Charter Schools vs. Vouchers

Washington D.C. might be the most politically difficult education environment in the country. Metro Nashville Public Schools has to wrangle with a city council and state legislature, but D.C.'s dirty laundry is regularly aired out in the halls of congress.

I've only been following D.C. schools for about two weeks, but it seems that there is an internecine battle in the school choice camp between charter advocates and voucher proponents.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton argues in a Washington Post column that charters are the more responsible alternative. She depicts charters as a middle-road between those who want to concentrate on improving current schools and those who think that the education ought to be totally privatized. She states:

"I believe that poorly performing public school systems have an obligation to fund public alternatives. Children cannot suspend their education while adults "turn around" the schools, and in any event I know of no place where an entire school system has experienced such a turnaround."

She continues:

"Public charters are accountable, provided jurisdictions conduct the proper oversight. They present no church-state issues. Charter parents report the same satisfaction as the parents whose children are in the WSF program, and some reports indicate charter schools are outperforming the D.C. Public Schools."

Norton's detractors might argue increased choice is the finest mechanism for ensuring accountability. If a school performs poorly, parents will simply choose another school. If enough parents leave, then the school shuts down. Her detractors might then add that while charters expand choice, vouchers come closer to approximating true market-like conditions. Thus, schools that depend upon vouchers might be more accountable to parents than schools who depend on the good will of an elected body of officials for the reauthorization of a charter.

I think that I've represented the two positions accurately, if not completely. Please comment if I've omitted anything important.

I'm not ready to toss out any pithy response. This issue is more complicated than most commentators acknowledge.