Checker Finn begins "Reforming Education: The Hard Part Lies Ahead," (The Education Gadfly, January 9, 2003) by observing, "&[B]y and large we haven't yet caused many people or institutions to alter their ways." Later, he applies this reasoning - not much has changed - to an assessment of the voucher movement:
"The evidence," he writes, "suggests that helping disadvantaged black children switch from bad public schools to decent private schools yields a rise in their achievement. But it doesn't seem to do much for poor white and Latino youngsters. In any case, there aren't enough private schools to go around and it's uneconomic to build more unless the vouchers are amply funded. Education's private sector has not shown a lot of entrepreneurial energy, either. Moreover, if one thinks the politics of other school reforms are daunting, gaze upon the voucher battlefield. The unions and their allies will fight this one to the death - and few political leaders have the guts to defy them."
This gloomy account ignores evidence from Milwaukee, home of the nation's oldest and largest voucher program.
Apart from being wrong on the facts, Finn applies a disappointing and cynical calculation of school choice prospects. Essentially, he concludes that unions don't like it so let's throw in the towel. An alternative approach would be to cite Milwaukee as a place where choice is widespread and positive change is taking place.
George Mitchell of Milwaukee administers The Fund for Choices in Education, a Wisconsin political conduit that supports candidates who favor expanded educational options