Rethinking School Choice

Jeffrey R. Henig is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Washington Area Studies at George Washington University. His other books include Public Policy and Federalism: Issues in State and Local Politics.

• List of Figures and TablesPrefaceCh. 1The Call for Choice and Radical Reform3Ch. 2The Political Meaning of "Crisis"26Ch. 3Application of the Market Model57Ch. 4Repackaging Choice78Ch. 5Evolving Practice: Problematic Lessons from History101Ch. 6Uses of Evidence: The Empirical Case that "Choice Works"117Ch. 7Reinterpreting the Lessons of Experience149Ch. 8How Market-Based Plans Will Fail174Ch. 9Putting Educational Choice in Its Place196Afterword223Notes243Index291

"For anyone interested in a full treatment of [choice], Henig's Rethinking School Choice is an absolute must. Exhaustive, comprehensive, and balanced, Henig's book sets the standard, for style as well as context, against which others will be measured."--Gerald Bracey, The Washington Post "A tightly argued effort to reduce the crisis mentality about American education and suggest that shopping for schools is not the same as shopping for VCRs... An intricate but fair-minded discussion that ultimately--while for choice--comes down against market-based vouchers."--Kirkus Reviews "This book makes a forceful, tough-minded contribution to the raging debate over school choice. But it goes well beyond this debate, and refocuses the way we look at education."--John F. Witte, University of Wisconsin-Madison, co-editor of Choice and Control in American Education