School Choice Myths: Setting the Record Straight on Education Freedom

by Neal P. McCluskey Cato Institute (Editor), Corey A. DeAngelis (Editor)

Overview

Are there legitimate arguments to prevent families from choosing the education that works best for their children? Opponents of school choice have certainly offered many objections, but for decades they have mainly repeated myths either because they did not know any better or perhaps to protect the government schooling monopoly.

In these pages, 14 of the top scholars in education policy debunk a dozen of the most pernicious myths, including "school choice siphons money from public schools," "choice harms children left behind in public schools," "school choice has racist origins," and "choice only helps the rich get richer." As the contributors demonstrate, even arguments against school choice that seem to make powerful intuitive sense fall apart under scrutiny. There are, frankly, no compelling arguments against funding students directly instead of public school systems.

School Choice Myths shatters the mythology standing in the way of education freedom. It is a one-stop guide to everything from the latest research on the effects of school choice on civic engagement to Supreme Court precedent, and a must-have for any combatant in the school choice wars, or anyone who just wants the best education for their children.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781948647908
Publisher:	Cato Institute
Publication date:	10/07/2020
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Neal McCluskey is the director of Cato's Center for Educational Freedom. He is the author of Feds in the Classroom: How Big Government Corrupts, Cripples, and Compromises American Education and manages Cato's Public Schooling Battle Map, an interactive database of values and identity-based conflicts in public schools.

Corey A. DeAngelis is an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute's Center for Educational Freedom. He is also the Director of School Choice at the Reason Foundation.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Myth: School Choice Balkanizes

2. Myth: School Choice Has Racist Origins

3. Myth: Public Schools are Necessary for a Stable Democracy

4. Myth: Private School Choice Is Unconstitutional

5. Myth: Children are Not Widgets, So Education Mustn't Be Left to the Market

6. Myth: School Choice Siphons Money from Public Schools and Harms Taxpayers

7. Myth: Choice Harms Children Left Behind in Public School

8. Myth: School Choice Only Helps the Rich Get Richer

9. Myth: School Choice Needs Regulation to Ensure Access and Quality

10. Myth: Any School Choice is Welcome School Choice

11. Myth: Students with Special Needs Lose with School Choice

12. Myth: Only Rich Parents Can Make Good Choices

Editorial Reviews

"Empowering parents to make decisions about their children's schools can be a powerful tool for education reform. Dr. McCluskey and Dr. DeAngelis have done a profoundly important service with this book, which dispels myths about school choice and makes the substantive case for education freedom in America."

John Boehner

"This book couldn't have been better timed.. .. More than any other point in our history, Americans are open to radically rethinking how their children are educated thanks to the coronavirus crisis. School choice advocates are having their moment, and this book is their manifesto."

Bethany Mandel

"School choice advocates are in a constant battle against myths about the true impact of choice on the lives of children. This book does us all a great service: it thoroughly dispels those myths."

Jeb Bush