Evidently, competition is good for learning. Programs that include religious schools and those limited to public institutions alone have both demonstrated that choice leads to higher quality education. When public schools are faced with the possibility of large student transfers, and a corresponding loss of funding, they have shown a willingness to make improvements both in how and what they teach. The research backs these findings. Furthermore, in places where school choice exists, variety in education has done little to undermine the common school ideal that promises to teach all students equally in a like and equally available setting.
Competition is the key.
Consider the results of the well-known public school choice experiment in New York City's District 4. In 1974, District 4 began allowing teachers in East Harlem's junior high schools to redesign and create new public schools and allowed parents to choose the schools their children would attend. Before long, the program was credited with raising reading scores and lifting the district from last place in 1973 to 15th in 1987 among New York City's 32 school districts. The school choice plan also attracted white students to the largely minority school district. Ten years later, in October 1997, a report by Paul Teske and Mark Schneider of the State University of New York confirmed earlier findings.