School Choice or Best Systems: What Improves Education?

School Choice: The Findings is the most comprehensive and up-to-date survey available summarizing the research on charter schools, vouchers, and public versus private school effectiveness. The focus is on rigorous studies - those using randomized control groups (as in medical research), those that monitor achievement changes over time, and those based on large numbers of students. The findings reviewed here go beyond academic achievement, covering students' civic engagement, cost comparisons across school types, and public and parental opinion about schools and school choice. The consensus of this research overwhelmingly favors competition and parental choice in education.