Trends in Educational Privatization in the United States

• In Event: Public-Private Partnerships Across Geographic Contexts and Their Implications for U.S. Education Reform

Abstract

With the election of Donald Trump and his appointment of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, the issue of education privatization has now taken center stage in the U.S. national debate. Within this rapidly shifting policy environment, DeVos’s main objective is diverting over $1B USD of federal education dollars to expanding school choice. However, the evidence surrounding these school choice policies is mixed, requiring education researchers to evaluate this critical issue of public import.

This paper analyzes the situation by addressing these two research questions:
1) What different types of market-based approaches currently exist in the U.S.?
2) What do their results reveal about their effectiveness?

To answer the first question, the authors conducted a literature review of market-based policies by state to determine their specific approach and level of adoption/saturation. This literature reviews a mix of older approaches like vouchers (Milwaukee), charter schools (New Orleans), and magnet schools (widespread) and newer iterations such as education savings accounts, tax-credit scholarships, individual tax credits, etc. The resultant typology helps clarify the different market-based mechanisms and their relative positioning on the public to private spectrum across the dimensions of funding, governance, and ownership of school property and real estate. Current public discourse around market-based approaches often lacks agreement even at the definitional level about the proposed strategies; this paper attempts to organize and clarify these strategies.

The second research question regarding the effectiveness of market-based approaches represents the crux of the debate. This paper uses multiple methods to evaluate effectiveness. First, the authors examine research findings from the studies complied to develop the typology. Within these studies, the focus is on outcomes and access. The findings complied across states and strategies show that market-based approaches have either minimal or negative impacts on student achievement. Furthermore, questions about the access of students, particularly disadvantaged students, arise in many cases.

To further address the issue of access, this paper presents two case studies using primary research on the voucher system in Milwaukee and the charter school/portfolio district model in New Orleans. These two systems represent the most longstanding and comprehensive, respectively, application of market-based approaches to education in the U.S. The Milwaukee case study analyzes the dispersion of schools and students by geographic location within the city and finds no effects of voucher enrollment on test scores despite increased levels of competition in the lowest SES neighborhoods that adversely impacts public school operation. The New Orleans case uses a mixed-methods approach to identify school access by types of students, finding: 1) increased stratification in access to good schools; 2) a pedagogy of test preparation as schools focus on testing rather than learning; and 3) a zero-tolerance discipline system designed to either force students to conform or provide the means for their removal.

Finally, this paper concludes by situating the various U.S. approaches within an international context, identifying similarities and differences across approaches presented on this panel, including vouchers in Chile and low-fee private schools in Africa and elsewhere.

Author

• Frank M. Adamson, Stanford University