For decades, Milton Friedman and his disciples contended that private markets could deliver better schooling than governments. In the 1990s, this belief was put to the test in the United States by for-profit educational management organizations (EMOs). While disappointing academic and financial outcomes pushed EMOs to the margins, their focus on results nevertheless helped reshape U.S. and foreign educational policy. In Education and the Commercial Mindset, Sam Abrams explains this evolution and its implications for educational leaders and the future of public education.
