Vouchers do not lead to higher achievement levels
4/22/03 -- A study of the Cleveland voucher program by the Indiana Study for Evaluation reports no consistent, significant differences in achievement between voucher students and public school students by the end of third grade.
However, voucher students who leave the program and transfer to public schools perform at lower levels than both students using vouchers to attend private schools and students who never applied for vouchers.
Meanwhile, a study that found academic gains among students in a privately funded New York City voucher program has been challenged by another researcher, who concludes that no academic benefits can be shown.
The original study, by Harvard University professor Paul E. Peterson, found that black students who participated in a privately funded voucher program in New York City scored 5.5 percentile points higher on test scores three years later, compared to black students who did not receive the vouchers.
But Alan B. Krueger, a professor at Princeton University, earlier this month challenged these findings, arguing the original study mistakenly excluded 500 participating students. Using the same data, Krueger concluded that "offering a voucher had no statistically discernible impact on achievement scores."
Top of Page
| Reproduced with permission from the Apr. 22, 2003, issue of School Board News. Copyright © 2003, National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect positions of NSBA. This article may be printed out and photocopied for individual or educational use, provided this copyright notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise transmitted or reproduced in print or electronic form without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call (703) 838-6789. |