EdChoice Vouchers improve public schools
Thursday, August 21st, 2008From School Choice Ohio:
August 20, 2008
Study finds EdChoice Scholarship Program spurs public school improvements
Friedman Foundation Study of EdChoice program August 2008
A study of the new Ohio Educational Choice Scholarship (EdChoice) program’s effect on public schools has found academic gains among students in designated public schools.
This suggests that, far from harming students in public schools, scholarship programs like EdChoice can actually spur improvements in student learning for those students who remain in the low-performing public schools.
The study, commissioned by the Indianapolis-based Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, is the first empirical analysis examining the effects of Ohio’s EdChoice voucher program, which was enacted by the Ohio state legislature in 2005. The program began serving students in the 2006-07 school year.
“We believe that competition – or the threat of competition – has spurred these schools to get their act together and better serve their students,” said Robert Enlow, executive director of the Friedman Foundation. “What we are seeing is, after just one year, some modest academic gains in several grade levels are taking place. No negative effects were detected in any grades.” (more…)
