When economist Milton Friedman first proposed the idea of school choice in his 1955 essay “The Role of Government in Education,” the Nobel Prize winner hypothesized that it would “quicken the pace of progress” in education. He was right — rigorous research proves as much.

We’ve witnessed massive expansions in education choice in recent years, thanks in part to the pandemic and parent dissatisfaction with radical public school curricula. Thirty-two states and Washington, D.C., now operate 76 private school choice programs. So, has choice quickened the pace of progress? What does the research say about the impact of choice on students across the country?