School choice: Why parents and teachers are getting good results
Twenty years ago, Florida’s low-income elementary-school students muddled near the back of the pack nationally in reading. Now, according to the 2018 Nation’s Report Card, they’re No. 1 in reading.
This progress should be applauded. It should also be put into context. Florida moved from national embarrassment to national leader with only 30 percent of its low-income students scoring at proficient or above. And in Florida, low-income students are not the fringe. They’re 60 percent of total enrollment and growing.
These statistics help explain why parents and teachers are quietly embracing a revolution in public education that involves greater choice and customization. And why we should all pause to consider why.
Cranking up more regulatory accountability can move the needle, but not nearly enough. Even when gains are made, many parents and teachers resent the micromanagement, the crush of one-size-fits-all rules leaving them with less freedom, agency and ownership. This is not a system guided by what the science of human behavior tells us is needed to unleash the best in every individual.
To achieve greater excellence and equity, we need to organize and manage public education in a way that gives educators real power to create schools based on their visions and talents — and parents real power to choose them or not. In Florida, we’re on our way.
Thirty years ago, Florida had no state-supported school choice. About 90 percent of students went to assigned district schools; about 10 percent went to private schools; a handful went to controversial new magnet schools. Today, 46 percent of Florida students in PreK-12 — 1.7 million — attend something other than assigned district schools.
This blossoming of options is progress, but systemic improvement isn’t easy. The basic blueprint for our education system hasn’t changed much since the Sears catalog was cutting edge. It’s not surprising that some are stumped by the idea that accountability is more than regulations.
Parents, too, hold schools accountable — if they have the power to choose. But too many parents, particularly low-income parents, don’t have that power. That leaves those who do deciding quality for all. The result is smothering uniformity, perpetual conflict and far too many students falling short of their potential.
The better way brings its own challenges: finding the right balance between regulations and choice, on everything from teacher qualifications to testing and curriculum; and determining when parents should be able to choose options others find troubling. Over the past decade, Florida policy-makers have repeatedly improved choice programs. They should keep doing so.
They should also consider outcomes.
Low-income students using the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, now serving 107,000 statewide, were typically the students who struggled the most in their prior public schools. But they’re now enrolling in college and earning associate degrees at higher rates than their publicschool peers. Other rigorous research shows competitive effects of the scholarship boost academic outcomes for students who remain in public schools.
The scholarship is worth two-thirds of per-pupil spending in district schools, and both a stack of fiscal analyses and Florida courts have determined the program does not erode district funding. Collectively these facts suggest scholarship parents are exercising their discretion wisely, even with much less funding.
As more evidence emerges, Florida policy-makers will adjust accordingly. In the meantime, my nonprofit will keep working to ensure teachers and parents have the information and power they need to make the best choices.
Our Office of Student Learning, led by a former deputy district superintendent, is working with more than 500 private schools to enhance parental engagement and data-driven instruction. Building relationships and trust is hard work. But the changes that come from persuasion and collaboration are far more lasting than those dictated by fiat.
We’re also ramping up an online platform that will give scholarship parents easy access to the kinds of information they want about schools, tutors and other learning options. It will allow them to rate educational providers in the same way they rate hotels, restaurants and Uber drivers. The result will be a dynamic, parent-to-parent information resource that goes well beyond test scores.
As choice in public education expands and evolves, we will continue to have robust debates. But the best path forward is the one that aligns with human nature, embraces freedom and pluralism, and works.