per-capita enrollment payments to schools and a system of general funding to all schools
Isn't that what's done here in the states? I know the charter system caused huge political fights here in Massachusetts because, after being given a few years to get established, they began taking money from the "regular" public schools on a per-student-enrolled basis.
Many of those charter schools were consistently posting state test results that surpassed the "regular" public schools' by a wide margin. We later learned that at least some of those charter schools were exercising their freedom to kick out students for whom they felt the experiment wasn't working by return to the mainstream schools the ones who weren't doing well on their exam preparation.
So, at least here, there is an ugly side too. It is unfortunate, because the ability to experiment and determine what works the best is something we're capable of doing in the US (it's so huge). Within a reasonably short time we could probably come up with a pretty good system. I am still a fan of the charter experiment, by the way, I just have to be careful judging the evidence that I see.
All right. My point is that even with the most recent changes in the United States (I live in the state with the very first charter school law, and with the very first public school open enrollment law), there is still much more power to shop for schools in the Netherlands than in any part of the United States, and has been for a century.
I'm not disputing your point at all. Here we are in the early experimenting stage. Now that I've checked your profile, I recognize you from a group to which we both subscribe (I lurk mainly, because my interests are commercial, but occasionally I'll contact someone off-line if I think I can help).
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per-capita enrollment payments to schools and a system of general funding to all schools
Isn't that what's done here in the states? I know the charter system caused huge political fights here in Massachusetts because, after being given a few years to get established, they began taking money from the "regular" public schools on a per-student-enrolled basis.
Many of those charter schools were consistently posting state test results that surpassed the "regular" public schools' by a wide margin. We later learned that at least some of those charter schools were exercising their freedom to kick out students for whom they felt the experiment wasn't working by return to the mainstream schools the ones who weren't doing well on their exam preparation.
So, at least here, there is an ugly side too. It is unfortunate, because the ability to experiment and determine what works the best is something we're capable of doing in the US (it's so huge). Within a reasonably short time we could probably come up with a pretty good system. I am still a fan of the charter experiment, by the way, I just have to be careful judging the evidence that I see.
No state in the United States has the pervasive freedom to form new schools and immediately obtain equal funding that one finds in the Netherlands.
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordD...
Thanks for the link, but I'll note here that it's from 1989.
The constitutional system of school finance in the Netherlands is more than a century old.
My point is that in the last 20 years things have changed here. For instance, states obtained the right to start charter schools with funding.
All right. My point is that even with the most recent changes in the United States (I live in the state with the very first charter school law, and with the very first public school open enrollment law), there is still much more power to shop for schools in the Netherlands than in any part of the United States, and has been for a century.
I'm not disputing your point at all. Here we are in the early experimenting stage. Now that I've checked your profile, I recognize you from a group to which we both subscribe (I lurk mainly, because my interests are commercial, but occasionally I'll contact someone off-line if I think I can help).