In Defence of Choice and Competition: Vouchers and Charter Schools

Education reform is typically a controversial and polarizing issue. Student performance is falling below the national average in some provinces such as Newfoundland and Labrador, however, and the rationale for reforming the public education system seems clearer than ever. Yet, revisiting how provincial governments deliver education does not necessarily mean creating more government programs and more bureaucratic red tape. Instead, there are two alternative reform paths that will be the topic of discussion in this article: vouchers and charter schools.

By definition, a school voucher is a funding certificate issued by the government to parents who wish to enroll their child in a private school or, in some jurisdictions, who choose to homeschool their children. The values of these vouchers typically reflect the cost of educating a student at a public school. They reduce barriers that prevent parents from sending their children to privately-owned institutions, which may provide higher-quality education or education programs that are more suitable for their children’s needs. Critics of school vouchers argue that they force public schools to compete with private schools and that the diversion of funds away from the former results in lower-quality education for those who cannot afford a private alternative. Yet, while it is true that implementing a school voucher system would force public schools to compete with private schools, several studies indicate that student performance improved in jurisdictions wherein competition is rife.

Another alternative is that of the charter school system. Charter schools are publicly-funded, privately-operated autonomous schools operated by groups of educators and parents. These schools feature flexible curricula and offer unique educational programs, but they must demonstrate that their programs are different from what other schools offer and they must be held accountable to the provincial government.

Since elected officials in Alberta enacted the School Amendment Act in 1994, charter schools have played an important role in the province’s education system. And, like the implementation of a voucher system, the charter school system has demonstrated the value of competition and choice. One study indicates that charter schools have been better equipped to advance student learning and another study argues that the success of Alberta’s charter school experiment should be the rationale for expanding it.

In reviewing the successes of both the school voucher system and Alberta’s charter school experiment, it becomes increasingly evident that competition-driven reforms that emphasize individual choice deserve the attention of elected officials in Atlantic Canada, particularly in Newfoundland and Labrador. Parents could then decide what school will best meet the needs of their children and public schools would have an incentive to improve student performance outcomes by developing more effective curricula. Indeed, a rising tide lifts all boats.

Devin Drover is an AIMS on Campus Student Fellow who is pursuing an undergraduate degree in economics at Memorial University. The views expressed are the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies