Many alternative schools are wonderful for the children who attend them, affording a good match between the student and the school. Charter schools may be the bright light that leads to expanded solutions for the public schools. But this positive effect will occur through cooperation, not competition, between regular public and charter schools. When we consider all the examples of competition that are currently in play, the competitive-market rationale for vouchers shows few signs of viability. With the exception of charter schools, the prospect of expanding the market is very limited.
Practical barriers exist to creating more private schools through vouchers.
Private schools enrolled about 5.9 million students, or about 11 percent of the total elementary and secondary school population of 52.3 million. No one knows. Examples of market forces causing change in business and industry are common and may be enlightening as we examine the voucher topic. Consider the Detroit automakers, who by the 1970s had lost 30 percent of the U.S. domestic automobile market to foreign competition before they responded to market forces, started retooling, and built higher quality and more fuel-efficient automobiles. A comparable shift of 30 percent of the student population from public to private schools, around 16 million students, is not possible unless political leaders are also willing to pay for the physical plant and equipment needed to enlarge the capacity of private schools.