Facts About School Choice and Education in America America Faces an Unprecedented Education Crisis One student drops

s out of an American high school every 26 seconds and 1.3 million students fail to graduate from an American high school every year Despite investing more in education than France, Germany, Japan, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia combined, Americas achievement gap in core subjects like math and science is almost the same as it was in 1990 Over the course of his or her lifetime, a high school dropout earns, on average, about $260,000 less than a high school graduate. Each high school dropout costs American taxpayers approximately $71,000 (Sources: Urban League, National Assessment of Education Progress 2011 Data, State Budget Solutions Project, Alliance For Excellent Education) School Choices for Families are Growing Dramatically 42 states allow public charter schools to operate and 39 states have established at least one private school choice program There are three times as many public charter schools operating now as there were in the year 2000. Public school choice, magnet and vocational schooling, online learning, and homeschooling have also experienced significant growth 53 percent of public school districts enroll online distance learning students 92 percent of students who access their online courses do so from the classroom (Sources: Education Commission of the States, National Center For Education Studies, American Federation for Children, iNACOL) The American Public Supports School Choice 66 percent of Americans favor charter schools. Charter schools are public schools run by educators who are allowed to innovate and develop specialized educational programs for students 85 percent of likely voters in battleground states think opportunity scholarships or taxcredit scholarships should be available in some form. Opportunity scholarships give lowincome parents and students in failing schools money that can be spent toward attending a school of their choice (Source: National Alliance For Public Charter Schools, PDK/Gallup, AFC)

School Choice in America: By the Numbers

School Choice in Traditional Public Schools 17 states permit universal open enrollment, empowering parents to select the best traditional public schools for their children regardless of school district boundaries. An additional 3 states permit universal open enrollment for students who would otherwise attend low-performing schools. 22 states have open enrollment provisions that promote diversity. (Source: Education Commission of the States, 2011) Public Charter Schools Charter schools are independent public schools that are allowed the freedom to be innovative, while being held accountable for improving student achievement. 42 states allow public charter schools and 500 new charter schools are opening in 2012-13. Public charter schools in America now serve more than 2 million children. There are more than 610,000 children on waiting lists to attend charter schools. (Source: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools) Private Schools There are more than 33,000 private schools in the United States. These schools employ approximately 470,000 teachers and enroll 5.5 million children. 1.25 million, or almost one quarter of all private school students, attend a secular private school. (Source: National Center on Education Statistics) Magnet Schools Magnet schools are themed public schools tailored to specific needs and interests of individual students. There are more than 5,000 magnet schools serving more than 2.5 million children across the country. $100 million in funding has been allocated to magnet schools since 2010. (Source: Magnet Schools of America) Online Learning 27 states have state virtual schools and 31 states and Washington, D.C. have statewide, full-time online schools. There are more than 1.8 million children benefiting from online learning, and approximately 275,000 students enrolled in full-time online schools. (Sources: iNACOL) Homeschooling Approximately 2.3 million children are homeschooled. The homeschooling population grows at a rate of 2 to 8 percent every year, and researchers estimate that homeschooling saves taxpayers $16 billion per year. Homeschoolers score 34 percentile points higher than the norm on standardized achievement tests. (Source: HSLDA, National Home Education Research Institute) Private School Choice Programs More than 250,000 students will benefit from private school choice programs. 21 states and the District of Columbia have enacted 39 private school choice programs (opportunity scholarships, school vouchers, special needs scholarships, education tax credits, or corporate/individual tax credits) designed to increase access to private schools. More than $1 Billion has been set aside to fund these programs. (Source: Friedman Foundation For Educational Choice)