Rhetoric versus reality: What we know and what we need to know about vouchers and charter schools

Two proposals for education reform are school vouchers and charter schools, both of which have raised controversy with regard to their effectiveness and efficiency. At the present time, there is insufficient evidence to provide a crisp, clear bottom-line judgment of the wisdom of voucher and charter programs. This book identifies and articulates the range of empirical questions that ought to be answered to assess the wisdom of policies promoting vouchers or charter schools. It examines the existing empirical evidence on these questions, providing a broad assessment of what is currently known about the effects of vouchers and charters in terms of academic achievement. Important unresolved empirical questions are discussed, and prospects for answering them in the future are considered. Many questions cannot be answered at all because of lack of research, notably matters involving total demand, supply response of educational providers, and the final impact on public schools. Design details of voucher and charter policies are also explored. Recommendations include enacting a program of vigorous research, that is not confined to choice programs. Better information on the performance of conventional public schools and alternative reform models is also needed. (Contains 319 references.) (RT)