Schools, Vouchers, and the American Public

"In a timely work, "Schools, Vouchers, and the American Public," Terry Moe considers a number of public-opinion mysteries and largely neglected political topics. A discussion regarding the results of a 1995 survey takes up most of the book. Moe surveyed a nationally representative sample of 4,700 adults, with much greater precision and in greater detail than other pollsters. The differences between Moe's findings and those of other surveys are startling yet intuitively appealing.""The first five chapters pertain to attitudes toward the current educational system, including the strong desire to "go private." The last five chapters explore opinion about vouchers and public-school choice.""The primary message of the first half of the book is that most people think their assigned public school is academically solid, but they also think that the private sector offers even better schooling-better in general or maybe just a particular option that is better for them.""Moe's finding that most parents are reasonably satisfied with the academic side of their assigned public school highlights a great opportunity to promote reforms based on parental choice.""In the second half of the book, Moe briefly examines opinion on public-school choice.""Most of the second half of the book relates to voucher programs. Moe's analysis is the first to consider critical issues such as voucher add-ons and regulation, but the public's limited knowledge of school-choice issues greatly reduces the potential benefits of Moe's journey into these uncharted waters.""Moe's analysis of public opinion challenges parental-choice friend and foe alike. His findings broadly indicate what is possible now and what must be done to change those possibilities. Both choice advocates and opponents will overlook or discount his findings at their peril."-From "The Independent Review," Summer 2002