The Competitive Effects of School Choice on Students’ Achievement

Abstract

 This systematic review examines empirical evidence on how the expansion of school-choice policies – specifically charter schools, voucher programs, magnet schools, and open enrollment – affects academic achievement for (a) participating students and (b) students remaining in traditional public schools. We conducted comprehensive searches of education and economics databases, focusing on studies from roughly 2008–2023 (with some foundational older works) and including international examples. We included quantitative, peer-reviewed or authoritative studies that explicitly measured competition from school choice and reported test-score outcomes or other academic metrics. Our review synthesizes over 25 studies across diverse settings. Overall, findings are mixed and context-dependent. For charter schools, some early U.S. studies (e.g. Florida) found modest public-school gains, but most later analyses find no spillover or even slight negative effects on traditional schools. Voucher programs (notably Florida and other means-tested programs) have sometimes yielded small positive “rising tide” effects, boosting non-voucher students’ achievement. Magnet schools tend to improve outcomes for attending students, but their systemwide competitive effects are unclear; in some cases, magnets draw high-achievers away from already-strong schools. Open enrollment (public school choice within districts) shows mixed outcomes: students who transfer often see no test-score benefit, while sending districts under pressure have in some cases raised achievement. International studies echo this ambiguity: cross-country analyses find more choice generally correlates with higher achievement, but studies in places like the Netherlands have found negative associations. We summarize key positive and negative findings and note contradictions. Methodological limitations – including selection bias, non-experimental designs, varied definitions of “competition,” and context-specific factors – constrain strong conclusions. In sum, school choice can create incentives for improvement, but empirical gains have typically been small. The review highlights heterogeneity across studies and underscores that competitive effects depend on policy design, market context, and implementation details.