Effect of Vouchers Studied by Policy and Governance Group

Low-income New York City students in grades two through five who received vouchers funded by the School Choice Scholarships Foundation to attend private schools scored higher in math and reading tests than a control group after one year. This according to a new study conducted by the University's Program on Education Policy and Governance (PEPG) and Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. Overall, differences between the two groups were small -- around two percentage points in both subjects. However, larger differences were observed for fourth- and fifth-graders -- four percentage points in reading and six in math.

These findings emerge from the first rigorous test of vouchers, conducted by PEPG and Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. The evaluation took the form of a randomized experiment in which researchers were able to test school choice by randomly assigning individuals to a test group (students who received a scholarship) and a control group (students who did not receive a scholarship). "Until now, no one had ever conducted a well-implemented randomized experiment of school choice," said David Myers, director of the study for Mathematica. "As a result, high-quality information about vouchers has been limited. These solid empirical findings should help to tone down passionate arguments on both sides of the school choice issue."

Paul E. Peterson, director of PEPG and the study's principal investigator at Harvard, pointed out that the effects on children in grades four and five were "comparable to the effects observed when class size is sharply reduced." Although the first-year effects are "promising" it remains to be seen, said Peterson, whether "they are sustained and enlarged in subsequent years."

Other findings from the study include:

Parents of scholarship users were much more satisfied with their children's education. Nearly half gave their school an "A," while only one-eighth of the control group did. Similarly, 58 percent of the scholarship parents expressed the highest satisfaction with "what's taught in school," compared with 18 percent of the control group.

Using a scholarship somewhat reduced the racial isolation of minority students. Eighteen percent of scholarship parents said less than half of the students in their child's classroom were of minority background, compared with just 11 percent of control group parents. Conversely, 37 percent of the control group parents said all the students in the classroom were minority, compared with just 28 percent of the scholarship parents.

Compared with the control group, scholarship parents were more likely to report that the following were not serious problems at their school: students destroying property, being late for school, missing classes, fighting, cheating, and engaging in racial conflict.

Scholarship students were less likely than the control group to have access to a library, cafeteria, nurse's office, child counselors, and special programs for non-English speakers and students with learning difficulties.

Fifty-five percent of the scholarship parents reported that their child had at least an hour of homework a day, compared with 36 percent of the control group parents. Scholarship students were more likely than control group students to report having difficulty with homework but were less likely to say their work was marked and returned to them.

There were no significant differences in expulsion and suspension rates for scholarship and control group students.

In February 1997, the School Choice Scholarships Foundation offered 1,300 scholarships to children from low-income families attending New York City public schools. More than 20,000 students applied for the scholarships, worth up to $1,400 a year for three years. Recipients were selected by a lottery in May 1997 and began attending private and parochial schools the next fall. The scholarships can be redeemed for three years at either a religious or a secular school.