A Comprehensive Framework for Evaluating Educational Vouchers. Occasional Paper (original) (raw)

A Comprehensive Framework for Evaluating Educational Vouchers

Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 2002

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School vouchers: a critical view

2002

mong the many reforms proposed for K-12 education are changes in governance that would increase the power of parents to choose schools and thereby make the education system function more like a market. Within this set of reforms, which also includes offering greater choice among public schools and the opportunity to establish public "charter" schools, school voucher programs are particularly controversial because they would permit parents to use public funds to secure education not only at public schools, but also at private schools. Proponents and opponents disagree about the effects of voucher programs on student achievement, on the social and racial segregation of students and on disadvantaged students. In addition, they differ on the importance of maintaining the separation between religious private schools and the state. School voucher programs currently exist only on a small scale in the United States. The main publicly funded voucher programs are in Milwaukee, Cleveland and Florida. In addition, small privately funded programs provide vouchers for lowand moderate-income students in cities such as New York City, Dayton, Ohio, and Washington, D.C. Another privately funded program, the Children's Scholarship Fund, operates at the national level. Recent studies based primarily on U.S. evidence typically conclude that the data are insuf cient to draw clear conclusions about the net effects of vouchers on academic achievement, access to schools, racial integration and civic education (for example,

School Vouchers: A Vehicle to Induce Greater Competition Among Public Schools

This article synthesizes various strands of the leading research studies to conclude that vouchers have the strongest impact on the lowest-and highest-performing public-school students and in the most competitive school districts. Based on case studies in Ohio and Florida, greater competitive measures will help improve educational outcomes for students on the margins. This article avoids a one-size-fits-all conclusion about the relationship between vouchers and educational outcomes, which will prove increasingly useful in a political climate that seems ripe for educational reform-especially as the current presidential administration pursues an agenda that looks to address school choice.

Who chooses? Who uses? Participation in a national school voucher program

Among the most controversial issues in the heated public debate over school vouchers is the question of which families are most likely to leave the public sector and enroll their children in private schools if given the opportunity. Critics assert that the parents most likely to opt for vouchers will be those who are already most involved in their children's educationwhich, on average, will mean the parents of the most motivated and gifted students. They also argue that the introduction of a voucher system would increase the separation of students by race and social class, with minority and low-income students relegated to underfunded and increasingly neglected public schools. Proponents, on the other hand, contend that any "creaming" from the public school system that would occur as a result of most potential voucher systems would be The authors wish to thank the operators of the Children's Scholarship Fund for their cooperation in this evaluation. Caroline Minter Hoxby and Jay Greene served as consultants to the evaluation. Funding for this study has been provided by the BASIC Fund Foundation, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation, the Gordon and Laura Gund Foundation, and the John M. Olin Foundation. The findings and interpretations reported herein are the sole responsibility of the authors and are not subject to the approval of the program operators or sources of financial support.

Remarkable or Poppycock?: Lessons from School Voucher Research and Data

Texas Center for Education Policy, 2014

A simple narrative purporting the benefits of student and parental choice within a market-based approach to education is the foundation of voucher discourse. Voucher policy proponents claim vouchers will increase parent choice, individual control over tax dollars, and create a competitive marketplace for students, especially those who are most disadvantaged (NEA, 2014). To advance the policy discussion, this brief offers a compendium of recent data and research on the U.S. domestic implementation of vouchers in order to inform policymakers of real-world outcomes and their implications for students and families.