The School Voucher Debate

2152 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Debate on private and public schools

The School Voucher Debate

In the education community, few issues stir up as much debate as the notion of providing government-funded aid, in the form of vouchers, to parents so that they may send their children to private schools. The voucher movement has been gaining momentum since Wisconsin implemented the first voucher program in 1990, but only few states have adopted such programs. Although the courts have upheld the constitutionality of vouchers, there is still a lack of consensus amongst the public over the issue. The underlying disagreements that surround the issue of vouchers revolve around three main controversies: constitutionality, influence on student achievement, and impact on public schools.

The idea of school choice is not a new one. Since the late 1980s school choice has become a popular strategy for “reforming American education and equalizing educational opportunities” (Hadderman, 2002). School choice is a broad term that is used to describe charter schools, home-schooling, for-profit companies, and vouchers. Parents who wish to select schools for their children do so for academic, religious, or moral reasons, and usually select schools that reflect their own beliefs.

The concept of educational vouchers originated with Milton Friedman, known as the grandfather of vouchers, in the early 1960s. Friedman argued that vouchers would improve educational efficiency. Vouchers equal to the per-pupil expenditure in the public schools would be given to parents for the purpose of sending their child to whichever school they wished their child to attend, public or private. In the 1970s it was proposed that “vouchers be used for students in poor districts to remedy unconstitutional school-funding inequiti...

... middle of paper ...

... community, and will continue to be an issue as more programs develop around the country.

References

Good, T. L., & Braden, J. S. (2000). The great school debate: Choice, vouchers, and charters. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates.

Hadderman, M. (2002). Trends and issues: School choice. Clearinghouse on educational policy and management. Retrieved March 7, 2005 from http://eric.uoregon.edu/trends_issues/choice/index.html

Hanus, J. J., & Cookson, P. W., Jr. (1996). Choosing schools: Vouchers and American education. Washington, D.C.: American University Press.

Reid, K. S. (2001, October 3). Poll finds support for vouchers wanes if public schools affected. Education Week, 21(5), 7. Retrieved February 27, 2005 from http://www.edweek.org

Vouchers (2005). Education Week. Retrieved February 27, 2005 from http://www.edweek.org

Show More
Related

  • The Death And Life Of The Great American School System By Diane Ravitch

    1088 Words  | 3 Pages

    She realized that choice and accountability were not the answer, but that curriculum and instruction were more viable solutions to America’s educational dilemma. Ravitch suggests that to abandon public schools is to abandon the institution that supports our concepts of democracy and citizenship and to the promise of American life (Ravitch, 2011, p. 12-14). The idea of school choice is rooted in Milton Friedman’s essay concerning the government’s role in education. Friedman asserted that society should support and contribute to the maximum freedom of the individual or the family. He maintained that the government should provide vouchers to help support parents financially on their children’s education, which parents could use at the school of their choosing; so long as the school met set standards. Therefore, this creation of choice would stimulate competition, which Friedman believed would increase the development and improvement of nonpublic schools, as well as, create a variety of school options (Ravitch, 2011, p. 115). As a result of the choice movement, the public received three versions of school choice: voucher schools, private schools, and charter schools. Each of these schools receives public funding, but do not operate as traditional public schools, and are not managed by a government agency (Ravitch, 2011, p. 121). Charter schools became the most popular choice of this new

    Read More

  • Free Essays on Possibilities Offered by Vouchers and School Choice

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    School choice has its critics as well. A voucher system means that public money would be made available to parents to use in any educational setting -- public or private. Just about anyone could open their own "school" and there would be little control. Most public schools are already underfunded, if resources are drained and given to private schools, would discrimination result for those who remain?

    Read More

  • Will School Vouchers Improve Public Schools?

    1084 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ational system. However, Rosen and other supporters hold that the institution of voucher schools will benefit public schools by relinquishing extra funds to a student body devoid of the most at-risk, poor learners of the student population that will likely pursue a voucher-supported education. The controversy of the constitutionality presents two sides of completely opposite views. While the end results of the opposing opinions both continue to seek an improved outlook for America’s failing public educational system, it is the methods of realization of this objective that proponents and opponents of vouchers strongly disagree upon.

    Read More

  • The Effectiveness of the Voucher System

    2376 Words  | 5 Pages

    When looking at a brief overview of voucher systems it is important to realize that No Child Left Behind is the policy that really sparked the implementation of school accountability and therefore the idea of school choice. Politicians wanted to improve America’s education system so they began mandating standardized tests at public schools and designating letter “grades” to overall school performance (Garnet, 2005). The implementation of school voucher systems became a way to scare failing schools into improving because it allowed parents the opportunity to transfer their children to private schools, which would mean that the public schools would lose students and more importantly funding (West, 2005). Although this seems like a great idea it is statistically flawed in many aspects including the reach of students tha...

    Read More

  • Charter Schools in Washington DC: A Reasonable Solution?

    2379 Words  | 5 Pages

    Charter schools, which exist all over the United States, are “rooted in the premise of public, free education nestled in the ideas of parental choice” (Pardo 6). Since “Minnesota launched its first charter school in 1991”, charter schools have experienced “an enormous increase in number to over 5,300 by 2011” (Chen). Like traditional public schools, charter schools are “funded with public money” (Chen). However, parents have to “submit a separate application to enroll their children in charter schools, and spaces are often limited” (Pascual). Each charter school has an independent governing board that oversees finance (Pardo 6). Enrollment is based on choice, with parents selecting schools due to their specific focus, curriculum or other features (Pardo 7). When enrollment is exc...

    Read More

  • The Usefulness of School Vouchers

    1392 Words  | 3 Pages

    The American people have a decline of confidence in the educational institutions in America. This has lead to theories behind how to improve the public schools' situation. The most recent argument has been over school vouchers, which allow students to use a determined sum of taxpayers' money to help in the tuition costs of private schools. This use of public funds for private education should not be allowed because it would discriminate against students who would be going to private schools for economic, political and social reasons. It will segregate the classes even more than they are today because in order for a voucher to be helpful to a family, they must have a substantial amount of money to begin with, resulting in a stratified society. Primarily however, school vouchers are a violation of the national constitution and most state constitutions.

    Read More

  • Public Vs Public Education: Private Vs. Public

    1194 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...school rather than public schools.”(School Vouchers, 2013) These scholarships provide an opportunity for low-income or disabled students to have a private alternative for his or hers education. The opportunity scholarships allow those who can’t afford a private education to experience being in a higher performing school but is this a guarantee? One might argue that public schools are governed by regulations that “inhibit performance.”(Christopher and Weitzel, 2008) It is true that public schools are governed by the federal regulations but they still offer a competitive edge against their private school counterparts. Vouchers have not been received so joyously by all. The controversy of using vouchers to “redirect public funds to private organization, including religiously affiliated private schools.” This controversy shows a depiction of linking church and state.

    Read More

  • Public School Choice

    1855 Words  | 4 Pages

    Public School Choice is an easy program to understand and it contains many advantages but also many disadvantages. Public School Choice is when parents can elect to send their children out of a school that has not made adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years into a school that has made progress. (McClure, 2002) If there are no available schools within the original school district, then a family can choose to send their children to another district. This only happens when the other schools in the original district are all labeled as ‘underachieving schools’ and have not made the adequate yearly progress. (McClure, 2002)

    Read More

  • Louisiana Public School System

    2442 Words  | 5 Pages

    Strauss, Valerie. "Vouchers and the Future of Public Education." Web log post. Washington Post. The Washington Post, 05 June 2012. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Salary Schedules for Public School Teachers: Pros and Cons

    1618 Words  | 4 Pages

    Betts, Julian. Getting choice right: ensuring equity and efficiency in education policy. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2005.

    Read More

  • The Electric Car

    1573 Words  | 4 Pages

    As humans delve into the twenty-first century, scientific research continues at an exponentially increasing rate. While the work of researchers seems to affect people in positive ways, the common debate among the general population is whether or not there is a limit to how far scientists can take their research and impact the future of society. The changes that scientists induce upon society often escape foresight, such as diseases, dangerous paints, and other products that do not pass the test of time. One big issue that is fiercely debated is how to go about switching to alternative-fuel-source automobiles, given that the world’s supply of oil will run dry relatively soon. The electric car seems to be the best candidate as a replacement for the moment, but many people are still weary about completely discarding the trusty internal combustion engine for an invention barely as old as the people who will buy them. The electric fuel is promising, but it has not been around long enough to undergo the test of time needed for mass acceptance. Here the more direct question arises: is the electric car the solution to a more economically responsible car?

    Read More

  • The History and Benefits of Electric Cars

    1225 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shortly after the Kohlsaat race, Thomas Edison said he believed gasoline, not electricity, would provide the dominant power source for the automobile of the future. "As it looks at the present," he s...

    Read More

  • The Hydrogen Fuel Cell and the Electric Car

    1061 Words  | 3 Pages

    The electric car has been around since the 1830s, eventually transitioning to a practical transportation choice in the late 1800s after improvements in the storage capacity of batteries. The electric car was at the peak of its popularity in the early 1990s. However, its popularity was short-lived; by 1935 the electric car had become a rarity, being replaced by the gas-powered vehicles. Reasons for the change being that the electric car could not travel long distances without recharging due to the limited storage capacities of batteries, it was faster to fuel a gas car than recharge an electric car, and finally, the mass production of the gas car lowered its price significantly compared to the electric car. Present day, the conventional gas powered vehicle is still preferred over electric cars, but advances in hydrogen fuel cell technology are making the option of owning a hydrogen fuel cell powered car more of a possibility as well as highlighting the benefits of other electric cars. In the following paragraphs the operation of the Ballard fuel cell is explained, the challenges with implementing a fuel cell system is discussed and lastly, the possible social and environmental effects of electric cars are explored.

    Read More

  • The Effectiveness of Private School Vouchers

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    Today, a solid education is what any parent should desire for their child. Without that education there is really no successful future ahead of them. Many parents and teachers have been very supportive of the Common Core Standards, but many are against it and feel that it puts an unnecessary strain on students, parents, and teachers. Several states now offer vouchers that give students the opportunity to attend private schools if the student or parents feel that their education goals are not being met through the public school system. But how beneficial are these vouchers to everyone, including taxpayers? It seems that more research needs to be done to see what the real cost is, if it truly allows children from low income families to attend without a financial burden, and to see if the students transferring from public schools to private schools are becoming more successful in achieving their educational goals.

    Read More

  • Private Schools vs. Public Schools

    1164 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many people in today’s society believe it’s wise to send their children to private schools. In making the decision on whether to put children in public or private schools, they look to four main factors: curriculum, class size, the graduation rate, and cost. When people have to pay for something, their first thought is, “Will I be getting what I’m paying for?” With a private school education, the amount you have to pay is usually well worth it. Public schools offer diversity. Here students can find people who are just like them and can associate better. Wherever you live, you have to send your child to the closest school. There’s no choice on what public school you can send your child to, whereas for private schools you can pick to send your child there. It’s not an easy choice for parents to decide, but many factors point toward a guarantee that a good education would be achieved, which is most important.

    Read More

More about The School Voucher Debate

Open Document