School Choice or Best Systems_ What Improves Education_ - Margaret C. Wang [45]
Conclusion
A review of 40 U.S. studies shows positive effects of choice and competition within geopolitical areas. The largest international study of schools ever made, moreover, showed that the greater the degree of school choice in 39 countries, the higher the achievement test scores. Two large-scale studies of the degree of choice in the 50 states came to the same conclusion.
Choice effects are most apparent when charter, voucher, or private schools compete head to head with traditional public schools in achievement, graduation rates, and other outcomes. But choice also has systematic and constructive effects even when they occur in subtler and less direct ways, such as the benefits of smaller districts and those that rely more heavily on local than on state funding sources. Citizens in such districts rationally involve themselves more deeply in school affairs and reap beneficial consequences.
6. Customer Satisfaction
As documented in the previous chapters, school choice generally improves achievement and several other outcomes that parents, citizens, and legislators think are socially valuable and individually beneficial. But one measure of success may be more important than all others: does school choice satisfy parents and students, the most direct beneficiaries or “customers” of schooling? And what are the views of the public?
This chapter explains why customer satisfaction should matter and reveals how satisfied parents and students are with the educational status quo, school choice generally, and charter and voucher schools in particular. The views of parents, students, and the public at large are contrasted with those of teachers and school administrators to understand how they diverge and why this divergence has important implications for public policy.
When choosing a restaurant, people care for more than the objective measures of calories, nutrients, and costs alone; they also care about subjective taste, décor, and ambiance—matters of personal preference. In the case of school choice, interview and questionnaire surveys are essential for assessing opinions of the various interested parties. Surveys are, of course, widely used in market research to measure attitudes toward products and services and in politics to estimate the voter appeal of candidates and policies. Nonprofit and for-profit organizations employ surveys to find out how people view them and how they might best improve their goods and services. What do surveys reveal about citizens’, parents’, and educators’ views about schools and school choice, and why should these views matter?
Why Parental Satisfaction Matters
When choosing a doctor, people may make decisions based on a combination of objective and subjective factors. Perhaps they should take note of their candidates’ medical school, special training and other qualifications, reputation among peers, claims of malpractice, prices charged, personal demeanor, and other information. But few people actually collect and systematically weigh such evidence.
People often choose their doctor seemingly at random or on the recommendations of acquaintances, and they may decide to return to that doctor on the basis of the experience of the initial encounter. They may consider whether or not the doctor seemed to listen to them, sympathize, and understand their concerns. They may ask, Did the doctor seem insightful, professional, and experienced? Did the treatment prescribed seem to work?
As seemingly unscientific and subjective as this decision appears, and despite the possibly life-and-death consequences, Americans generally choose their doctors and change them when they wish. Similarly, parents choose charter, voucher, or private schools for their children. Seldom is there a single objective criterion for determining the best decision.
Parents in the United States can properly assert their right, recognized by long tradition and law, to direct the education of their children.1 Some legal experts