Education Reform Isn’t Easy, but It’s Worthwhile

The video from a recent Cato event, "Markets vs. Standards: Debating the Future of American Education," is online here. I especially enjoyed listening to Andrew Coulson, who presents evidence from around the world that the private sector improves education. He also addresses Sol Stern’s contention that market-based reforms have been ineffective and that reformers should redirect their attention toward imposing standards.

Coulson points out that the difficulty of replacing the education monopoly with a free market is no reason to give up. None of our country’s previous policy victories would have been achieved had people redirected their efforts to easier alternatives — such as, to take Coulson’s example, improving their local grocery stores.

So, take a look. If you want to skip right to Coulson’s remarks, they begin about 40 minutes into the program.