I really don’t see why there is so much controversy about this subject, except for the fact that almost the entire population have been educated in public schools and have been conditioned to think that that is the best way to be educated. Michigan charters are doing at least as good a job as public schools at around half of the cost. They are not burdening the taxpayers with huge debts. Detroit public schools is in the hole for over $500 million even after their first bailout, and they are coming back to the state for more money. Charters don’t do that.
For example, public schools make a huge effort to get students to attend on ‘count day’. That is the day that determines how many students are enrolled and the schools state reimbursement. The schools hold parties and events just to get the students to show up. They don’t care about them for the rest of the year.
If you look at the actual textbooks used in the 1920’s in junior high schools, you will find that they are the rough equivalent of high school textbooks today. The curriculum is dumbed down to make the schools look better. In everything else, more choices means more competition, which always improves quality. We have had a public school monopoly for almost a century and quality has fallen dramatically, especially in the cities. New Orleans and Detroit are two prime examples of a system that experienced a shock (floods/bankruptcy) and was replaced with something more effective (charters).
Michigan charters tend to be concentrated in urban cores. Comparing their results with better suburban districts is unreasonable. They should be compared to urban schools. That is one of the reasons that they do not appear as high on the rankings. Another is that they do not teach to the assessments.
The US has the best college system in the world because there is so much competition. It seems odd that we want to maintain a union monopoly to feed it. Bad schools should fail. I am especially saddened that people believe that parents are not equipped to evaluate a school. That’s a pretty arrogant and paternalistic attitude typical of bureaucrats. Somehow people manage to make lots of other choices own their own.