The Market Approach to Education: An Analysis of America's First Voucher Program.

It's impossible to pry the school voucher debate from the political and romantic barbells that weigh it down, but this comprehensive look at the nation's first experiment with vouchers comes as close as it gets. Author John F. Witte, the independent evaluator of Milwaukee's first five years with vouchers, gives the issue context by addressing the politics, the media, and the starry-eyed notions of transforming public education. But the bulk of his book is composed of statistics, scientific observations, and the unglamorized tales of some private schools that first participated in the experiment. Witte, a political science and public affairs professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, shuns the simplistic view that vouchers will either reinvigorate or destroy public schools. Instead, he lays out the pros and cons in a detailed, scholarly manner, complete with charts and thick footnotes. His primary message: vouchers can be a lifeline for poor families struggling with inferior inner-city schools by giving them a choice where none existed before.

Witte's final stance has surprised the antichoice movement, which used his earlier research results to argue against vouchers. Still, his endorsement is far from ringing--he found no proof that vouchers improve students' test scores or offer them a better education in the private sector. He also recommends that vouchers be issued to low-income students only, thus opening up another cause for debate. His writing is cautious and a bit defeated, reflecting a frustration with the attacks leveled at him from both sides of this raging dispute. He shouldn't despair: this book is a valuable resource that, if heard above the shouting, could elevate the debate and lead to a more rational conclusion. --Jodi Mailander Farrell