Educational Vouchers: A Review of the Research

by
Alex Molnar

Center for Education Research, Analysis, and Innovation
School of Education
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
PO Box 413
Milwaukee WI 53201
414-229-2716

October, 1999

CERAI-99-21

Educational Vouchers: A Review of the Research 
October 1999
CERAI-99-21

Alex Molnar
Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 

This document combines excerpts from two reports: "Smaller Classes -- Not Vouchers -- Increase Student Achievement" (Harrisburg, Pa.: Keystone Research Center, March 1998); and "Smaller Classes and Educational Vouchers: A Research Update" (Harrisburg, Pa.: Keystone Research Center, June 1999). Both documents are available on the website of the Center for Education Research, Analysis, and Innovation at http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/CERAI

Table of Contents - Exercept 1 Historical Background Educational Choice Enters the Mainstream The Battle Over Vouchers Today The Milwaukee Parental Choice Voucher Program The Debate Over the Achievement Effect of the Milwaukee Voucher Program Box 3: Public vs. Private Schools Why Different Researchers Reach Different Conclusions The Witte Evaluations Box 4: Sorting through the Conflicting Voucher Results The Greene, Peterson, and Du Evaluation Box 5: When are Significant Results Not So Significant? The Rouse Evaluation Milwaukee’s Private Voucher Program -- PAVE Box 6 - A Case Example of the Relative Cost and Performance of Public and Private Schools The Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program (CSTP) Vouchers, Values, and Educational Equity Box 7: Does Money Matter? School Spending and School Outcomes References

Table of Contents - Exercept 2 The Argument Over Vouchers The Milwaukee Parental Choice Voucher Program The Achievement Effects of the Milwaukee Voucher Program The Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program (CSTP) Official Evaluation Results for CSTP Private Voucher Programs  Private School Vouchers (Con't) Vouchers and Educational Equity  References

Box 3: Public vs. Private Schools

Both Rouse and Greene, Peterson, and Du locate their Milwaukee voucher program research within the literature on private vs. public school performance. Much of this literature begins from the premise that private schools are better at responding to competition than public schools and are therefore likely to be more efficient at producing desirable educational outcomes. 

Studies both support and refute the premise that private schools are better at producing high achieving students. Evans and Schwab,⁴²for example, found overall positive effects from attending Catholic schools, while Goldhaber found no advantage of private school attendance.⁴³ One of the most contentious issues in this research literature is the issue of selection bias, i.e., whether differences in achievement are explained on the basis of who attends private schools. The unrepresentative set of private schools in one widely used data base (High School and Beyond) is also of concern. 

In a recent study, David Figlio and Joe Stone of the University of Oregon drew on the National Education Longitudinal Survey and a Dun and Bradstreet directory of private schools to analyze public and private school performance in 8th-12th grade math and science.⁴⁴ Their research attempts to simulate the placement of otherwise equivalent students into different school environments, and thereby to isolate the achievement effect of attendance at a public vs. private school. Figlio and Stone caution that their results on the performance of low-income and low-achievement students are based on very small numbers (47 low-income students and 39 low-achieving students).

Figlio and Stone’s study reveals the complexity of the issue of private vs. public school performance and the danger of drawing simplistic, sweeping conclusions about the relative performance of public and private schools. Figlio and Stone estimate either no achievement effect or negative effects overall for attendance at a religious school. They find, however, that African-American and Hispanic students who attend religious schools outperform their public school counterparts, especially in urban areas. According to Figlio and Stone, non-religious private schools have a positive effect on math and science achievement primarily for low-income and initially low-achieving students. High-achieving students may do less well in science in private non-religious schools.

Figlio and Stone advise that their findings should be used very carefully if deployed in the debate about vouchers. As they explain, their estimated effects only simulate what would happen if a few students moved from private to public school. In this situation, when low-income and initially low-achieving students attend private schools, these students may benefit from changes in who is in school with them, "peer group composition." What Figlio and Stone cannot estimate is the effect on achievement that would occur if larger numbers of students moved from public to private schools. This would cause large changes in peer group relationships at both sending and receiving schools. Large-scale implementation of vouchers could have negative achievement effects in both public and private schools because of the changes in student body composition it could produce.

On the whole, the research literature gives no clear guidance as to whether or not private schools are better at producing desired educational outcomes than public schools. Since most of the studies use data for secondary schools, they are of limited value in understanding the impact of voucher programs that involve elementary schools.

Continue with the Next Section Why Different Researchers Reach Different Conclusions