Public schools across the land are facing a new wave of competition from private schools. The fuel behind it all is growing school voucher programs. They are funded by state taxes, but parents can use the money to pay for any school. Somewhat related are charter schools, which are also funded by taxes, but are freed up from a lot of educational bureaucracy and teacher union contracts. Presently,
Worth noting is that Sweden has a fully vouchered school system, which includes private schools. Many of those private schools are non-profit, which might be a big surprise even to those who know of Sweden's system.
Of much less surprise is the Left's attitude. Sweden used to be pointed at noddingly by leftists extolling big government, but we hear much less of that of late, and I suspect it's because they finally learned the details (market-friendly economy, relatively flat taxation, school choice, no minimum wage, and other bits that are anathema to the American left).
At least some of their attempts to proclaim Sweden's choice program a failure have increased as school choice gains are, as this CATO article notes, both inaccurate and fallacious. As in, choose a conclusion, and come up with some word salad to defend it, reality be damned.
“The advantages of private schools is evidenced by the numbers, as students from them consistently outperform public school students in nearly every subject. Furthermore, private school students score higher than public school students on college entry exams such as the SAT. Whenever government socializes any service, the biggest victims are the “little guys”: the poor, the underclass, the minorities. The winners are the politicians and bureaucrats.”
Worth noting is that Sweden has a fully vouchered school system, which includes private schools. Many of those private schools are non-profit, which might be a big surprise even to those who know of Sweden's system.
Of much less surprise is the Left's attitude. Sweden used to be pointed at noddingly by leftists extolling big government, but we hear much less of that of late, and I suspect it's because they finally learned the details (market-friendly economy, relatively flat taxation, school choice, no minimum wage, and other bits that are anathema to the American left).
At least some of their attempts to proclaim Sweden's choice program a failure have increased as school choice gains are, as this CATO article notes, both inaccurate and fallacious. As in, choose a conclusion, and come up with some word salad to defend it, reality be damned.
https://www.cato.org/commentary/sweden-school-choice
“The advantages of private schools is evidenced by the numbers, as students from them consistently outperform public school students in nearly every subject. Furthermore, private school students score higher than public school students on college entry exams such as the SAT. Whenever government socializes any service, the biggest victims are the “little guys”: the poor, the underclass, the minorities. The winners are the politicians and bureaucrats.”