WestEd Research

Private School Vouchers, by Kyo Yamashiro and Lisa Carlos (1995)
This Issues-at-a-Glance presents a review of the types of voucher programs that have been proposed, the status of existing programs, arguments for and against private school vouchers, and research findings.

What a Voucher Could Buy: A Survey of California Private Schools, by Marcella Dianda and Ronald Corwin (1993)
This report focuses on private schools' probable responses to a voucher program and provides answers to the following questions of interest to educators in California and across the nation: Are private schools a serious threat to public schools? Will private schools participate in a voucher program?

Other Helpful Research

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.

School Choice and Urban School Reform, by Peter W. Cookson and Sonali M. Shroff (Teachers College Columbia University) (1997)
This report presents a spectrum of school choice options that currently exist 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
This publication 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, by David G. Meissner, Jeffrey C. Browne, and Emily Van Dunk (1997)
This report from the Public Policy Forum 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.