This book is for parents, teachers, policymakers, taxpayers, and everyone who wants great schools for children regardless of their race, social background, and parents' income.

Our thesis is that America once had great kindergarten-to-twelfth grade (K-12) schools, and wouold have them once again if parents were put back in charge of their children's education by being free to choose the schools their children attend. School vouchers--tax-funded certificates or scholarships that parents can apply toward the tuition of private schools--are the mechanism for making school choice a reality.

Widespread adoption of school vouchers will take place only when majorities of voters and opinion leaders are convinced that a system of competing private and public schools would be better than the current public school monopoly, and are moved to act on their convictions. Creating a sound basis for that conviction and decision to act is the purpose of this book.