School Choice Myths: Setting the Record Straight on Education Freedom

Are there legitimate arguments to prevent families from choosing the education that works best for their children? Opponents of school choice have certainly offered many objections, but for decades they have mainly repeated myths either because they did not know any better or perhaps to protect the government schooling monopoly.

In these pages, 14 of the top scholars in education policy debunk a dozen of the most pernicious myths, including "school choice siphons money from public schools," "choice harms children left behind in public schools," "school choice has racist origins," and "choice only helps the rich get richer." As the contributors demonstrate, even arguments against school choice that seem to make powerful intuitive sense fall apart under scrutiny. There are, frankly, no compelling arguments against funding students directly instead of public school systems.

School Choice Myths shatters the mythology standing in the way of education freedom. It is a one-stop guide to everything from the latest research on the effects of school choice on civic engagement to Supreme Court precedent, and a must-have for any combatant in the school choice wars, or anyone who just wants the best education for their children.

Neal McCluskey is the director of Cato's Center for Educational Freedom. He is the author of Feds in the Classroom: How Big Government Corrupts, Cripples, and Compromises American Education and manages Cato's Public Schooling Battle Map, an interactive database of values and identity-based conflicts in public schools.

Corey A. DeAngelis is an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute's Center for Educational Freedom. He is also the Director of School Choice at the Reason Foundation.