Exploring the School Choice Universe

Gary Miron, Western Michigan University, USA. Kevin G. Welner, University of Colorado - Boulder, USA. Patricia H. Hinchey, Pennsylvania State University, USA. William J. Mathis, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA.

Exploring the School Choice Universe: Evidence and Recommendations gives readers a comprehensive, complete picture of choice policies andissues. In doing so, it offers cross-cutting insights that are obscured when one looks only at single issue or a single approach to choice. The book
examines choice in its various forms: charter schools, home schooling, online schooling, voucher plans that allow students to use taxpayer funds to
attend private schools, tuition tax credit plans that provide a public subsidy for private school tuition, and magnet schools and other forms of public
school intra- and interdistrict choice. It brings together some of the top researchers in the field, presenting a comprehensive overview of the best
current knowledge of these important policies.
The questions addressed in Exploring the School Choice Universe are of most importance to researchers and policy makers. What do choice programs
actually do? What forms do they take? Who participates, and why? What are the funding implications? What are the results of different forms of
school choice on outcomes that matter, like student performance, segregation, and competition effects? Do they affect teachers' working conditions?
Do they drive innovation?
The contents of this book offer reason to believe that choice policies can further some educational goals. But they also suggest many reasons for
caution. If choice policies are to be evidence-based, a re-examination is in order. The information, insights and recommendations facilitate a more
nuanced understanding of school choice and provide the basis for designing sensible school choice reforms that can pursue a range of desirable
outcomes.