For Release: Comparison Study on Building High-Quality School Choice Markets

Washington, D.C. — Proponents of school choice have long argued that the power of markets is an essential element for creating a better public school system. But while the charter school movement has spurred the creation of highly successful school models, it has become increasingly clear that markets alone will not dramatically improve the supply and demand for great public schools, particularly in low-income, urban communities that have long suffered from low educational achievement.

"The reality is that supply and demand are more difficult to manufacture than originally conceived and are unlikely to fully develop on their own," argues Policy Analyst Erin Dillon in Food for Thought: Building a High-Quality School Choice Market, a new report from Education Sector. "In order to pressure all public schools to improve and to raise student achievement overall, school choice reforms need to not just increase the supply of any schools. They need to increase the supply of good schools, and parents who know how to find them."

Reformers working to improve other markets in low-income communities have already learned these lessons, Dillon says. And, in recent years, they have moved aggressively to build functioning, well-designed markets that improve higher-quality supply and higher-quality demand. Drawing comparisons with the grocery and banking industries, Dillon provides a snapshot of how these for-profit industries have met this challenge head on, by developing sophisticated market analysis and flexible funding incentives, as well as by forging strong connections with local communities, and building knowledge and expertise among new consumers.

School district and community leaders, as well as policymakers and charter school advocates looking to expand the marketplace of schools would be well-served by learning from these experiences, Dillon says.

Read: Food for Thought: Building a High-Quality School Choice Market.

This research was funded by The Annie E. Casey Foundation. We thank them for their support but acknowledge that the findings and conclusions presented in this report are those of the author alone and do not represent the opinions of the foundation.

Education Sector is an independent think tank that challenges conventional thinking in education policy. We are a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to achieving real, measurable impact in education, both by improving existing reform initiatives and by developing new, innovative solutions to our nation's most pressing education problems.

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