For-profit schooling and the politics of education reform in Chile: When ideology trumps evidence Gregory Elacqua Documento de Trabajo CPCE Nº 5 http://www.cpce.cl/ Julio, 2009 * Correo de contacto:
[email protected] For-profit schooling and the politics of education reform in Chile: When ideology trumps evidence Gregory Elacqua Documento de Trabajo CPCE Nº 5 Julio, 2009 Abstract For-profit schooling is one of the most hotly debated issues in education policy discussions in Chile. Proponents argue that for-profit schools have incentives to reduce costs and to innovate, leading to both higher quality and greater efficiency in education. Critics maintain that for-profit schools cannot be trusted to place the interest of children over profitability. Buried in this position is the belief that for-profits would cut quality in the process of cutting costs. Researchers can gain insight into this debate by examining school systems where vouchers have been implemented on a large scale and where for-profit and non-profit school supply has increased. In 1981, Chile began financing public and most private schools with vouchers. Education in Chile occurs in a mixed market with 46 percent of students enrolled in public schools, 31 percent in for-profit voucher schools, 16 percent in non-profit (religious and secular) voucher schools, and 7 percent in private non-voucher schools. This paper compares the academic achievement of fourth and eighth-grade students across for-profit, non-profit and public schools. What I find is a mixed story. Initial results indicate that non-profits have a small advantage over for-profit and public schools and for- profit school students have slightly higher test scores than comparable public school students at fourth grade, once student and peer attributes and selection bias are controlled for.