Confirm DeVos and Give More Parents the Power of Choice

Educational choice will be on trial this week in Washington. When the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions holds a confirmation hearing for Betsy DeVos to serve as Secretary of Education, the spotlight will be squarely on her passionate advocacy for giving parents the freedom and the resources to choose their children’s schooling.

The public education system is essentially a government-run monopoly, especially in areas where parents cannot afford alternatives. As such, public schools have little or no incentive for improvement. The public-school monopoly looks like a relic of the old manufacturing era, requiring students to punch the clock and put in their time, while educational choices today look like modern tech and service industries, offering flexibility and service with an eye to outstanding results.

One assessment after another details the failing state of America’s public schools. The latest National Assessment of Educational Progress – referred to as “The Nation’s Report Card” – shows student test scores in math declining while already-mediocre reading scores show no signs of improvement. The achievement gaps are worse for low-income students.

Educational choice offers options to parents of children trapped in failing or mediocre public schools, especially those who are low-income. Public schools, private schools, charter schools, and even homeschooling can all be viable possibilities when parents are given the power of choice.

School choice was put to the test at least once before in Washington, D.C. and it passed with flying colors. The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OPS) is a federally-funded private-school voucher program. Begun at a time when the DC public school district was spending close to $13,000 per student, the parents of approximately 1,700 low-income D.C. students each received annual $7,500 scholarships to use at the school of their choice. 

Besides a very high level of satisfaction from D.C. parents, a key outcome of OPS was that students who used the vouchers had a graduation rate that was 21% higher than their peers. A similar scholarship project in Baltimore produced a high school graduation rate of 97%, far higher than that of their public school peers.

In New Orleans, a massive effort to develop charter schools, post-Hurricane Katrina, has shown tremendously positive outcomes. About 90% of public school students in New Orleans now attend charter schools, and the achievement gap between them and students in the rest of the state is now nearly nonexistent, even though it used to be close to 25%. And, over ten years, the graduation rate in New Orleans climbed from 54% to 73%.

The fact that school choice leads to higher graduation rates has serious societal and economic implications. According to recent government research, two out of three young adults who completed high school (but didn't attend college) had full-time jobs. On the other hand, nearly half of their peers who didn't finish high school was without full-time jobs. And for those working full-time, young adult high school graduates earned at least 20% more than non-graduates, and that gap tends to widen as the same people grow older. Research also shows that those who fail to complete high school are more likely to require government assistance, and the number of prison inmates who did not complete high school is disproportionately high.

At the public school level, school choice also accomplishes the key element that economist Milton Friedman said was necessary to reform the public school system – it changes the incentive. If government schools no longer have a captive audience of customers, they must compete. Keep in mind that, even with school choice, the playing field is hardly level. While private schools must charge tuition, public schools are offering their service for free – paid for by the mandated tax dollars of those who may or may not gain any benefit from them. Nevertheless, a wide range of research has found that public school achievement is either improved or unchanged – but not harmed - when school choice programs are implemented.

It’s a fundamental principle of free markets – increased competition leads to better and more efficient outcomes. And, when people have a choice, especially as it pertains to the well-being of their children – they will almost always seek the best possible path to success. By giving them choices for the education of their children, and the resources to control those choices, parents will have options, public schools will have greater accountability, and students will have the best possible opportunities to learn and succeed.

The Senate can take a crucial step toward standing with parents by confirming the nomination of Betsy DeVos, a vocal advocate for school choice.

David McIntosh, a former Indiana Congressman, is President of the Club for Growth