Since the early 1990s when the nation’s first charter school was opened in Minneapolis, the scope and availability of school-based options to parents has steadily expanded. No longer can public education be characterized as a monopoly. Sponsored by the National Center on School Choice (NCSC), this handbook makes readily available the most rigorous and policy-relevant research on K-12 school choice. Coverage includes charters, vouchers, home schooling, magnet schools, cyber schools, and other forms of choice, with the ultimate goal of defining the current state of this evolving field of research, policy, and practice. Key Features include: Comprehensive – this is the first book to provide a comprehensive review of what is known about the major forms of school choice from multiple perspectives: historical, political, economic, legal, methodological, and international. It also includes work on the governance, structure, process, effectiveness, and costs of school choice. Readable – the editors and authors have taken care to translate rigorous research findings into comprehensible prose accessible to a broad range of readers. International – in addition to thorough coverage of domestic research, the volume also draws on international and comparative studies of choice in foreign countries. Expertise – the National Center on School Choice (NCSC) is a consortium that is headquartered at Vanderbilt University and includes the following partners: Brookings Institution, Brown University, Harvard University, National Bureau of Economic Research, Northwest Evaluation Association, and Stanford University. This book is suitable for researchers, faculty and graduate students in education policy studies, politics of education, and social foundations of education. It should also be of interest to inservice administrators and policy makers.

Table of Contents:
Figures Tables Preface Introduction and Overview, Mark Berends, Matthew G. Springer, Dale Ballou, and Herbert J. Walberg Section I: Perspectives on School Choice 1. Political Perspectives on School Choice, Paul T. Hill and Ashley E. Jochim 2. An Economic Perspective on School Choice, Henry R. Levin 3. Social Perspectives on School Choice, Mark Berends and Genevieve C. Zottola 4. A Legal Perspective on School Choice, Frank R. Kemerer 5. International Perspectives on School Choice, Stephen P. Heyneman Section II: Charter Schools 6. Perspectives on Charter Schools, Tom Loveless and Katharyn Field 7. Politics and Governance in Charter Schools, Kenneth C. Wong and Shayna Klopott 8. Charter School Law, Preston Green 9. The Social Context of Charter Schools, Amy Stuart Wells 10. Charter School Finance, Larry Maloney 11. The Competitive Effects of Charter Schools on Traditional Public Schools, Julian R. Betts 12. Charter School Outcomes, Bettie Teasley 13. An International Perspective on Publicly-Financed, Privately-Operated Schools, Dominic J. Brewer and Guilbert C. Hentschke Section III: School Vouchers 14. Voucher Impacts: Differences between Public and Private Schools, Paul E. Peterson 15. Voucher Politics and Governance, Joseph P. Viteritti 16. Voucher Law, Clint Bolick 17. The Social Context of Vouchers, Thomas J. Nechyba 18. Voucher Finance, Dan Goldhaber 19. Voucher Outcomes, David Figlio 20. An International Perspective on School Vouchers, Felipe Barrera-Osorio and Harry Anthony Patrinos Section IV: Magnet Schools 21. Perspectives on Magnet Schools, Ellen B. Goldring 22. Legal Aspects of Magnet Schools, Christine H. Rossell 23. The Social Context of Magnet Schools, Claire Smrekar 24. Magnet School Outcomes, Dale Ballou Section V: Private Schools 25. Perspectives on Private Schools, Thomas B. Hoffer 26. Private Schools in Education Markets, Derek Neal 27. Perspectives on Elite Boarding Schools, Peter W. Cookson, Jr. 28. Perspectives on Catholic Schools, Helen M. Marks 29. An International Perspective on Private Schools, Ludger Woessmann Section VI: Other Forms of School Choice 30. Perspectives on Homeschooling, Clive R. Belfield 31. Perspectives on Cyber and Homeschool Charters, Luis A. Huerta, Chad D'Entremont, and Maria Fernanda Gonzalez 32. Perspectives on Educational Management Organizations, Brian P. Gill, Laura S. Hamilton, and Ron Zimmer 33. Supplemental Educational Services Under No Child Left Behind, Matthew G. Springer, Matthew J. Pepper, Catherine D. Gardner, and Corey Bunje Bower 34. Education Tax Credits, Adam B. Schaeffer Contributors Index