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The public school system in Canada gets poor marks in research reports recently released by three think tanks. One of the reports, from the C.D. Howe Institute, claims there is not enough choice. A second, from the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, complains teachers' unions have too much influence. The third, from the Fraser Institute, presents evidence that home schooling outperforms public and private schooling.
These messages won't win any popularity contests with some constituencies in the educational sector. Indeed, they have attracted spirited opposition. But the authors, mostly from the academic and policy community, purport to be disinterested parties speaking out for parents, children, and the socio-economic development of Canada. Let's see what they are saying.
1. Breaking Down Monopolies: Expanding Choice and Competition in Education, the C.D. Howe publication (Oct. 2, 2007), summarizes main themes discussed at a C.D. Howe seminar attended by academics, policymakers and representatives of public and private schools. The report concludes: "Economic theory and international experience show that greater school choice can be a winning educational strategy. …"
At present, most children are assigned to a public school near their residence. Parents can request another school but permission to switch depends on program requirements or exceptional circumstances. As for private- or home-schooling options, they are blocked for many low- and middle-income Canadian families by the financial hurdle of tuitions (or foregone income), compounded by the obligation to continue paying public school taxes.
The current provision of public schooling can thus be viewed as a form of monopoly, particularly for low- and middle-income families — their only choice, effectively, is the local public school. But monopoly is a market structure that economics textbooks describe as suboptimal. A more competitive setting with several active suppliers gives choices to parents (a good thing in itself) and generates incentives for more varied and higher quality output.
Choice can be introduced within the public school system by allowing students to attend any school within a district (an example is the "open enrolment" policy of the Edmonton Public School Board). Choice can also be increased through partial or full government funding of private and home schooling to enable more children of low- and middle-income families to choose these options (Alberta already funds, in part, private and home schooling, and B.C., Quebec and Manitoba contribute to private schools).
A commonly proposed solution in the literature is the distribution of vouchers, which give low- and middle-income families the ability to pay for tuitions at private schools. Another is to allow tax credits for donations to scholarship funds that subsidize private school tuitions. Increasing information flow helps too: the performance of individual schools should be assessed via standardized tests and the results made available to parents so they can make informed choices.
Empirical evidence supports choice. "A review of 59 empirical studies from many countries found 78 separate statistically significant empirical results comparing parent-chosen private schools to government-run education systems. … 70 of the 78 findings favoured private provision to government provision," notes the C.D. Howe report.
2. Getting the Fox Out of the Schoolhouse: How the Public Can Take Back Public Education, the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (Sept. 6, 2007) publication, takes aim at teachers' unions. The authors believe unions have gained too much influence over the public school system and it is time for those ultimately responsible — provincial governments, school boards, parents, and citizens — to take back control.
Unions, while serving a necessary and useful purpose representing teachers' interests at the collective bargaining table, also have interests in educational policy that may at times conflict with the interests of parents and their children. Indeed, the authors assert that unions have stymied many attempts "to increase transparency and accountability" in Canada's school system.
Specifically, they have opposed standardized testing, performance-based pay, and school choice. And, as is the case in many states within the U.S., compulsory arbitration would be a better way than strikes to settle labour disputes in the public school sector (in monopolistic, as opposed to competitive, industries, market forces are not a check on union demands).
3. Home Schooling: From the Extreme to the Mainstream (2nd edition), the Fraser Institute publication (Oct. 4, 2007), updates a 2001 Fraser Institute study on home schooling. It examines the history, growth trajectory, regulation, and demographics of home schooling in Canada and the U.S. (of note, growth in home schooling has been quite vigorous in recent years, thanks in part to the advent of the Internet and other electronic channels).
The update also reviews research findings. They, on balance, indicate that home schooling produces noticeably better academic performance than public and private schools. "Study after study finds that home schooled students tend to outperform their peers on a variety of tests," claim the authors of the report (although, as they admit, it is sometimes difficult to ensure comparable testing conditions).
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