Submitted by Dr. John Merrifield, Jan 21, 2008 17:19

Charter Schools and Milwaukee-Style vouchers are an utterly inadequate test of market accountability in K-12 education. For that, you need market-determined prices and low barriers to consumer and entrepreneurial participation. In contrast, charter schools and Milwaukee-style vouchers control price, typically (most, but not every charter law) cap participation, and usually bar profit seeking market entry.

Actual competition will improve or replace competitors. If public schools are ever placed in an environment where they actually have to compete to survive, some will improve and some will be replaced. Either way, the performance of the system as a whole will improve. Performance of the system, not improvement by the current dominant producer (public schools) is the appropriate criteria.

Public schools have enormous advantages. Therefore, replacement, to the extent that it is the dominant result of actual competition (open market, level playing field, orchestrated by price change and pursuit of profit by at least some participants), will occur very gradually.

John Merrifield, Professor of Economics and Editor of the Journal of School Choice

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