The Predictable Consequences Of School Choice

By Willis D. Hawley

It seems clear that the choice train is on track and picking up policymakers around the country. The train is pulling vouchers, charter schools, and open enrollment onto the main line. Fueling this train are a combination of attractive philosophical arguments about parents' rights to choose their children's schools and claims that choice will spur innovation and increase the overall quality of education in America.

So far, there is little evidence to support the view that choice enhances school effectiveness measured by students' academic achievement. But perhaps it is too soon to know. There are, however, a number of consequences of using public funds to increase the choices parents have in selecting their children's schools that are virtually certain. The more choice is maximized, the more likely it is that we will also:

These outcomes may or may not be what the advocates of choice want, though they are not the arguments for choice that we often hear. Different choice plans will have different consequences, of course. But it seems important to know what would happen if the most ardent advocates of...