Thread by @JasonBedrick

Opponents of school choice claim that (1) it doesn't benefit rural kids b/c there are no alternatives to the district schools and that (2) it hurts district schools because so many kids would leave for those alternatives.

What's the truth? 🧵 1/11

These claims are mutually exclusive. They can't both be true simultaneously.

But as @matthewladner & I detail in a new @Heritage report, they both can be--and actually are--false. 2/

heritage.org/education/repo…

Families in rural areas have access to more education options than ever before. 70% of rural families live w/in 10 miles of a private school. Charters are scarcer, but they don't have to be. In AZ, 84% live in a zip code w/ at least 1 charter school. 3/

foxnews.com/opinion/why-ru…

Moreover, in states with school choice, supply rises to meet demand. Florida's rural private school enrollment has more than doubled over the last 20 years. 4/

Recent years have also seen the rise of microschools. In states like AZ that have robust school choice options, there has been tremendous growth in microschooling, particularly in rural areas. 5/

Virtual schooling is also increasingly available. A 2021 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 72% rural Americans said they have a broadband Internet connection at home, up 19 percentage points since 2016. 6/

Okay, but if there are so many options, doesn't that mean the critics are right that choice policies will "destroy" rural district schools? No, not at all.

To test that theory, look at the state w/ the most robust school choice policies: Arizona. 7/

Arizona is #1 for school choice on the @Heritage Education Freedom Report Card. It has the highest private school choice enrollment per capita and 2nd highest charter school enrollment nationwide. So how are their rural district schools faring? 8/

heritage.org/educationrepor…

In the decade before the pandemic, Arizona's rural schools were knocking the socks off rural schools nationwide in terms of academic growth, as measured by the NAEP. 9/

Nearly every sector's scores fell during the pandemic, but Arizona's rural schools are still mostly up vs. 2007, and the declines in 8th grade reading/math weren't nearly as bad as rural schools elsewhere. 10/

In short: There are lots of education options for rural families and there's no evidence school choice hurts rural schools. Indeed, the best evidence suggests that school choice is the rising tide that lifts all boats. 11/11
heritage.org/education/repo…