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| You Are Here: Home > Online Library > Articles > School Choice > Article | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NEW INFORMATION April 2000 Education
Writers Association Atlanta,
Georgia The school choice debate has
generated an array of competing claims and information.
Many reporters seeking objective information have concluded that the evidence is "inconclusive,"
"mixed," or "contradictory." New information suggests that a reassessment
of that view is in order. For example, there
is an emerging consensus among several scholars suggesting that school choice experiments
have had largely positive effects.
The attached material provides
basic background information and a brief overview of recent scholarly evidence. It will
enable interested reporters to obtain and review the cited documents, contact the various
authors, and draw their own conclusions.
Howard L. Fuller, Ph.D. K-12
SCHOOL CHOICE IN THE U.S. While
school choice has been debated theoretically for decades, actual programs were not enacted
until the 1990s. Strong parent interest has fueled growth in tax-supported and privately
financed programs. A decade ago, there were
only 300 tax-supported voucher students, all in Milwaukee. Today, more than 11,500
students — in Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Florida — participate in such programs. About 52,000 other students use private K-12
scholarships, in 70 programs, across the country. Participation
in K-12 School Choice Programs
Sources:
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI); Ohio Department of Education;
Children’s Scholarship Fund; Children’s Educational Opportunity Foundation. DEMOGRAPHIC
CHARACTERISTICS Most school choice students are from
low-income, single parent families. They are
racially and ethnically diverse. Most were
low academic achievers in public school. Tax-supported voucher
students. The Milwaukee and Cleveland programs enroll more than 11,400 of the 11,538
students in this category. The table on page 2
describes the family income of these students and their racial and ethnic background. Demographic
Characteristics of Tax-Supported Voucher Students
Sources: University
of Wisconsin-Madison; Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau; Indiana Center for Evaluation. Privately financed voucher programs. Evaluations of several privately financed
programs show that students in these programs are also mostly low-income and racially and
ethnically diverse. The following table summarizes demographic information from five of
the largest programs. Because of varying eligibility criteria and data collection methods,
uniform demographic information about all private programs is unavailable. Demographic Characteristics of
Privately Supported Voucher Students in Five Large Programs
Sources:
For Milwaukee, Family
Service America, Inc.; For San Antonio,
Washington, D.C., New York, and Dayton, Program on Education
Policy and Governance, Harvard University. CONSTITUTIONALITY State supreme courts in
Wisconsin, Ohio, and Arizona have upheld programs providing tax support for students at
private and religious schools. In contrast,
an Ohio federal court and a state trial court
in Florida have declared such programs unconstitutional.
The Ohio and Florida decisions are being appealed. Observers expect that in
the near future the U. S. Supreme Court will accept a case that will resolve this
conflict. Several constitutional experts
interpret court decisions in recent years as suggesting that educational assistance
programs are constitutional if they treat religious and nonreligious options neutrally and
if funds are directed by the private choices of individual parents. VOUCHER
EVALUATIONS Jay P. Greene, a senior fellow at
The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, finds evidence of an emerging scholarly
consensus. In March, 2000, Greene presented
his findings (“A Survey of Results from Voucher Experiments: Where We Are and What We
Know”) to a national conference of scholars at Harvard University. According to Greene, if “one
only examined the competing interest group and research community spin on the various
evaluations, instead of reading the evaluations themselves, one might easily miss the
level of positive consensus that exists.” A noteworthy example cited by
Greene involves John Witte, a political science professor at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. Witte was the official
evaluator of the Milwaukee program from 1990 to 1995.
While some observers have characterized Witte’s findings as negative,
an actual reading of his reports reveals a majority of positive findings. In a new book,
Witte effectively confirms this interpretation. Citing his Milwaukee research, he says: "Choice can be
a useful tool to aid families and educators in inner city and poor communities where
education has been a struggle for several generations...If programs are devised correctly,
they can provide meaningful educational choices to families that now do not have such
choices."
Greene cites Witte
and a range of other evaluators to document that: “…[A]mong
the researchers who have collected and analyzed the data…on…the effects of
school choice…there is largely agreement…that these programs are generally
positive in their effects and ought to be continued if not expanded.” The first of several attachments lists a
variety of recent reports, including several cited by Greene. ATTACHMENTS 1. An
Emerging Consensus in School Choice Research. 2. Official Evaluations of Milwaukee
and Cleveland Programs. 3. “Ex-Milwaukee evaluator
endorses school choice,” The Sunday Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel, January 9, 2000, page one. 4. Tax-Supported K-12 Voucher
Programs — Key Legislative Provisions. 5. Contacts for More School Choice
Information. Attachment
1. An
Emerging Consensus in School Choice Research
Attachment
2. Official
Evaluations of Milwaukee and Cleveland Programs. ·
In February, 2000,
Wisconsin’s nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau issued an evaluation of the
Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. A two-page
summary of this report is attached. The full
report is available online at http://www.legis.state.wi.us/lab. ·
In September, 1999, the Indiana Center for
Evaluation (Indiana University) issued an evaluation of the Cleveland voucher program. This work was done under contract to the Ohio
Department of Education. A two-page
summary of this report is attached. The full
report is available from the author, Kim Metcalf, kmetcalf@indiana.edu.
Attachment 3.
“Ex-Milwaukee evaluator endorses
school choice,” The Sunday Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel, January 9, 2000, page one. Attachment 4.
Tax-Supported K-12 Voucher Programs
— Key Legislative Provisions. Attachment 5.
Contacts for More Information on School Choice.
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