Chapter 4: The Interface Between Public and Private Schooling: Market Pressure and the Impact on Performance

Debate about school choice and educational vouchers has centered on vouchers’ effects on student outcomes. However, too often the debate has not considered the determining role of policy choices or the results of voucher experiments. Further, because of complex school-market interactions, student outcomes may be impossible to predict before broad voucher implementation. This chapter examines theory and evidence for voucher policies, assessing their feasibility. It describes arguments underlying school choice advocacy, research on competition in today’s mostly voucher-free educational system, differences between public and private schools, school type’s influence on voucher experiments, and voucher policies’ likely impact.