Public and private education in America: examining the facts

How to use this book

Introduction

Public vs. private schools

Do students in private schools outperform students enrolled in public schools?

Are political conservatives and corporations the biggest supporters of privatization of the American K-12 school system?

Do private schools accept students with disabilities?

Are public and private school teachers similar in their educational and socioeconomic backgrounds?

School choice part I : competition, stratification, homeschooling, and vouchers

Do market-based reforms such as school choice increase competition and improve school performance?

Do school choice programs contribute to the resegregation of American schools?

Does homeschooling lead to better outcomes for students than traditional public schools?

Do school vouchers produce better student outcomes?

Do education tax credits and education savings accounts divert money from public to private schools?

School choice part II : charter schools

Do charter schools have significant variations in structure, operations, and performance from school to school?

Are charter schools actually public schools?

Are charter schools more innovative than traditional public schools?

Do charter schools perform better than traditional public schools?

Are poorly performing charter schools closed down?

Are most publicly funded charter schools operated by Education Management Organizations and Charter Management Organizations?

Standards, accountability, and assessment

Have standards-based reforms worked to improve the academic performance of American school children?

Are the Common Core state standards a national initiative-and if so, do they amount to a national curriculum?

Has time that students spend preparing for and taking standardized tests increased dramatically in U.S. public schools?

Has high-stakes testing improved schools?

Is it difficult for public schools to fire bad teachers?

Do assessment systems exist that can accurately capture the value-added impact of teachers on their students' test scores?

Is the U.S. lagging behind other nations in K-12 education?

How are the political interests that shape education policy organized?

Teaching and Learning

Do later school start times make a difference in children's learning?

Is bilingual education effective?

Does homework increase student achievement?

School environment

Are students disciplined disproportionately by race and gender?

Are small schools better than large schools in providing a quality education to students?

Are American schools less safe now than in the past?

Are public and private schools still racially and economically segregated?

Do today's full-time virtual schools offer a high-quality education for students?

Do students learn more in smaller classes?