A WIN-WINSOLUTIONThe Empirical Evidence on School Choice

MAY 2016

FOURTH EDITION

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2 3 4 5 7 9 11 12 13 15 1821 22 24 26

3439

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59 61

As educational choice grows...

NUMBER OF SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAMS

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…we look to the evidence to find out what works.

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100 STUDIES

A Win-Win Solution

2016

A Win-Win Solution

200919 STUDIES

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GREG FORSTER, author of A Win-Win Solution

Twenty years ago, before this body of evidence existed, there was some excuse for making policy based on speculation, anecdotal observation, and intuition. Today, the effects of these programs are known, and there is no longer any excuse for policymakers and opinion leaders to be ignorant of the facts.

Unfortunately, many people still are ignorant of the facts.

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What They Say: School choice doesn’t improve academic outcomes for students.

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The Truth: The majority of gold-standard studies of school choice programs find kids do better with school choice.

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Positive Effects

No Visible Effects

Negative Effects

14

2

2

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This edition of A Win-Win Solution is the first to feature studies that find negative effects on choice participants. Both studies examined the same program—the Louisiana Scholarship Program. The reports show student deficits in the program’s first year, but student improvement in its second year. Because its results appear to be anomalistic, researchers are watching this program closely.

What They Say: School choice hurts the students “left behind” in public schools.

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The Truth: Nearly every study on the topic, even those conducted by anti-school choice organizations, shows school choice programs drive academic improvements in public schools.

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Positive Effects

No Visible Effects

Negative Effects1

1

28

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The one negative finding is hard to explain given that nine other studies find a positive effect from the same voucher program. The study’s authors even say in their report, “Despite the exhaustive data available, we are not currently able to explain the negative effect of the threat on reading performance definitively.”

What They Say: School choice ”siphons” money from public schools at the expense of kids and taxpayers.

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The Truth: Every fiscal study ever conducted finds school choice has either a positive or no visible effect on taxpayers and public schools, meaning most programs save money.

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Positive Effects

Negative Effects03

25

No Visible Effects

In fact, estimates show school voucher programs alone have saved more than $1.7 billion, or $3,400 per voucher student on average, which could then be used to boost per-pupil funding in public schools, pay off debt or bolster other public programs.

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What They Say: School choice worsens racial segregation in schools.

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The Truth: Public schools are more segregated now than they were in the 1960s, and not one study has ever found school choice causes segregation in schools.

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Positive Effects

No Visible Effects

Negative Effects

9

1

0

Actually, data show school choice programs help students leave more segregated schools to join more integrated schools.

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What They Say: Private schools have a bad influence on kids.

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The Truth: Many studies find school choice programs have a positive effect on students’ civic values, including tolerance for the rights of others, likelihood to vote or volunteer and more.

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Positive Effects

No Visible Effects

Negative Effects

8

3

0

In fact, one study finds school choice reduces the likelihood of a student engaging in criminal activity after graduation.

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CRIME DOWN

The evidence is clear.

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School choice works.

Empirical Studies on School Choice

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14312598

21313

21000

Academic Outcomes of Choice Participants

Academic Outcomes of Public Schools

Fiscal Impact on Taxpayers and Public Schools

Racial Segregation in Schools

Civic Values and Practices

Any Positive Effect No Visible Effect Any Negative Effect

What They Say: Yeah…well…this report just cherry picks studies to show what school choice advocates want to show.

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The Truth: This report examines 100 studies that all used rigorous and high-quality research methods. The results are what they are, and the scoreboard is overwhelmingly in favor of school choice policies. We understand that can be a hard pill to swallow for many skeptics. A full explanation of this report’s methods can be found on pages 6–8, including how the author identified and categorized the studies found therein. If our readers should come across a high-quality study not included in this report, we encourage them to contact us at info@edchoice.org.

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In the end, numbers only shine a light on one facet of school choice policy.

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Parents want choice.

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To read more analysis from this synthesis of 100 empirical school choice studies, visit edchoice.org/Win-Win

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