Public schooling usually leads to a vast difference in the way individuals are educated. Because of the structure of public school funding in the US,upper-class communities have better schools and more resources while poorer neighbourhoods suffer as they have fewer teachers, crumbling infrastructure and are in dire need of funds. However, when students from both these kinds of schools come to a university, they compete on the same level which ultimately gives an edge to those who went to better schools. A solution to this problem would be to replace the public schooling system with school vouchers, given to every parent. Under such a system, parents would be free to send their children to schools outside of their own district. School voucher programs have been shown to either improve the academic performance of students or be as good as a similar public school. With such a policy, a child’s education is not dependent on his/her geography and their progress will not be halted as a result of where they stay. Further, a program like this has been shown to also increase the quality of teachers at the school. “The competition created by school voucher programs actually drives improvement for public school students. Beyond that, school voucher programs foster more racial and socio-economic integration and better civic values in students. The proof is in the empirical evidence” (edChoice). The educational experience provided at a primary and secondary level is pivotal to one’s development and a school voucher program as described above would enhance that experience and reduce the disparities that exist.
Works Cited: “Types of School Choice: What are School Vouchers?” EdChoice. www.edchoice.org/school-choice/types-of-school-choice/what-are-school-vouchers-2/#