The idea of providing vouchers to a small percentage of at risk students is a nice idea and better than nothing, however, delivering real choice and improving the education for all requires a system overhaul.

Let’s begin with a general premise. Competition improves everything. Human nature dictates, in general, that individuals (hence organizations) improve only when there is gain involved in doing so. Schools can improve by competing for dollars and, heaven forbid, existing so that they make money.

So, here’s the plan.

Private organizations presently in the business of educating (existing private schools, trade schools, universities) are approached in every region of the country and asked to propose a yearly cost per student that would result if they were to purchase existing public facilities and run them as a business.

This and present expenditures for public schooling per student, per year are factored in to begin to determine what a voucher would be worth in this area.

Five years prior to implementation, public facilities are put up for sale. (Five years is an arbitrary time chosen so that there is no interruption of service.)

Corporate entities or neighborhood co-ops purchase the schools and set a tuition. Some schools' tuition may be higher than the vouchers, some much higher. These will be higher-quality schools.

But the schools that pattern their curricula and facilities to meet the tuition represented by the voucher amount will still perform better than the worst public schools. They have to offer quality or nobody will buy. The government's only function is to distribute funds, not intrude with standards. Standardized testing can be offerred so that parents can make quality of products evaluations, but they will not be mandatory.

Some school systems spend ridiculous amounts per student for disastrously poor education ($14K/yr/student in DC). This is because an unacceptably large percentage of the dollars is spent on administration and bureaucracy.

Private schools can offer excellent education for half that amount. They do not have the dead weight. Much more of the money ends up in the classroom.  

Getting more for less money? That is the result of capitalism, and it is as American as it gets.