This book draws out the critical lessons for U.S. policymakers and shows how freedom to choose schools and healthy competition among schools can create strong academic success.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1881.

This report focuses on the status of rural education and is intended to provide information to education researchers, policymakers at the federal and state levels, as well as others concerned about issues in rural education. Specifically, the goal is to increase federal policymakers' attention to rural education problems, promote improvements in rural schools, and stimulate further research on rural education. This report documents how rural conditions are sufficiently different from urban ones to warrant being examined independently, and it endorses the hypothesis that a single set of public policies may not adequately address educational issues in rural versus urban settings. National data, mainly from surveys by the National Center for Education Statistics, are synthesized covering the following topics: (1) economic and demographic context of rural education; (2) location and characteristics of rural schools and school districts; (3) relationship between the rural school and its community; (4) policies and programs benefiting rural education; (5) profiles of educators in rural schools; (6) effects of education reform in rural schools; (7) public school finance policies and practices affecting rural schools; (8) assessment of student performance in rural schools; (9) education and work experiences of rural youth; and (10) the future of rural education. The report contains numerous data tables and a section describing statistical data sources and methodology. (LP)

Parents in many other countries have more freedom of choice in education than Americans do. In Chile, Sweden, and the Netherlands, they can choose private schools without financial penalty. As we expand school choice in the United States, reformers and policymakers should look beyond our borders and learn from the examples of other countries. Critics in America claim that school choice would benefit a minority of students at the expense of the majority or that choice in education would drain funding from public schools and segregate students into racial or economic groups. Are these claims based on fact or fear? In this collection, scholars from Europe, South America, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the United States examine other countries’ experiences with school choice and draw out critical lessons for America. What school choice policies are most effective? How well do private schools serve the poor? What policies are necessary to promote the widest selection of educational opportunities for the largest number of children? Also, what controls and regulations are most harmful to the development of a competitive education industry? Has school choice in other countries led to a free education market, or has it, at least in some cases, led instead to increased regulations, regimentation, and uniformity among private and public schools? The wealth of information and insights contained in this volume will aid policymakers and reformers as they search for the best ways to improve American education.