MADISON, Wis. – A few weeks ago we reported about the growing number of Wisconsin K-12 students who are opting for enrollment in virtual charter schools. We offered that as evidence that the demand for more school choice is growing.

Now a report from the MacIver Institute tells us that more Wisconsin students are opting for various types of school choice than ever before.

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More than 262,000 Wisconsin K-12 students used some form of school choice in the 2011-12 school year, according to the report. That’s an increase of more than 2,000 students from the prior school year. Rather than attending their local government school, they chose options like charter schools, virtual charter schools, open enrollment transfers to other public schools, private schools and homeschooling.

Nearly 90,000 of the choice students came from Milwaukee, the report said.

The new numbers indicate a reverse in a recent trend. The number of students using school choice options decreased by 1.1 percent in 2010-11, but last year rebounded by more than two percent. While the number of students enrolling in private schools continued to decrease (5,700 over the past two years), there was a large spike in the use of charter schools, virtual charters, open enrollment and homeschooling.

“(That) made the past year one of the most successful in terms of school choice participation,” the report said.

Charter school enrollment (both regular and virtual) was particularly impressive, going from 37,173 students in 2010-11 to 40,329 last year. That number was only about 10,000 a decade ago, according to the report.

The news was not all bad for private schools, either. While enrollment was down statewide, it increased by about 2.5 percent in Milwaukee, the home of Wisconsin’s oldest and largest private school voucher program. That’s probably because the state lifted the limit on the number of students in the program and eased geographic and income restrictions for participation.

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What does all of this mean?

“Wisconsinites are choosing the schools that fit their children best at an increasing rate,” the report said. “For some it means moving to a charter program. For others, it means a public school that offers more to their children despite being a bit further away from their homes. For many more, it means choosing a private institution that meets their needs.

“While the debate over which is best for a given child is one without a simple answer, few would disagree with the idea that more options are a good thing for students.”