School Choice

Current efforts to change schools fall into two general categories. The first embodies decentralization of administrative power to school sites, much akin to a popular movement to move many governmental social functions such as welfare to state and regional levels. The second is to create competition among school districts for students, a key tenet of the industrialized world that purports to deliver a greater range of products and services at a price the market will bear. When parents have the option of sending their children to more than one school, the term "school choice" is often applied.

There are many factors involved in creating a good learning environment for children. There is little evidence that decentralization as the first (or only) element of an educational program of school restructuring is a successful strategy.