Cover Page: PRIVATIZATION AND EDUCATIONAL CHOICE
Preface
Acknowledgments
1 The Significance of Privatization and Choice for Education
The Modes of Privatization
The Privatization Movement
To Whom Is This Book Addressed
Why Reforms Fail: An Illustrative Scenario
The Plan of This Book
Two Caveats
2 Should Government buy or Make Education
The Make-or-Buy Decision in Public Education
Contracting Out: Some Caveats
Contracting Out By Level Of Government
Contracting Out at the Federal Level
Contracting Out at the State Level
Contracting Out at the Local Level
Efficiency and Management Incentives
Economies of Scale
The Job Redundancy Issue
Avoidance of Bureaucracy
Capital Outlays
Avoidance of Single-Supplier Problems
Inefficient Public Sector Business Practices
Public Awareness of Service Costs
The Case Against Buying Public Services: An Overview
Corruption Issues in a Systems Perspective
Contracting Out Noneducational Services:
A Summary of the Evidence
3 Efficiency Issues in Educational Perspective
Efficiency Issues and State Regulation
Costs And Benefits In Educational Contracting Out
Local Costs Not Shown on School District Budgets
Costs Not Shown on Any Local Budget
Costs Not Shown on Any Budget -- Local, State, or Federal
Unfunded Pension Costs
Neglected Costs in Contracting Out
Private Ownership of Public Schools
4 Lessons from OEO Fiasco
An Overview Of The OEO Project2
Implications of the OEO Project for Contracting Out
Overcoming Union Opposition to Contracting Out
The Role of School Management in Contracting Out
The Allocation and Distribution of Instructional Time
Invitations for Bid and Requests for Proposals9
Contract Management Under Contracting OUT
Table 4.1
Invitation For Bid (Ifb) Vs. Request For Proposal (Rfp)
Complaint Procedures
Low Bid Versus Best Bid
Contracting Out and the Improvement of Public Education
5 Educational Choice as a Means to Educational Improvement
The Educational Improvement Rationale for Family Choice
The Expansion of Supply and the Mobility of Resources
Vouchers and the Number of Educational Suppliers
Competition: Service Dimensions
Competition: Parents as Consumers
Gallup Poll On Vouchers, 1970-83
Percentage Of Public School Teachers Who Send Children To Private Schools
Parent Ability to Choose Schools: A Perspective
Vouchers As The "Exit" Or "Voice" Issue In Education
6 Competition Under Voucher Plans
Nonprofit Status And Competition Under Voucher Plans
The Role of Nonprofit Organizations
Nonprofit Schools as a Response to Unsatisfied Demand for Educational Services
Nonprofit Schools as Trustworthy Producers: The Contract Failure Argument
Nonprofit Organizations as the Result of "Backward Integration"
Nonprofit Status in Theory and Practice
Service Differentiation
Implications of the Labor-intensive Nature of Education
Lessons from the Health Care Industry
The Exploitation of children for Profit
Transfers Under Voucher Plans
Competition In Education: Some Observations
The Effects of Vouchers on Nonpublic Schools
7 Noneducational Arguments for Vouchers
The Religious Rationale for Vouchers
Family Choice and the Separation of Church and State
Educational Achievement in Public and Private Schools
The "Social Capital" Hypothesis
Similarities Between Public And Catholic Schools
Average Semesters Of Coursework Completed, 10th To 12th Grades, Students In Academic Programs
Similarities in Staff
Policy Implications of the Similarity and Social Capital Hypotheses
The Political Rationale For Family Choice
Antidemocratic Schools
The Taxpayer Rationale
Percent Of Private School Students Who Received Publicly Funded Services, By Type Of Service And Religious Affiliation Of School, 1983-84 School Year
The Civil Liberties Rationale for Vouchers
8 The Politics of Choice
The Changing Patterns of Consumption
Choice Within Public Schools
Choice Within Public Schools: Tactic or Policy?
The Political Paradox of Vouchers
The Vermont Experience: Reality Confounds Rhetoric
The Politics Of Vouchers
Minivouchers
9 Educational for Profit: Big Business or Cottage Industry
Educational Testing and Market Size
For-Profit Learning Centers
The Future of Learning Centers
10 Thinking the Unthinkable: Load Shedding
The Emergence of Education at Public Expense
Home Schooling
The Number of "Home Schoolers"
Who Are the Home Schoolers?
The Rationale(s) for Home Schooling
The Future Of Educational Load Shedding
Home Schooling Implications for Load Shedding
Load Shedding and Equality Issues
The Graying of the Population
Changing Attitudes Toward Children
The Decline in Teacher Unions
Load Shedding and the Day Care Movement
11 Ethical and Policy Issues in Education for Profit
Competition Versus Regulation as a Student Safeguard
The Outlook for Regulation by "the Profession"
Information Issues in Education for Profit
Disclosure and School Performance
Cross-Subsidization Issues
Cross-Subsidization in Education: A Caveat
A Contractual Approach To Education
Education as Joint Production of Services
Education for Profit: A Point of View
Copyright 1989, Myron Lieberman
To excerpt or reprint, please contact one of the authors.
Education Policy Institute (202) 244-7535
e-mail (info@educationpolicy.org)