Education Research

Research from The CATO Institute:

The mission of the Cato Institute is to increase the understanding of public policies based on the principles of limited government, free markets, individual liberty, and peace. The Institute will use the most effective means to originate, advocate, promote, and disseminate applicable policy proposals that create free, open, and civil societies in the United States and throughout the world.

Education and Child Policy: Cato's education research is founded on the principle that parents are best suited to make important decisions regarding the care and education of their children. Our researchers seek to shift the terms of public debate in favor of the fundamental right of parents and toward a future where government-run schools give way to a dynamic, independent system of schools competing to meet the needs of American children.

Day-Care Regulation: Serving Children or Bureaucrats? by Karen Lehrman and Jana Pace: Unnecessary governmental regulations are stifling the supply of day care at a time when the need has never been greater and shows every sign of continuing to surge.

"Making College More Expensive: The Unintended Consequences of Federal Tuition Aid" by Gary Wolfram: Also, when large numbers of students begin to rely on the federal government to fund their higher education, and the federal government uses this financing to affect the behavior of state and private institutions, we should be concerned about how the resulting loss of independence of our colleges and universities affects the ability of voters to form opinions about public policy that are independent of the government’s position.

"They Spend WHAT? The Real Cost of Public Schools" by Adam B. Schaeffer: Although public schools are usually the biggest item in state and local budgets, spending figures provided by public school officials and reported in the media often leave out major costs of education and thus understate what is actually spent.

School Choice: The Findings by Herbert J. Walberg: This book is the most comprehensive and up-to-date survey available, summarizing the research on charter schools, vouchers, and public versus private school effectiveness, from one of the country's most distinguished education scholars. The focus is on rigorous studies—those using randomized control groups (as in medical research), those that monitor achievement changes over time, and those based on large numbers of students.

Feds In The Classroom: How Big Government Corrupts, Cripples, and Compromises American Education By Neal P. McCluskey: This book Challenges the constitutionality of how deeply entrenched the feds have become in the classroom, which was, until recently, the function of state and local governments.

Research by The Foundation for Educational Choice for Educational Choice:

The Foundation for Educational Choice for Educational Choice, a non-profit organization established in 1996 as the Milton & Rose D. Friedman Foundation, was founded upon the ideals and theories of Nobel Laureate economist Milton Friedman and economist Rose D. Friedman.

The best way to improve the quality of elementary and secondary education is to give all parents the freedom to choose the schools that work best for their children. Milton Friedman first articulated and applied this idea of liberty and free markets to our education system in 1955. As he has pointed out numerous times, this was not merely a reaction to a perceived deficiency in schooling, but rather an interest in a free society.

Why School Choice? Read an in depth explanation of why school choice is needed.