School Choice In The Real World

School choice is the most talked about reform of American public education yet writings about choice remain highly speculative because no state has adopted a free market approach to education--until now. The charter school is fast becoming one of the most significant attempts at public education reform in this country. Over 1100 charter schools operate in twenty-seven states with several hundred more to be added in the next two years. School Choice in the Real World looks at the charter school movement through a highly focused lens: it examines charter schools in Arizona which currently account for nearly one-quarter of all charter schools.Since 1994 Arizona has implemented a charter school law with the lowest barriers to entry in the nation. As a result Arizona has more than 200 charter school campuses. Some districts have even lost more than 10% of their students to charter schools. Using the state of Arizona as a case study the editors examine the experiences of actual charter school operators social scientific analysis policy discussions and criticism and forecasting for the future. The editors bring together academics policy-makers and practicioners and they explain and evaluate how school choice works in the real world.