John Gardner, American Education Reform Council
January 2002
John Gardner, a lively and reform-minded member of the Milwaukee school board, has written this interesting report for the American Education Reform Council. It contends that all manner of promising reforms have gotten under way in Milwaukee's public schools, and that recent improvement in education results is visible, as a result of competition arising from that city's well-known choice programs (both vouchers and charters). Though there's no definitive way to prove causation-this is hardly a "controlled experiment"-Gardner (a self-described "left-wing organizer" and "radical Democrat" turned ardent reformer) makes a convincing argument that the choice movement is responsible. Nobody claims that Milwaukee's public schools are yet doing a good job but this 26-page report is a worthwhile contribution to the discussion of whether competition produces change in the public school system as well as affording options to the children most directly affected. You can find it online at http://www.schoolchoiceinfo.org/hot_topics/?ID=11.
