School Choice

Click here to view and here to listen to Dr. Terry Stoops discussing National School Choice Week. RALEIGH — As North Carolina nears the 20th anniversary of the…

North Carolina’s public education establishment has offered an ambivalent response — at best — to the growth of school choice since conservatives took control of the General Assembly in 2011…

Overall, North Carolina ranks 23rd in the nation and 5th among the 12 states of the Southeast in freedom. North Carolina ranks 16th in fiscal freedom, 18th in educational freedom, 36th in regulatory freedom, and 46th in health care freedom.

This study synthesizes findings from 888 articles published since 1990. Based on these, we can say that in recent years North Carolina has been moving in the right direction on school reform. Policymakers should continue the momentum and resist attempts to backtrack.

There is consensus in the education research community that school choice raises student achievement for the average participating student. Vouchers tend to be more transparent and easier for parents to understand than other types of choice options, but require additional safeguards and protections for participating children, families, and schools.

Private, charter, and home schools continue to be popular in many states, including North Carolina. This popularity, however, has not produced a significant enrollment shift from district schools to schools of choice – private, charter, or home schools. North Carolina and nine other states had a net increase in the percentage of students attending a school of choice between 2001 and 2010, but statewide market share increases were trivial. School choice reformers must continue their praiseworthy efforts to expand educational options for families. They must also recognize that the traditional public school system will remain the primary provider of schooling for most families.

North Carolina faces estimates of nearly $10 billion in school facilities needs over the next five years. Since 2000, school choice saved taxpayers over $20 million a year in annual capital expenses. Over the last six years, the yearly capital savings totaled nearly $125 million.

RALEIGH – Charter, private, and home school students have saved N.C. taxpayers nearly $900 million in school building costs since 2000. That’s a key finding in a new John Locke…

In spite of our state's record of commitment to education, there continues to be a significant debate as to the most effective means of providing our children the best possible education. The one point upon which a great majority agree is that, despite substantial increases in funding, public education is not meeting the needs of students. This report presents parental school choice as a promising alternative to the educational status quo. And it will show that it is consistent with NC's historical commitment to education.

In response to a widely cited study by the American Federation of Teachers, Harvard education professor Caroline Hoxby recently released a study of the academic proficiency of charter school students. Hoxby finds charter schools comparing favorably with regular public schools: "charter students are 5.2 percent more likely to be proficient in reading and 3.2 percent more likely to be proficient in math on their state’s exams."