountability is there to assure children get a good education at the schools they choose?
A big concern is that kids currently zoned to the worst public schools will not be admitted to the best private schools, which are allowed to pick and choose who they admit. If every child is allowed to use ESAs, what incentivizes schools to admit students who do not have a good public option?
The best form of accountability is parents. They know whether their kids are learning. Today, that incentive to care much about what their kids are learning or if they're learning is distorted because of "free public schools." The problem is that these government schools are not free in terms of cost to taxpayers and the learning loss or declining student outcomes. There will also be forms of accountability with more competition as parents move their kids from one form of schooling as necessary along with the ESA funds. Harmful forms of schooling will fail while suitable forms flourish, just like most other markets. We need substantial educational change through markets driven by parents and educators rather than politicians and bureaucrats. Thoughts?
Spot on! Ignore the Randi Weingarten's and their rantings.
The simple fact is that no one cares about and understands children's needs more than their parents.
I've seen private schools do fantastic education on $5k per kid. If we unleashed competition and innovation in schooling we'd see that number cut in half while the quality increased.
Amen!
I have long mourned the lack of emphasis on well functioning markets in policy discussions, but it doesn’t really work in education. Public schools take ALL kids with all challenges. Private schools do not and can pick and choose their students. Most families cannot afford the best private schools, even with the ESAs, and in markets, a sudden availability of government cash (via ESAs) will drive schools to raise their prices, making them less affordable. There has to be a mechanism where schools are required to accept students with learning and physical disabilities. Otherwise you cannot compare private schools and public schools.