Introduction

Abstract

Berner describes the academic and civic achievement gaps that plague the US educational systems. She attributes these gaps in part to the nineteenth-century decision to create uniform, state-operated systems, instead of the responsive pluralism that characterizes most democratic school systems. Berner sets out her case: educational pluralism is more intellectually honest and democratically aligned than uniformity, the current mechanisms in use (tax credits, vouchers, scholarships) are constitutional, and schools with distinctive missions often produce better academic and civic outcomes for students. At the same time, she resists both the libertarian, anti-government strands within the school choice movement and the state orientation of the status quo. Educational pluralism charts a middle course that offers an expansion of educational options within a common accountability framework.