People often say that millennials like to complain. But when it comes to education, our complaints actually have merit.
A new report from Echelon Insights found that many of those in my generation old enough to have kids are deeply dissatisfied with their children’s schooling. Less than half of millennial moms think students are getting a good education — and that figure drops even lower among Hispanic and low-income parents. Academic performance is one of millennial parents’ main concerns, but they also see the importance of taught job skills and school accountability. But young parents need to realize the solution to their complaints is the one they’ve been rejecting at the ballot box: school choice.
It’s no surprise that millennials and parents of all generations are fed up with our traditional public education system. The U.S. is one of the richest countries in the world, and we spend much more on education than many other developed countries. But even so, our students rank just middle of the pack in most key academic areas. According to the Programme for International Student Assessment, American students place poorly against the rest of the world: 38th in math and a measly 24th in science out of the 71 countries evaluated.
Our public education system is tried and tested, and (like many of its students) it’s failing. My generation is right to complain, but complaining isn’t enough. We need to seek alternative options.
Charter schools allow parents to choose alternative public schools for their children, and tuition voucher programs provide taxpayer funds that would have went to public education so students can attend private schools. Both of these school choice programs have successfully boosted student performance. Out of the top 10 most rigorous public schools nationwide, it’s no coincidence that seven are charter schools. When the American Federation for Children surveyed 17 empirical studies, students in many private school choice programs did better on standardized tests than public school students. AFC found that 11 studies reported positive test score effects for students in private school choice programs while four reported neutral impact.
For traditional public schools, this data should be damning.
Beyond that, young Hispanic and other minority parents should advocate for a shift to charter schools, since they have a track record of providing a path to success for disadvantaged groups.
Florida provides a good example. According to the Miami Herald, students at Florida charter schools outperformed their public school counterparts on standardized tests, with higher passing rates at both elementary, middle, and high school levels. The results were particularly acute among disadvantaged students: Low-income kids were 10 percent more likely to pass their reading test, Hispanic students 12 percent, and black students 4 percent more likely to succeed. Improvements were also noted in math scores and other key areas.
Yet even in cases where scores and results match those of public schools, it’s often still true that charter schools are out-performing their public counterparts — because school choice programs overwhelmingly enroll more low-income and disadvantaged students compared to public schools. Achieving the same results as more privileged public school students is still a win, since those kids are likely better off than they would have been in the traditional system.
But the Echelon report shows that millennial parents care about more than just traditional academic outcomes like test results. My generation also recognizes that successful schools teach real-world skills such as personal finance, character, or vocational training. This is something no traditional public school can do well, as any attempt to innovate can be easily shut down by faceless bureaucrats and test-driven teaching. Meanwhile, charter and private schools can help prepare students for the real world.
Frankly, they’ll have to — school choice programs can’t keep the lights on without parental demand, and parents are demanding that schools start teaching students life skills.
Millennials also care deeply about holding schools responsible for the quality of their education. About 83 percent told Echelon that schools “should be held accountable for ensuring children can read, write, and do math on grade level.” Yet right now, there’s little accountability in our public school system. How could there be? Choice is the ultimate form of accountability, as it creates a market for education: Schools that fail to deliver will quickly be abandoned by parents who want what’s best for their kids. But a traditional public school holds a monopoly on their students, destroying any incentive it might have had to keep standards high.
Yet as a block, young people overwhelmingly vote for Democrats. In the 2018 midterm election, nearly 70 percent of those aged 18 to 29 voted for Democratic candidates — the same Democrats who, largely, oppose school choice. As long as my generation keeps voting for the politicians who put up roadblocks against educational freedom, our complaints won’t get an answer.
Brad Polumbo (@Brad_Polumbo) is an assistant editor at Young Voices.
