Jay P. Greene, School Choice Wisconsin
September 28, 2004
In this brief report, the prolific Jay Greene comes to a remarkable conclusion: Students in Milwaukee's voucher program graduate at nearly double the rate of Milwaukee's regular public school students. Sixty-four percent of voucher students in the freshman class of 2000 ended up graduating in 2003 but just 36 percent of Milwaukee's regular public schoolers made it. To reduce the possibility of "selection bias," Greene also compares these voucher students to those at selective public schools. The result: voucher students still win, hands down. The graduation rate at Milwaukee's selective public schools is only 41 percent. The performance of voucher students is probably not due to background factors, then, or extra motivation, as students at selective public schools are likely to be "at least as advantaged as the students in the choice program." Greene doesn't speculate much as to what's going on, but he proves beyond dispute that youngsters taking part in America's largest voucher program are more apt to complete high school on time than the age mates who remain in district-run schools. You can find this report here.