Rhetoric Versus Reality

THE ARTS CHILD POLICY CIVIL JUSTICE EDUCATION ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS NATIONAL SECURITY POPULATION AND AGING PUBLIC SAFETY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SUBSTANCE ABUSE TERRORISM AND HOMELAND SECURITY TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE WORKFORCE AND WORKPLACE This PDF document was made available from www.rand.org as a public service of the RAND Corporation. Jump down to document6 The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. Support RAND Purchase this document Browse Books & Publications Make a charitable contribution For More Information Visit RAND at www.rand.org Explore RAND Education View document details Limited Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law as indicated in a notice appearing later in this work. This electronic representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for non-commercial use only. Unauthorized posting of RAND PDFs to a non-RAND Web site is prohibited. RAND PDFs are protected under copyright law. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please see RAND Permissions. RHETORIC EALITY What We Know and What We Need to Know About Vouchers and Charter Schools Brian Gill P. Mike Timpane Karen E. Ross Dominic J. Brewer Kevin Booker Supported by the Gund Foundation, Spencer Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Carnegie Corporation of New York EDUCATION The research described in this report was supported by the Gund Foundation, Spencer Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Carnegie Corporation of New York and conducted within RAND Education, a program of the RAND Corporation. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rhetoric versus reality : what we know and what we need to know about vouchers and charter schools / Brian P. Gill ... [et al.]. p. cm. “MR-1118.” Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8330-2765-4 1. Educational vouchers. 2. Charter schools. 3. School choice. 4. Educational vouchers—United States. 5. Charter schools—United States. 6. School choice— United States. I. Gill, Brian P., 1968– LB2828.7 .R44 2001 379.1`11—dc21 2001048903 The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R® is a registered trademark. Cover design by Eileen Delson La Russo © Copyright 2007 RAND Corporation All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from RAND. Published 2007 by the RAND Corporation 1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 1200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202-5050 4570 Fifth Avenue, Suite 600, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2665 RAND URL: http://www.rand.org/ To order RAND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution Services: Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Email: order@rand.org PREFACE Education vouchers and charter schools are two of the most promi-nent and far-reaching forms of family-choice policies currently in evidence in the nation’s elementary and secondary schools. As such, they present important challenges to the traditional provision of public education in schools that are created, governed, funded, and operated by state and local authorities. This book reviews the theoretical foundations for vouchers and char-ter schools and the empirical evidence of their effectiveness as set forth in hundreds of recent reports and studies. The literature ana-lyzed includes studies that directly examine voucher and charter schools, in the United States and abroad, and, where relevant, com-parisons between existing public and private schools. The book also examines the ways in which multiple dimensions of policy de-sign—such as targeting, funding levels and limitations, admissions policies, academic standards and assessments, and accountabil-ity—will determine the nature and extent of any specific program’s impact. The findings will be of interest to policymakers, researchers, and educators at every level of the education system who must as-sess numerous proposals for vouchers, charter schools, and other forms of family choice in education. This second edition of this book is being launched in the summer of 2007 with updates to the introductory chapter and the lengthy chap-ter on academic achievement—the area that has seen the largest number of new studies since the first edition was published in 2001. The revised chapters have a date of 2007 in the headers. The original iii iv Rhetoric versus Reality 2007 chapters, which have a date of 2001 in the headers, may be updated in the future if resources are available. This book is part of a larger body of research conducted by RAND Education on school reform, assessment and accountability, and teachers and teaching. It was supported by the Gund Foundation, Spencer Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Carnegie Cor-poration of New York. The debate over vouchers and charter schools lends itself well to RAND Education’s mission—to bring accurate data and careful ob-jective analysis to the national debate on education policy. RAND Education identifies new trends, problems, and opportunities and strives to give the policy community and the American public a clear picture of the choices they face in educating America’s citizens. ... - tailieumienphi.vn