The School Choice Hoax ― Fixing America's Schools

According to common wisdom, if your children's school is not meeting federal specifications, you can move them to another, better-functioning school, including a charter school. This would seem to make sense, particularly if common wisdom about competition improving all things applies. However, according to Corwin (sociology emeritus, Ohio State U.) and Schneider National Policy Board for Educational Administration) common wisdom is uncommonly unwise in this case. They believe the "school of choice" project has done nothing to improve the quality of education, but instead has overburdened schools unfairly and has eliminated many possible opportunities for cooperation. In addition, the promise touted by the concept and practice of charter schools has failed to come into reality, vastly reducing any chance of a real choice. They advocate making charter schools more effective and useful to school districts, and to make changes that will raise the school choice out of hyperbole and into the realm of actually contributing to the common good. Annotation c2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Ronald G. Corwin is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Ohio State University. He also served as director of basic research in the U.S. Department of Education. He has been a vice president of the American Educational Research Association and has held elected positions in the American Sociological Research Association. Author or co-author of 15 books and two dozen contributed chapters, he also edited a series of books on educational research. His work has appeared in theAmerican Sociological Review and other sociological journals, including Sociology of Education for which he served as an associate editor.

E. Joseph Schneider serves as Distinguished Senior Fellow, National Policy Board for Educational Administration, Washington, D.C., and was the Deputy Executive Director of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA). He has also served as President of Leadership Development Resources, an educational consulting company based in Arlington, Va. From 2000-2004 he was Executive Secretary of the National Policy Board for Educational Administration, a coalition of ten national education associations. For 15 years he was the CEO of a Washington-based education association that represents university-based research centers and nonprofit educational agencies.