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Pros and Cons of the Free Market in Education

Education reform advocates worry about the quality of education in the public schools. Public schools are funded through taxpayer dollars, and the schools are generally considered separate from the free market. The free market is the segment of the economy that has minimal or no government intervention and instead allows private individuals to make economic decisions. Since the free market tends to encourage competition, which leads to higher quality products, some argue that incorporating the free market into the schools will make them more effective.
  1. More Choice

    • Turning schools completely over to the free market will allow parents to choose which schools they want to send their children to. Private schools can create programs tailored to children with specific needs. For example, some schools might specialize in helping children who struggle with reading comprehension. Parents can therefore choose the best school for their child.

    Poor Families

    • Very poor families might lack the monetary resources needed to send their children to private schools even with the extra income that comes from paying lower taxes. Some have argued that government should subsidize families that cannot afford a private education. Children can be subsidized either through school vouchers or tax credits. Vouchers have mostly been used in public schools to encourage these schools to be competitive. However, parents have been able to use the vouchers for private schools as well. Private scholarships might also allow poor children to attend private schools.

    Constitutional Concerns

    • Some argue that school vouchers are a violation of the Constitution since some parents use the vouchers to send their children to religious schools. This arguably violates the separation of church and state by having the government endorse a religion by providing funding to a religious institution.

    Inequality

    • Some relatively poor families might only have the money to send their children to private schools that do not have access to as many resources as wealthier institutions. Also, the best schools would likely raise their tuition, only allowing children from families that can afford them to attend. Poor children would have to attend schools that are under-performing with lower tuition.

    Job Security

    • Free market schools do not give teachers as much job security. In the public sector, teachers often get tenure and cannot be fired except under extreme circumstances. In free market schools, teachers must perform well at their jobs to keep them, as with all other jobs in the private sector. However, if teachers do perform very well and the school increases its profits as a result, the teachers can be paid higher salaries.

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