Issue Synthesis: Dating back to the 18th century, widely varying school voucher proposals have surfaced as part of larger efforts to reform the public school and school finance systems. In recent years, however, the
specific debate over private school vouchers, or the spending of public
tax dollars on a private, sometimes parochial, education, has attracted
much attention. Leading the way are two citywide experiments taking
place in Milwaukee and Cleveland, where low-income parents and students are given public funds to attend any participating school in the vicinity,
including private and/or religiously affiliated schools. While researchers diligently monitor the effects of these voucher programs on students, parents, and the school system, numerous other (as yet unsuccessful) attempts have also been made to implement pilot private school voucher programs in other states across the country, including California and Arizona.
Hotly contested, vouchers have strong supporters and detractors. Advocacy groups, arguing on the strength of free-market principles, believe that vouchers will provide the competition necessary to force under-performing schools to offer better services to the children they serve. Expanding the education consumer's choice would force schools to compete for students, as operating funds would be generated through students' vouchers and their continued attendance. Those against such a system claim that vouchers would divert public funds away from already ailing schools and into private and religious institutions. Furthermore, opponents point to the threat that vouchers will "skim" off the best students, thereby further stratifying and segregating schools.
Click any of the links below for research conducted by WestEd or other research organizations. We also maintain an archive page on this topic.
WestEd Research
Analysis and Implications of Proposition 38: Will Vouchers Improve Student Access to Private Schools? WestEd Policy Brief (2000)
"...the details of the initiative, coupled with the projected capacity, costs, and admission practices of California private schools, would largely limit any expanded private school choice to more-advantaged families." —from the WestEd Policy Brief
What We Know about Vouchers: The Facts behind the Rhetoric, by Erica Adelsheimer with Kate Rix (1999) PDF format
This report examines the research on vouchers to date, the legal status of publicly funded voucher programs, alternative mechanisms for providing school choice, and issues policymakers must consider when making decisions regarding voucher programs. An update to this report is also available.
Other Helpful Research
School Vouchers:
Publicly Funded Programs in Cleveland and Milwaukee (2001) is a report from
the United States Government Accounting Office.
Read the fourth-
and fifth-year reports (1994, 1995) about the Milwaukee voucher program, as prepared by
John Witte, Troy D. Sterr, and Christopher A. Thorn, of The Robert La Follette
Institute of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Program on
Education Policy and Governance, J.F. Kennedy School of Government
at Harvard University has produced several papers
related to vouchers and school choice.
School Choice and Urban School Reform, by Peter W. Cookson and Sonali M. Shroff
(Teachers College Columbia University) (1997), presents a spectrum of school
choice options that currently exists in various places across the country. The
authors also examine the claims to improved education that advocates of voucher
plans proclaim.
The Economics of Education Review offers up-to-date policy research focusing
on the role of economic analysis in solving educational problems. Learn
how to order Volume 11, Number 4, 1992, a special issue on vouchers.
School
Choice in Cleveland and Milwaukee: What Parents Look For (1997)
This report,
from the Public Policy Forum, written by David G. Meissner, Jeffrey C. Browne,
and Emily Van Dunk, presents an examination of which factors parents consider
before sending their children to a particular school.
What
Really Matters in American Education (1997)
This white paper prepared
for U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley takes a critical view of voucher programs.
Books to Consider
Capitalism and Freedom, 1963, Milton Friedman, University of Chicago
Press.
False Choice: Why School Vouchers Threaten Our Children's Futures,
1994, edited by Robert Lowe and Barbara Miner, RethinkingSchools LTD.
Market Education: The Unknown History, 1999, Andrew J. Coulson,
Transaction Publications.
Politics, Markets and America's Schools, 1990, John E. Chubb and
Terry M. Moe, Brookings Institution.
Private Vouchers, 1995, edited by Terry Moe, Hoover Institution
Press.
School Choice: Why You Need It - How You Get It, 1994, David Harmer,
Cato Institution.
The Case Against School Vouchers, 1996, Edd Doerr, Albert J. Menendes,
and John M. Swomley, Prometheus Books.
The Effects of the California Voucher Initiative on Public Expenditures
for Education, 1994, Michael A. Shires, Cathy S. Krop, C. Peter Rydell,
and Stephen J. Carroll, RAND Corporation.
Who Chooses, Who Loses, 1996, Bruce Fuller, Teachers College Press.
There are many web sites that provide information and research on this topic. Below are links to some of the most important sites.
Education/Policy Organizations and Agencies
Education Commission of the States
(ECS)
ECS seeks to help state leaders develop and carry out policies that
promote improved performance of the education system as reflected in increased
learning by all citizens. Visit the "State Policies, Issues, and Activities"
section of ECS's Information Clearinghouse for information on school
choice.
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction maintains updated facts and figures about the Milwaukee Parental School Choice Program. Also related to Milwaukee's voucher program, visit the Wisconsin Education Association Council's Web site, which contains an extensive catalog of articles related to the program.
Advocacy Groups
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
The ACLU has taken an anti-voucher stance. A quick search on their site for "vouchers" produces an extensive list of articles relating to the topic.
American Federation of Teachers
(AFT)
The AFT, like the NEA, is vehemently against the adoption of voucher
programs. Who
Chooses? Who Gets Chosen? Who Pays? (1997), by Dan Murphy, F. Howard Nelson,
and Bella Rosenburg, is a look at the first-year implementation of Cleveland's
voucher program. Search its site for "vouchers" to find the link most
relevant to your work.
The Cato Institute is a nonpartisan
public policy research foundation that seeks to broaden the parameters of public
policy debate. Its Education
Reform Studies Area contains links to several Cato-sponsored essays, including
Vouchers
and Educational Freedom: A Debate (1997).
CEO America
Seeking to assist in the proliferation of voucher programs across the country, CEO America provides a wealth of information in support of voucher plans.
The Center for Education Reform (CER)
CER has produced a large number of news and analysis articles relating to vouchers and school choice that can be found at this site.
The Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative research and educational think tank, reports on educational issues,
including school choice. Check out The
Social Consequences of Choice: Why It Matters Where Poor Children Go to School
(1996).
National Education
Association (NEA)
NEA is America's oldest and largest organization committed
to advancing the cause of public education. Visit their Issues
page on school vouchers.
People For the American Way Foundation
A progressive nonprofit, nonpartisan research, public education, and lobbying organization, the People For the American Way Foundation maintains a page on educational issues. Check out What's Wrong with School Voucher Proposals.
Periodicals
Education Week
Visit EdWeek's page on choice, which presents an overview of the issue and links to previous articles.
RethinkingSchools Online
This online journal of the school reform journal takes a decidedly anti-voucher stance. Visit its special section on vouchers, which offers a number of articles that argue against the privatization of public schools.
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