As published in the Wall Street Journal:
All who recognize the efficacy of markets and appreciate the importance of personal freedom and responsibility should celebrate along with Leslie Jacobs, the former education official from Louisiana, that New Orleans is indeed the “most market driven public school system in the country” (“After the Deluge, A New Education System,” op-ed, Aug. 30). However, we should avoid the notion that Ms. Jacobs promotes that a rigorous screening process for charter applicants is synonymous with market efficiency. On the contrary, low barriers to entry ensure that the best charter schools, as determined by parents, survive.
The practical result of “a rigorous screening process” is that insiders and the well-connected get approved. The charter movement represents a clear move toward efficiency but until parents, not committees, get to choose we still have a suboptimal situation.
Martin D. Kennedy
Nashville, Tenn.
Also read John Hood’s take on what North Carolinians can learn about the transformation of the public schools in New Orleans.
H/T: JC
