School finance reform and private school enrollment: evidence from California

An empirical study was conducted to investigate the heretofore largely unexplored aspect of the effect of state school financing reforms on student achievement. Policymakers have met with varying success in attempts to address significant, persisting disparities in educational opportunities in the nation by imposing different reforms on state school financing. It has been argued by observers that reforms restricting local discretion over per pupil spending might have unforseen and possibly adverse consequences. The study shows that school finance reform exerted a substantial impact on the enrollment shares of private schools in California and reforms in state education finance played a substantial role in the rapid drop in california public school enrollment during the 1970s.