National Bureau of Economic Research · 2003 · 222 citations · 0 references
Public AffairsEconomicsEducation PolicyEconomic PolicyEducation ReformPublic EconomicsEducation ExpenditureEducation Policy AnalysisEducation VouchersPublic ChoicePublic EducationVoucher PolicyAchievement MeasurementEducational Attainment EffectsProductivitySchool Choice CompetitionSchool Choice MechanismsSchool Choice ReformSchool CompetitionSchool Effectiveness
School productivity is defined as higher pupil achievement per dollar spent. The paper reviews the impact of school choice on school productivity. The study outlines the economic rationale linking school choice to productivity and surveys existing evidence. Evidence from Milwaukee, Michigan, and Arizona shows that school choice spurred rapid gains in public school achievement without increasing spending, thereby markedly boosting productivity, especially in Milwaukee.
A school that is more productive is one that produces higher achievement in its pupils for each dollar it spends. In this paper, I comprehensively review how school choice might affect productivity. I begin by describing the importance of school productivity, then explain the economic logic that suggests that choice will affect productivity, and finish by presenting much of the available evidence on school choice and school productivity. The most intriguing evidence comes from three important, recent choice reforms: vouchers in Milwaukee, charter schools in Michigan, and charter schools in Arizona. I show that public school students' achievement rose significantly and rapidly in response to competition, under each of the three reforms. Public school spending was unaffected, so the productivity of public schools rose, dramatically in the case in Milwaukee.