School choice

Few school reform movements have aroused more public passion than school choice. Should families have a voice in deciding which schools their children attend? Is it true that increased competition leads to better schools? How do the various school choice proposals differ? Are school choice policies logistically feasible and economically viable? In this book, the educational sociologist Peter Cookson discusses the practice and politics of school choice objectively and. Comprehensively. Cookson illuminates the philosophical and historical origins of the school choice movement, examines a variety of school choice plans around the nation, and analyzes the outcomes of school choice in terms of student achievement, school improvement, and the rights of the citizenry. Drawing on his own observations, interviews, and analyses of school choice research, Cookson clarifies a number of issues surrounding this hotly debated topic. He discusses, For example: programs in Minnesota, Cambridge and Fall River, Massachusetts, and East Harlem and White Plains, New York, that demonstrate how choice can solve fundamental educational problems; a voucher system in Milwaukee that allows children to enroll