ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the market philosophies that undergirded the rise in many reforms, including testing and charter school policy. The market system refers to a return to a preference for ideas associated with a laissez-faire system of economic liberalism, or a system in which economic transactions are freed from government interference. The financial consequences of the loss of funding are supposed to incentivize districts and schools to improve. The chapter discusses the underpinnings of market theory and the policies that arise from a market-driven approach. A market approach to education expects that bureaucracy creates problems. Charter schools are publicly funded schools of choice, operating independently from school districts under an agreed-upon performance contract, or "charter." Fitting with a market model, the expectation also includes that the charters will encourage reform in the traditional school district. School voucher programs give families money to attend schools outside of the public system at reduced or no cost.
