The Fordham Institute conducted a survey of experts who are advocates of private education, soliciting opinions about how private schools accepting public monies, such as from voucher programs, should be held accountable. The experts were in agreement that private schools should not accept regulation of their day-to-day operations, but disagreed among themselves whether to accept top-down standardized testing accountability. The Fordham researchers proposed a compromise position in which the more the private schools rely on public money, the more the schools should be subject to the same requirements as public schools. The Fordham study is a reasonable inquiry into the difficult area of private/public education ventures. Although the study does not arrive at a definitive position, it raises important issues about accountability in both private and public education.

Suggested Citation: House, E. (2009). Review of “When Private Schools Take Public Dollars: What’s the place of accountability in school voucher programs?” Boulder and Tempe: Education and the Public Interest Center & Education Policy Research Unit. Retrieved [date] from http://epicpolicy.org/thinktank/review-when-private-schools-take-public…