Education researchers in favor of school choice have long claimed that if public schools had any competition for student enrollment, they would hold themselves to a higher standard. In short, the argument goes that public schools will “always have assigned customers.” There are many families who cannot afford private education and cannot move for better schools. So, inevitably, their children are stuck attending their assigned public schools. Sure, schools worry when they have lower enrollment years, but they lean into the fact that they will always have customers. Recently, the state of Florida massively scaled-up school choice opportunities in the state, finally giving researchers the opportunity to study marketplace competition. Now, the results are in.

According to their findings, as the scholarship program grew, academic and behavioral outcomes also improved for students attending the public schools in the areas facing the most competition. In fact, the more competition there was between schools in a community, the larger the gains in the public school were. And these outcomes were even more pronounced for low-income students.

The study took into account other factors that could have played a role in this change, but ultimately showed that it was the competition - not other factors - that caused this change. Writing about his findings in a recent article, Dr. David Figlio wrote,“Our findings from this long-lasting early program show that in Florida, at least, it seems that a rising tide of competition has lifted many boats.”

Could your public schools be better? Does your community need change? Consider the ways that education can make or break a community here, and consider if school choice is right for your area.

https://www.educationnext.org/ripple-effect-how-private-school-choice-programs-boost-competition-benefit-public-school-students/?mc_cid=3b07fdf9d1&mc_eid=04026bee2a