by Lance T. Izumi, Fellow in California Studies
Pacific Research Institute
April 7, 1998

Announcer lead: Time for Perspectives. Lance Izumi says that developments in Sacramento give new momentum for vouchers.

Over the last few weeks, there's been good news and bad news on the education front. First, the bad news. According to figures just released by the California State University system, the number of freshmen needing remedial instruction is now at an all-time high. In English, nearly half of first-time freshmen enrolled at a CSU campus in 1997 needed remedial assistance. In math, more than half of entering freshmen needed remedial help.

Why the shocking numbers? There are several reasons, but key among them is the fact that many students are simply not getting the academic preparation they need from their public K-12 education. CSU chancellor Charles Reed observed that students must be helped long before they first gaze at a college application form.

Now the good news. For the first time, the state Legislative Analyst's Office, the Legislature's non-partisan research agency, has announced that school vouchers may be one way to help students succeed at the K-12 level. In its analysis of the proposed state budget, the Analyst's office says, "We think the idea of vouchers has sufficient merit that the Legislature should sponsor a demonstration program as a way to understand the costs and benefits of the concept."

Of course, this is exactly what many California school-choice proponents have been advocating since the defeat of Prop. 174, the 1993 school-choice initiative. Give choice a chance, even in a demonstration program, and then let the results dictate what should be done on a statewide basis. Where school choice has been tried, such as in Milwaukee, Cleveland and England, it has succeeded, so why not try it here in California?

For school-choice opponents, that's precisely the fear. If choice succeeds in California's failing public school districts, then demand for choice would increase and that could doom the government's virtual monopoly over K-12 education. Thus, if the Legislature adopts the Analyst's Office's recommendation, it could be time to start playing taps for the education status quo in California.

With a perspective, I'm Lance Izumi.