Competitive Effects of the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program on Traditional Public School Achievement and Graduation Rates

By Drew Catt, Anna Jacob Egalite

As school choice options grow, it is helpful to test for indirect effects on non-choosers who are left behind in district-run schools. Can a competitive system built on the principle of choice serve as a rising tide that lifts all boats or will such systems further existing inequities? The largest competitive effects analysis of a voucher program in the United States, this study helps address existing gaps in knowledge by examining how the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program affects students in traditional public schools, looking at the change in academic outcomes and graduation rates of students in Indiana traditional public schools based on their proximity to private schools participating in this statewide K–12 private school voucher program.