We spend ten billion dollars each year to assure that citizens
are educated. The recent public debate over charter schools
highlighted some strong differences of opinion about what the
ideal education system should look like. The chart below
simplifies the discussion. A system of public education can have
many or few who are permitted to offer education. Likewise, a
system can have one or many acceptable learning outcomes. Our
current system in Washington is nearly a monopoly on providers
and fairly uniform on learning targets. It is indicated by the
red “X” in the #3 quadrant. The introduction of charter schools
moves the state closer to the #2 quadrant, since more providers
will be allowed to offer services. The adoption of a 24 credit
graduation requirement and the common core education standards
moves the state closer to one learning target. Which quadrant
represents your ideals?