A Win-Win Solution: The Empirical Evidence on School Vouchers. Second Edition
Forster, Greg
Foundation for Educational Choice
This report collects the results of all available empirical studies using the best available scientific methods to measure how school vouchers affect academic outcomes for participants, and all available studies on how vouchers affect outcomes in public schools.
Contrary to the widespread claim that vouchers do not benefit participants and hurt public schools, the empirical evidence consistently shows that vouchers improve outcomes for both participants and public schools. In addition to helping the participants by giving them more options,
there are a variety of explanations for why vouchers might improve public schools as well.
The most important is that competition from vouchers introduces healthy incentives for public schools to improve.
Key findings include:
(1) Ten empirical studies have used random assignment, the gold standard of social science, to examine how vouchers affect participants. Nine studies find that vouchers improve student outcomes, six that all students benefit and three that some benefit and some are not affected. One study finds no visible impact. None of these studies finds a negative impact;
(2) Nineteen empirical studies have examined how vouchers affect outcomes in public schools.
Of these studies, 18 find that vouchers improved public schools and one finds no visible impact.
No empirical studies find that vouchers harm public schools;
(3) Every empirical study ever conducted in Milwaukee, Florida, Ohio, Texas, Maine and Vermont finds that voucher programs in those places improved public schools;
(4) Only one study, conducted in Washington D.C., found no visible impact from vouchers.
This is not surprising, since the D.C. voucher program is the only one designed to shield public schools from the impact of competition.
Thus, the D.C. study does not detract from the research consensus in favor of a positive effect from voucher competition; and
(5) The benefits provided by existing voucher programs are sometimes large, but are usually more modest in size.
This is not surprising since the programs themselves are modest--curtailed by strict limits on the students they can serve, the resources they provide, and the freedom to innovate. Only a universal voucher program could deliver the kind of dramatic improvement our public schools so desperately need.
(Contains 4 tables and 48 notes.) [This is an updated version of the original paper, "A Win-Win Solution: The Empirical Evidence on How Vouchers Affect Public Schools. School Choice Issues in Depth", published in February 2009. To access this report, see ED508324.
Descriptors: Public Schools, School Choice, Competition, Program Effectiveness, Educational Change, Educational Vouchers, Evidence, Scientific Methodology, Academic Achievement, Educational Improvement, Parent Attitudes, Tax Credits, Change Strategies, Participant Satisfaction, Meta Analysis, Educational Assessment, Educational Indicators
Foundation for Educational Choice. One American Square Suite 2420, Indianapolis, IN 46282. Tel: 317-681-0745; Fax: 317-681-0945; e-mail: info@edchoice.org; Web site: http://www.edchoice.org
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Foundation for Educational Choice
Identifiers - Location: District of Columbia; Florida; Maine; Ohio; Texas; Vermont; Wisconsin
This is not surprising, since the D.C. voucher program is the only one designed to shield public schools from the impact of competition.
Thus, the D.C. study does not detract from the research consensus in favor of a positive effect from voucher competition; and
(5) The benefits provided by existing voucher programs are sometimes large, but are usually more modest in size.
This is not surprising since the programs themselves are modest--curtailed by strict limits on the students they can serve, the resources they provide, and the freedom to innovate. Only a universal voucher program could deliver the kind of dramatic improvement our public schools so desperately need.
(Contains 4 tables and 48 notes.) [This is an updated version of the original paper, "A Win-Win Solution: The Empirical Evidence on How Vouchers Affect Public Schools. School Choice Issues in Depth", published in February 2009. To access this report, see ED508324.
Descriptors: Public Schools, School Choice, Competition, Program Effectiveness, Educational Change, Educational Vouchers, Evidence, Scientific Methodology, Academic Achievement, Educational Improvement, Parent Attitudes, Tax Credits, Change Strategies, Participant Satisfaction, Meta Analysis, Educational Assessment, Educational Indicators
Foundation for Educational Choice. One American Square Suite 2420, Indianapolis, IN 46282. Tel: 317-681-0745; Fax: 317-681-0945; e-mail: info@edchoice.org; Web site: http://www.edchoice.org
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Foundation for Educational Choice
Identifiers - Location: District of Columbia; Florida; Maine; Ohio; Texas; Vermont; Wisconsin
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED517753
