Friday Freakout: School Choice Doesn’t Work Because Private, Charter Schools Don’t Do Any Better at Improving Student Outcomes

Following Eric Cantor’s speech about school choice last week, The Washington Post published an article called “Eric Cantor and Bill de Blasio exchange fire over schools”. One exchange in the comments section claiming that private and charter schools aren’t better at improving student outcomes serves as a perfect example of how common it is for school choice opponents to tout “study after study” without citing them.

So many critics believe there is no legitimate research to show school choice improves student outcomes. That is simply untrue. In fact, 11 of 12 random-assignment studies show school choice improves student outcomes. The other study reports a neutral effect. Furthermore, families don’t just deserve the means to make a choice, they need more choices. Because what was once a more than adequate public benefit, no longer fits the bill. Dr. Ben Scafidi shows how public school options have plummeted as the American population has increased.

We hope you use these resources to counter false claims and misconceptions about school choice. And don’t forget to share this post on social media and use this knowledge to speak out in comments sections!