(continued from page 16 - The Maturation of Choice) into account other factors indicative of quality, always rewards some zip codes over others. Failing to capture the other characteristics means charters and small schools often face consequences not aligned with their actual performance. On both these issues, Arizona’s rural schools can benefit from partnering with charter school groups to see solutions to our shared challenges. Has Arizona’s stroll down the market-based accountability path to improving its school system been effective? In some ways it arguably has been successful. For conservative policymakers the biggest win has to be the marked improvement in our system’s capacity to generate average outcomes with below average demands on the taxpayer. For parents the opportunity to choose the schools their children attend is a win. When we look at the national education achievement profile, many subgroups of Arizona students are performing better than they did, and those groups are experiencing wins. The big loss is the perception we can spend less and get acceptable outcomes without long term consequences. Each year Arizona ranks at the bottom when we look at additional spending on education. We also rank near the bottom for teacher pay and average per pupil funding. As parents watch school struggle to fill positions and meet basic needs, there is a sense that things are getting worse. In some ways they are. The teacher shortage continues to worsen, and there is no way for schools to succeed without teachers. While there is definitely room for improvement, important issues ailing our schools cannot be traced back to the choice reforms, but they won’t be fixed through expanding choice in the future either. Finally, we need to consider the continued notion that Arizona’s education reform agenda rests on the expansion of educational choice. Most Arizonans reject the idea of paying taxes to enable a very small number of students to attend private schools for free. At the same time most support a parent’s right to pick the school that best serves their child. Tinkering with the laws to bias the educational marketplace towards or away from one choice might seem like an abuse of power to some. When those influencing policy have a financial interest in the success of the schools affected, there may be ethical issues that should be legislated. Sound policy that evens the playing field and encourages all schools to better serve the needs of students continues to be the goal. Whenever I speak with legislators, they always tell me that they are supportive of our education system. This may mean different things to different people, but it can always provide the foundation for our discussions with policymakers. Even if we choose to disagree. Page 19 “Stronger Together!”
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