"The disappointing performance of the school system in Italy is one of the likely factors that reduce growth in this country. We take it as a case study with interesting implications for other European countries with similar school systems. Lack of funding is not the answer. The Italian school system needs to move in the direction of more autonomy given to individual schools, in the management of teachers and in the curriculum. The paper discusses a reform proposal that can achieve this goal, while at the same time learning from international experiences. Specifically we adapt to the Italian environment a similar reform introduced in the UK in 1988 and the best of the Charter Schools experiences in the USA."

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