The Case for Choice in Schooling - Mackinac Center

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The Case for Choice in Schooling:Restoring Parental Control of EducationMackinac Center for Public Policyof government control and skyrocketing increases in education spending. The evidence of acrisis in public education is everywhere.CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICTSIn 1940, the United States had over 117,000 school districts with an average of 217students per district. By 1997, the government school system had consolidated schools intofewer than 15,000 regular school districts with an average of more than 3,000 studentsenrolled in each district. 39The dramatic reduction of school districts and the increase in student populationdilutes the parental influence on their children’s education. Whereas smaller districtsallowed for greater parental involvement because school board members and school officialswere more accessible and had fewer constituents, larger districts have diminished the role ofparents and increased the influence of special interest groups. This effect is unavoidablewhen districts consolidate and become more bureaucratic.BALLOONING COSTSGovernment school officials consistently assert that it is a lack of funding that hasprevented schools from being effective. Between 1970 and 1997, however, total revenuesfor public schools increased from $44.5 billion to $305 billion, yet scores on the SAT havedropped by 27 points at the same time. 40The United Statesannually spends$740 billion oneducation, ornearly 10 percentof the nation’sgross domesticproduct—morethan it spends ondefense and SocialSecurity combined.Government schooling in the United States has become increasingly expensive totaxpayers. In the 1969-70 school year, every man, woman, and child in the United Statescontributed $850 (in 1996-97 dollars) to support government schools. By the 1996-97 schoolyear, expenditures grew to $1,181 per citizen, or more than $313 billion per year. 41 Some putthe expenditures on education at a much higher level. According to research by MerillLynch, a global investment firm, the United States annually spends $740 billion oneducation, or nearly 10 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. That amount is morethan the nation spends on defense and Social Security combined. 42PLUMMETING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTThe Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) was administeredto a half-million students from 41 countries in 1995. The results showed that the UnitedStates is the only country in which children do worse the longer they stay in school. Of the21 countries participating in the 12th-grade general knowledge tests of math and science, theUnited States ranked 19th and 16th, respectively. 43 Critics of international tests like TIMSScontend that American students suffer by comparison because other countries educatesmaller proportions of their populations and test only “elite” students. But researchers haveshown that in all 21 countries, 90 percent or more of teenagers were enrolled in school,which suggests the test is a valid comparison between American students and their foreigncounterparts. 44February 2001 13
Mackinac Center for Public PolicyThe Case for Choice in Schooling:Restoring Parental Control of EducationEXPENSIVE NEW OBLIGATIONSThe national costto businesses andinstitutions ofhigher learningdue to the lack ofbasic reading,writing, andarithmetic skillsis conservativelyestimated to be$16.6 billioneach year.Taxes to support government schools increasingly fund such things as the growingpercentage of students with special needs. In many cases, large sums of tax money areconsumed by special education programs that once were reserved for children with physicalhandicaps. However, those labeled mentally retarded have declined by more than 30 percentwhile speech or language impairments are down 19 percent. What has gone up are thenumber of students with “specific learning disabilities,” such as behavior problems or otherlearning impairments. The number of children in this category has increased by 343 percentsince 1976. In addition, whereas the average cost per student in regular instruction isapproximately $5,000 per year, the special education student’s costs typically range from$10,000 to $25,000 per year and sometimes higher. 45UNPREPARED GRADUATESThe failure of students to receive an adequate K-12 education also affects theworkplace and college. Public Agenda, a nonprofit think tank, surveyed 250 employers, 250college professors, 700 teachers, 700 parents, and 700 middle-school students for a 1998report. A majority of both employers and professors believed that most students leave highschool without the most basic of skills. For most skills, only a minority of surveyedprofessors and employers ranked students as being “fair” or better (see Table 1, below). 46Table 1 – Students with Skills Deemed “Fair” or Better byEmployers and ProfessorsSkill Area Employers ProfessorsGrammar and spelling 23% 23%Ability to write clearly 27% 19%Basic math skills 38% 35%Work habits/being organized and on time 42% 31%Being motivated and conscientious 44% 40%Speaking English well 50% 65%Being curious and interested in new things 52% 49%Ability to use computers 66% 69%LACK OF BASIC ACADEMIC SKILLSA September 2000 study by Dr. Jay P. Greene, a research associate at the HarvardProgram on Education Policy and Governance, revealed that Michigan businesses andinstitutions of higher learning spend more than $600 million per year to make up for the lackof basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skills among high school graduates and employees.Assuming that other states had comparable experiences, the national cost due to the lack ofbasic skills is conservatively estimated to be $16.6 billion each year. The study notes that inaddition to these monetary costs, the human costs of so many students failing to learn basicskills in K-12 schools are incalculably higher. 4714 February 2001
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