Overview
"What does the term school choice mean to you? Opponents of parental choice have muddied its definition, misleading parents and educators and drawing public debate away from the core issues. In a book geared for anyone who wants to better understand this hotly contested topic, John Merrifield clarifies the proposals in existence today, defining the key concepts related to choice. Arguing for a competitive education industry, he discusses policy and political strategy mistakes while suggesting corrections. This informative book covers government regulation issues, typical fallacies, diversity issues, private voucher initiatives, and experiments and empirical evidence about competition."--BOOK JACKET.Synopsis
What does the term _school choice_ mean to you? Opponents of parental choice have muddied its definition, misleading parents and educators and drawing public debate away from the core issues. In a book geared for anyone who wants to better understand this hotly contested topic, Merrifield clarifies the proposals in existence today, defining the key concepts related to choice. Arguing for a competitive education industry, he discusses policy and political strategy mistakes while suggesting corrections. This informative book covers government regulation issues, typical fallacies, diversity issues, private voucher initiatives, and experiments and empirical evidence about competition.
Joseph L. Bast
...my early favorite for Best School Reform Book of 2001. Even school reformers committed to an incrementalist approach will benefit from Merrifield's instructions on the proper use of rhetoric and the importance of communicating the goal of creating a true competitive education industry.
Editorials
School Administrator
The book, citing up-to-date research, would be a valuable resource to administrators regardless of where they stand on the issue of school choice.Joseph L. Bast
...my early favorite for Best School Reform Book of 2001. Even school reformers committed to an incrementalist approach will benefit from Merrifield's instructions on the proper use of rhetoric and the importance of communicating the goal of creating a true competitive education industry.Myron Lieberman
The School Choice Wars" is essential reading in the discussions of education reform. It presents a vision of school choice as a competitive education industry, and it evaluates the school choice projects receiving the most attention in media and professional journals on the basis of this vision...If his analysis is widely read, it will transform the debate over school choice in the United States, to a debate over a competitive education industry.Seymour Sarason
...brilliantly and clearly exposes superficiality...a seminal contribution to explaining why the current school choice wars cannot change our educational system.Booknews
Economist Merrifield (U. of Texas, San Antonio) believes that much of what is said by both supporters and opponents of "parental choice" in K-12 education (e.g., the use of school vouchers) is wrong, misleading, or irrelevant, and that few of the current choice proposals are likely to change a flawed educational system. A strong supporter of parental choice, Merrifield describes key elements of the current debate, discusses what he sees as mistakes made by choice advocates in policy and political strategy, and suggests corrections that could be a catalyst for reform. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)The Washington Times
...a sharp, punchy, action-oriented book. The author...appears to have read — and cited — every article and study on school choice ever written.— Martin Morse Wooster