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“There is no conclusive evidence that the [DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP)] affected student achievement.” This one statement, taken from a 214-page government report for which one of us (Wolf) was lead author, is often treated as the first, last and only word on the effectiveness of our nation’s only federally-sponsored private school choice program. […]
This post originally appeared on Jay P. Greene’s Blog. The confirmation of Betsy DeVos as the nation’s Secretary of Education is shining a national spotlight on educational choice. It has also drawn attention from school choice skeptics and opponents and a flurry of criticisms about choice with it. A recent report by Halley Potter of […]
A few weeks ago (March 16–18), we attended the Association for Education Finance and Policy’s (AEFP) annual conference in Washington, D.C. AEFP is definitely one of the top conferences in our field. It is a great place to present research and get feedback from some of the top minds in education research. Read on for […]
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and other secular Jewish groups are taking a stand against school vouchers. Given that the explicit purpose of the ADL is to fight anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry, they are ostensibly weighing in on this issue because they believe that there is a relationship between public or private schooling and […]
Note: This post was originally published on Education Next. The Century Foundation has published a report by Halley Potter that claims private school choice will increase ethnic segregation in schools. Although the text of the report constantly invokes words like “evidence,” “studies” and “data,” its conclusions are actually defended almost entirely by appeal to a lengthy […]
With the controversial nomination of Betsy DeVos for U.S. Secretary of Education, the concept of school choice has received increasing attention. Supporters and opponents of the concept have made bold claims about the effect of such programs on student outcomes and society in general. Theoretically, increased access to private school choice could improve educational quality […]
I wish I had a nickel for each time I’ve read or heard something about how school choice siphons resources from public schools or how it will cripple a public education system. The rhetoric can be fierce at times. Some even have claimed that school choice advocates somehow want to or intend to topple public […]
Note: A shortened version of this post was originally published on Education Next. We are at a critical point in the long history of education reform. The politicized issue of school choice has received sustained national attention since the election of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. The subsequent nomination of Betsy DeVos as […]
A recent Wall Street Journal story, “Homeowners’ Quest for the Best Schools,” highlighted an age-old dilemma that far too many American families face when it comes time to determine the best K–12 education for their children. Because our school system has historically been based on geography instead of student needs, families who can afford to […]
Legislators in Arkansas proposed a bill (HB 1222) to increase educational choice for families through an education savings account (ESA) program available to every child across the state. And though the previously conducted empirical studies on the financial effects of private school choice programs have found overall benefits to the state, taxpayers and individual districts, […]