And what of the research suggesting that students in the Milwaukee
voucher program graduate at higher rates than those in public schools?
The sad fact is that DC public schools have the lowest NAEP scores and the highest dropout rate in the country, whereas just about every student in
the voucher program graduates from high school, almost all of them going on to college.
Not exact matches
On the merits, an excellent congressionally mandated evaluation convincingly showed that the
voucher program dramatically increased the likelihood that kids will
graduate from high school.
Using the most conservative 4 %
voucher advantage from our study, that means that the 801 students in ninth grade in the
voucher program in 2006 included 32 extra
graduates who wouldn't have completed high school and gone to college if they had instead been required to attend MPS.
A recent federal study of the much - watched
voucher program in Washington, D.C., for example, showed that using a
voucher boosted a student's chances of
graduating from high school.
A recent study of Milwaukee's older and larger
voucher program found that 94 % of students who stayed in the
program throughout high school
graduated, versus just 75 % of students in Milwaukee's traditional public schools.
If they did
graduate, that improved the average graduation rate for the
voucher program.
Its editor - in - chief is Paul E. Peterson, director of Harvard University's
Program on Education Policy and Governance in the
Graduate School of Education, and a fellow at the Hoover Institute (which is housed at Stanford University) is well - known for his support of school
vouchers.
Supporters can credit the
voucher program with improved reading scores and high school graduation rates: 82 percent of students offered a
voucher graduated from high school, compared with 70 percent of those who lost the lottery.
For example, research on a privately funded school
voucher program in New York City provides some evidence in favor of a link existing between test scores and longer - term outcomes, where
vouchers raised test score gains and increased the likelihood of
graduating from high school and enrolling in college.
Instead of pouncing on Mr. Bush, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio might explain to voters why Barack Obama has spent his entire presidency trying to shut down a school
voucher program in Washington, D.C., that gives poor black and brown children access to private schools and, according to the Education Department's own evaluation, improves their chances of
graduating by as much as 21 percentage points.
A study of a federally - funded
voucher program in Washington D.C. found that students
graduated from small private high schools in larger numbers.
They found
voucher students were 21 percent more likely to
graduate high school, and declared the
program was «one of the most effective urban dropout prevention
programs yet witnessed.»
Those results showed that
voucher program students who remained in the
program were more likely to
graduate from high school than their Milwaukee peers who attended public schools.
Furthermore, researchers have found that «the [Milwaukee
voucher]
program had a positive effect on a student's likelihood of
graduating from high school and enrolling and persisting in a 4 - year college.»
A previous IES study of the D.C.
voucher program, which wrapped up in 2010, found that
voucher students were more likely to
graduate than their non-
voucher peers.
Charter schools and
voucher programs improve a student's chances of
graduating from high school and enrolling in college, with the greatest benefits concentrated among urban minority students.
Indeed, older studies show that students in Milwaukee's
voucher program were more likely to
graduate high school and enroll in college.
In addition to these four state - based studies of
voucher program impacts on test scores, some recent studies do show positive effects on graduation rates, parent satisfaction, community college enrollment, and other nonachievement - based outcomes, but it is unclear if these outcomes are lasting and valid.23 For example, research shows that nationally, graduation rates for students in public schools and peers participating in
voucher programs equalize after adjusting for extended graduation rates.24 Some critics suggest that private schools may
graduate students who have not successfully completed the full
program.25 Also, in regard to parent satisfaction, while some studies do show greater satisfaction among parents whose children participate in
voucher programs, the most recent evaluation of the D.C.
voucher program shows that any increase in parent or student school satisfaction is not statistically significant.26
Data from Serving Our Children, a nonprofit that administers the
voucher program, show that 98 percent of
voucher recipients
graduated from high school on time last year, a far higher rate than the 70 percent of students who
graduated in four years from D.C. Public Schools.
The Career Step
program is specifically designed to prepare students to pass the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) Exam upon graduation, and
graduates are provided a
voucher to cover the cost of the certification exam.