Research has just begun on the impact of school choice programs, since they are relatively new.
Harvard's Program on Education Policy and Governance Center undertook the first independent evaluation of Cleveland's groundbreaking school voucher program.
The study found that the program was popular with parents surveyed and that it raised the scores of students tested at the end of the first year.
These results are particularly promisinq since the program is directed at low-income families, who receive vouchers covering up to 90 percent of private or parochial school tuition.
The same researchers discovered that students who participate in Milwaukee's school choice program improve their test scores and perform better than those who don't participate in the program.
A similar study of New York City's school voucher system in 1998 also found that low-income pupils using vouchers had slightly better standardized test scores than low-income students not in the program.
Up to now, not much information has been available on how well charter schools are doing.
But that is about to change.
Massachusetts, for example, now requires charters to develop an "accountability contract" with the state involving annual site visits and evidence of academic success.