School Vouchers Case Study

Could attaining higher education from kindergarten through twelfth grade be achieved from school vouchers, provided by the government, through private school instruction? School vouchers are a resource parents can use to allocate educational funding, for their children, to pay for private school tuition of their choosing. The idea stems from those who feel quality and efficiency is best delivered from a private school, rather than a public school. The program does not include all private schools and schools must meet legislature’s minimum standards in order for voucher recipients to be accepted. Currently, the school voucher programs limit those that are eligible in most states. In order to meet the requirements of eligibility, a student

The program focused on low income household children who met the requirements to receive a school voucher. The Effect of Milwaukee’s Parental Choice Program on Student Achievement in Milwaukee Public Schools determined the exit of voucher students improved public schools academic scores of their students. “Milwaukee public schools are more attentive to the academic needs of students when those students have more opportunities to leave those schools” (Greene & Marsh, 2009, p. 9). Positioning public schools to compete against private schools directly forces public schools to revise their vested interest in student’s educations, knowing the student now has an alternative education

Smaller class sizes, arguably safer learning environments and high achievements beyond graduation are enticing reasons to switch from public to private school, in theory. There have been minimal findings in supporting voucher students increasing academic performance. In fact, the Evaluation of Ohio’s EdChoice Scholorship Program: Selection, Competition, and Performance Effects, concluded, students who used vouchers to attend private schools fared worse on state exams compared to their closely matched peers remaining in public schools (Figlio & Karbownik, 2016). A study of the District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program also came to the same conclusion. This is due to the selection of participants to which the program carters too. Students from low performing schools, have disabilities or come from low income households are typically academically behind classmates previously enrolled in private