Program on Education Policy and Governance, Harvard University
Theorizing about incentive structures and moralizing about equal opportunity can only go so far in convincing school choice skeptics. Many of them want to see cold, hard results. Thankfully, as states and philanthropists experiment with school voucher programs, researchers are gaining more laboratories in which to collect such data. The latest addition to our empirical inventory is a new evaluation of the privately funded scholarship program for low-income students that operates in Dayton, Ohio. This study by the Harvard Program on Education Policy and Governance was able to avoid many of the usual pitfalls that plague social science field research. Since the Dayton program selected scholarship recipients by lottery, researchers could employ what statisticians call "random assignment." By comparing the students who entered the lottery but did not receive a scholarship with those who received one and attended a private school, the analysts could zero in on the effect of private school attendance. This approach yielded largely positive evidence. About 40 percent of private school parents gave their child's new school an "A," compared to only 16 percent of the public school control group. Only 11 percent of private school parents reported that fighting is a serious problem in their child's school, versus 61 percent of public school parents. Most importantly, voucher recipients showed achievement gains over two years. African American students who switched to private schools scored 8 percentile points higher on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in reading and 7 points higher on a combined reading and math score. (Scores on the math section alone were also higher, but not statistically significant) However, non-African American students did not differ significantly. The report also includes compelling evidence that refutes many classic anti-voucher concerns regarding racial diversity and the competency of parents to select schools. For details, download the report at www.ksg.harvard.edu/pepg/papers.htm or request a hard copy by calling (617) 495-7976.
