School Choice and the Impact of COVID-19: Parent Frustration, Accountability, and a Time of Reckoning For American Public Schools

Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
	Figures
	Tables
Preface
Part I: American Education Today
	Chapter 1: Education Inequality and School Choice
		Frustration Is Nothing New
		From Improved Outcomes to Improved Access
			Improved Access for Social Equity
		The Elementary and Secondary School Act of 1965
		The Impact of ESEA
			Limits of Federal Authority
			Busing
			Frustration over Busing
		More Reform and More of the Same
			The Reagan Revolution
			The Birth of Accountability and Choice
		Moving Goals, Moving Targets, and Frustrated Parents
			Coleman Got It Wrong
			Schools, Parents, and Peers all Matter
		Note
		References
	Chapter 2: Schools Are Not the Post Office or the DMV
		Defining Public Goods
			Why Is Education Treated like a Public Good?
		Goals of Government-Provided Mass Education in America
			An Educated Citizenry
			A Productive Citizenry
			Positive Spillover Effects of an Educated and Productive Citizenry
		Why Education Is Different than Other Public Goods
			National Defense as a Pure Public Good
			Public Goods and the DMV
			The Post Office, Competition, and Public Goods
			Defining Success
			Consequences of Failure
		Provision and Production of Education
			Separating Provision of Education from the Production of Education
			Privatization of Other Government Services
			Differences in Response by Public and Non-Public Schools as Predictor of Future Response to Crisis
			Abandoning the Public Option
		Notes
		References
	Chapter 3: The Rise of School Choice
		Why Parents Opt Out of Public Schools
			Accountability and Mandatory Testing
			Desire for Specific Learning Opportunities
			School Governance
		What Choice Do They Have
			Traditional Neighborhood Schools
			Open Enrollment
			Magnet Schools
			Charter Schools
		Government Funding for Non-public Schools
			Private Schools/Vouchers
			Education Savings Accounts (ESA)
			Scholarship Tax Credits
			Individual Tax Credits and Deductions (ITCD)
			529 Savings Accounts
		Homeschooling
		Conclusion
		References
	Chapter 4: Who Pays
		Spending on Education
			Government Taxes All for the Education of Some
			The Disconnect Between Funding and Access
			How Funding Works in the United States
		Accountability Is Not Enough
			Measuring Performance
			Defining Accountability
			Placing Accountability
		It’s the Education Economy Stupid!
		Note
		References
Part II: The Impact of COVID-19
	Chapter 5: Shutdowns, Shutdowns, and More Shutdowns
		Origins of the Coronavirus
		Early Public Reaction
		The Politics of COVID-19
			State Response
			Impact on Schools
		COVID-19 Response Compared to Other Crises
			The Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1918–1919
			The Asian Flu Pandemic of 1957–1958
			The H1N1 Influenza Pandemic of 2009
		What Went Wrong, and Right?
		References
	Chapter 6: The Challenges of Overnight Online Education
		The Shift to Virtual Learning
		Challenges Shifting to Virtual Learning
		Challenges for Teachers
		Challenges for Students
			Academic Challenges
			Social/Emotional Challenges
			Physical Challenges
		Challenges for Parents
		Consequences for Poorly Designed Virtual Learning
		Note
		References
	Chapter 7: Why Are Parents Abandoning the Public Schools
		Walking in a Minefield Wearing PPE
			Escaping the Minefield
			Fleeing the Minefield
		Abandoning a Sinking Ship
			Learning from Home the Old-Fashioned Way
			Abandoning Public Schools, Even at a Cost
			The Politics of COVID-19
		Anger, Distrust, and Dissatisfaction and the Parent Minefield
			Introducing Divisive Education Policy
			Everyone, Rich and Poor Are in the Same Sinking Ship
		The Push for School Choice … Capitalizing on the Pandemic
		References
Part III: Education Democracy
	Chapter 8: Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?
		The Purpose and Role of Education
			What Is the Purpose of a Basic Education?
			Why Does Government Have Any Role?
			Production vs. Provision of Education
		Defining a Proper Education
			Who Decides What a Proper Public Education Is?
			What Does a Proper Education Mean?
		Who Should Provide Education?
			Role of Government to Sanction Approved Providers
			The Role and Responsibility of Parents to Exercise Their Liberty
		Notes
		References
	Chapter 9: Why Not
		Denying Parents Their Liberty
			Government Does Not Guarantee a Right to an Education
			The Government Knows Best
		Why Not Extend Freedom of Choice to Education?
			Public Schools Are Not the Post Office, They Are Our Best National Defense
			Public Means Produced and Provided by the Public
			COVID-19 Provided Further Evidence Traditional Schools Cannot Meet Parent Needs
		Schools Are Not the Post Office Revisited
			Choice Schools Are Not Halliburton or Blackwater, but They Could Be
		Holding All Schools Accountable
			We Need a Better System
			Inspectorate Systems Elsewhere
			Shutting Down Bad Schools
		References
	Chapter 10: Extending Liberty and Democracy to Parents
		What Does Choice Look like in the Age of Liberty?
			Measuring Freedom
			Measuring Outcomes
			Spending on Education
		Is It Only about Test Scores?
			Limited Choice or Universal Choice
			The Problem with Universal Choice
		The Role of Parents and Other Stakeholders
			Public Opinion on Public Schools
			Support for Choice Is Growing
			Holding Everyone Accountable
		The Role of Government
			Balancing Responsiveness and Representativeness
			Holding the Government Accountable
		References
Part IV: Directions for the Future
	Chapter 11: Parental Liberty
		Engaging the Community
			Some Parents Can “Vote with Their Feet”
			Parents Prefer Neighborhood Schools, But…
			It Takes a Community of Providers
		Community-Based School Choice Systems
			Arizona, the Wild West of School Choice
		Accountability under a Choice Model
			Does Testing Still Have a Role?
		References
	Chapter 12: The Day of Reckoning Is Coming, Can We Save Public Education?
		The Day of Reckoning
			COVID-19, Learning from Home, and Parent Anger
			Demanding Change and Protection from COVID-19
			Demanding Change by Using the Ballot Box
		Can We Save Public Education?
			Saving Public Education
			Equity and Equality
		A New Measure of Accountability
			Private Schools Are Not the Only Answer
			A More Robust Accountability System with Testing
		Public Funding for Education with Real Accountability
			Is It Just About the Money?
			COVID-19, Curriculum, and Accountability
		References
Index