Philly-for-profit : predicting the success of Edison Schools Inc. in Philadelphia

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2004
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Haverford College. Department of Economics
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Award
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eng
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Open Access
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Abstract
In the never-ending search for a successful method of public school reform, the city of Philadelphia has recently implemented a privatization scheme of for-profit administration in many of its failing schools. Led by Edison Schools Inc., the largest and most controversial for-profit school administrator, Philadelphia's venture into privatization has been accompanied by public scrutiny and resentment and faces abandonment if for-profit schools are unable to produce successful results. Through examination of the public education sector and structure of for-profit public school administration, this study finds that these providers, such as Edison Schools Inc., maintain no clear advantage in terms of costs or student success in the typically non-profit sector. Moreover, using data on specific Edison schools, this study finds that Edison's schools in Philadelphia will perform, on average, significantly lower than other Edison schools across the country. Thus, findings here indicate that Edison Schools Inc. will not raise school achievement and efficiency, as intended, but may, in fact, jeopardize the entire Philadelphia public school reform agenda. This study concludes with recommendations that Edison Schools Inc. be removed from the Philadelphia educational reform plan immediately following the current school year in order to maximize the district's potential for positive growth .
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