There are four kinds of school systems being debated in America today.  Which one is best for Massachusetts? 

1.  Public Schools are the most common kind of schools in America.  Currently over 90% of American children are enrolled in schools that are paid for and operated by the government.  Something close to a government "monopoly" or "socialism" best describes this situation. American schools are mostly owned and operated by state and local governments, but the national government has played an increased role since the 1960s. Is the public education system in America in crisis, or is the crisis an imaginary one? 

Although the abysmal results on recent Massachusetts teacher tests, as well as repeated poor performance by American students in international comparisons, have made the existence of severe problems in American public education hard to deny, there remains significant denial in the public education sector of the very existence of an educational crisis. 

In May, 1996, The School Administrator featured an article listing "The Forces Most Destructive of Public Education."  Number one on the list was "perpetuated negative myths about public education."  Many public education professionals see the educational reform movement as a conspiracy to destroy public schools carried on by the "religious right," fiscal conservatives, and apathetic citizens.  They believe that the nation faces a "manufactured crisis," the title of a book by David Berliner and Bruce Biddle (review by Lawrence Stedman). 

But public opinion appears to be moving toward the view of Diane Ravitch, "Educators Go Into Denial Over School Performance," and agree that "It's No Manufactured Crisis."  In 1983 the National Commission on Excellence in Education issued a report called "A Nation at Risk," and on April 30 a group of educational reformers issued "A Nation Still at Risk:  An Education Manifesto," that makes the case for the existence of severe problems in public education. 

Proponents of public education are hopeful that the crisis in public education will redound to their benefit, calling for more public support for public education. The National Education Association, the predominant teacher union, makes this case. 

The Pioneer Institute, a Massachusetts public-policy foundation, is holding a discussion on this issue that you can join. 

2.  Charter Schools are public schools that are given special powers by the state to innovate.  Charter schools are the equivalent of perestroika, of socialized education to reform itself. 

Charter, or "independent public," schools, are the favorite reform option among public school advocates.  President Clinton called for three thousand charter schools in the US, and currently about 170,000 students are enrolled in them. 

There are twenty-four charter schools operating in Massachusetts, according to the state Department of Education, and the state gave permission to open twelve more in February. 
 
Although charter schools are the least radical reform alternative, public school authorities often oppose them. In February 1997 the president of the Massachusetts Teacher Association charged that charter schools were "siphoning" $35 million from state education funds, and were "cheating" regular public schools. 

Most professional educators are open but cautious about the change represented by charter schools, but charter school advocates are triumphant.  In a July 10 column in the Boston Herald, James Peyser, executive director of the Pioneer Institute, claimed that "One by one all the conjectural arguments against charter schools have fallen in the face of real world experience."  The Pioneer Institute maintains a Charter School Resource Center for Massachusetts.  The Center for Educational Reform is also a good source of general information for charter school advocates. 

One problem that successful charter schools have faced is racial quotas. The Healthy Start Academy in North Carolina was required to have 55% white students and, despite its great success in raising pupil performance, the state teachers union has called for it to be closed. 

3.  Vouchers reimburse parents who send their children to private schools.  Coexisting with public schools, a large-scale voucher system aims to strengthen the overall educational system by providing competition for public schools--to play "West Berlin" to public education's "East Berlin." 

Vouchers pose a more extensive reform, promoting a private-sector alternative to public schools. 

The biggest obstacle to vouchers is the doctrine of separation of church and state, and the fear that vouchers constitute government support for religious schools.  The legal issues were address in a recent Cleveland case, and a June Wisconsin Supreme Court decision seemed to allow parents to use vouchers at religious schools. 

A July 10 report from the National Center for Policy Analysis explains why school vouchers are constitutional, and Robert Alt similarly defends Cleveland's plan. 

Opposition to vouchers comes from teacher unions like the National Educational Association, and organizations like People for the American Way, who were very alarmed at the recent Milwaukee decision.  Groups favoring Separation of Church and State make the case against vouchers on both practical and constitutional grounds.  The American Federation of Teachers argues that smaller class size is more effective than vouchers in improving student achievement. 

AFT President Sandra Feldman recently called voucher plans a "hoax." 

Although conservatives and religious traditionalists have been the main supporters of vouchers, some of them oppose vouchers because they fear that government regulation will necessarily come with the use of tax rebates.  Vouchers, they say, threaten the independence of independent schools.  They point to higher education, which is run in large part on a system of vouchers in the form of student loans and other public subsidies.  The Cato Institute hosted a debate between conservatives on this point in 1997. 

Recently, groups traditionally thought to oppose privatization efforts have begun to show a new side. Jonathan Tobin in the Jewish World Review explains why Jews should favor vouchers, and the Atlanta Constitution reported that blacks rallied for vouchers at the recent NAACP convention, although the NAACP has not responded.  The value of vouchers in promoting minority academic achievement is explained by Dan Schnur in the San Jose Mercury News. 

4. Completely private education, with the complete separation of state and school, would be where the government had no more involvement in education than it does in automobile manufacture. 

The most radical proposal for school reform is to abolish government participation in education entirely.  It views privatization as an end in itself, not as a means of improving a mixed public-private system. 

This is the position of the Separation of School & State Alliance, which claims that completely private education has been the real American tradition, and blames government intervention for educational decline. 

While charter schools seem to be widely favored, and a fierce debate rages over private school vouchers, very little public attention has been given to this most radical reform alternative. 

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