Last week M. Danish Shakeel, Kaitlin Anderson, and Patrick Wolf released their meta-analysis of experimental studies of private school choice, finding significant test score benefits from the 19 studies they reviewed. This week Greg joins the party with an updated edition of his “Win-Win” report reviewing the evidence on school choice.
Greg goes beyond the scope of the Shakeel, et al meta-analysis by also considering evidence on how expanding school choice affects traditional public schools, public finances, segregation, and civic values. That’s covering a lot of different types of effects. And what does he find?
The evidence points clearly in one direction. Opponents frequently claim school choice does not benefit participants, hurts public schools, costs taxpayers, facilitates segregation, and even undermines democracy. However, the empirical evidence shows that choice improves academic outcomes for participants and public schools, saves taxpayer money, moves students into more integrated classrooms, and strengthens the shared civic values and practices essential to American democracy. A few outlier cases that do not fit this pattern may get a disproportionate amount of attention, but the research consensus in favor of school choice as a general policy is clear and consistent.
This is a very handy resource. Check it out!
Jay P. Greene's Blog 
[…] academic outcomes not only for participants but also public school students. Summing up the study, Jay Greene writes that choice “saves taxpayer money, moves students into more integrated classrooms, and […]
[…] academic outcomes not only for participants but also public school students. Summing up the study, Jay Greene writes that choice “saves taxpayer money, moves students into more integrated classrooms, and […]
[…] as a new report released this week shows, they tend to fall apart under empirical scrutiny. The fourth edition of “A Win-Win Solution” looks at a wide range of quantitative […]