Research & Data

What the Data Show on School Choice and Segregation

School Choice and Segregation

Note: This post was originally published on Education Next. The Century Foundation has published a report by Halley Potter that claims private school choice will increase ethnic segregation in schools. Although the text of the report constantly invokes words like “evidence,” “studies” and “data,” its conclusions are actually defended almost entirely by appeal to a lengthy […]

Research Finds Higher Private School Share Directly Linked to Higher Test Scores, Stronger Human Rights Internationally

With the controversial nomination of Betsy DeVos for U.S. Secretary of Education, the concept of school choice has received increasing attention. Supporters and opponents of the concept have made bold claims about the effect of such programs on student outcomes and society in general. Theoretically, increased access to private school choice could improve educational quality […]

The Right Reasons for Supporting (or Opposing) School Choice

Supporting School Choice

Note: A shortened version of this post was originally published on Education Next. We are at a critical point in the long history of education reform. The politicized issue of school choice has received sustained national attention since the election of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. The subsequent nomination of Betsy DeVos as […]

Good Districts Aren’t Enough

Good School Districts

A recent Wall Street Journal story, “Homeowners’ Quest for the Best Schools,” highlighted an age-old dilemma that far too many American families face when it comes time to determine the best K–12 education for their children. Because our school system has historically been based on geography instead of student needs, families who can afford to […]

Study Finds Proposed Arkansas Universal ESA Likely to Save Money

Arkansas Universal ESA

Legislators in Arkansas proposed a bill (HB 1222) to increase educational choice for families through an education savings account (ESA) program available to every child across the state.  And though the previously conducted empirical studies on the financial effects of private school choice programs have found overall benefits to the state, taxpayers and individual districts, […]

The States Ranked by Spending on School Choice Programs

School Choice Spending

You may have noticed a new chart in this year’s edition of The ABCs of School Choice. That’s because we wanted to do something different and look at the aggregate spending on vouchers, tax-credit scholarships and education savings accounts (ESAs) in the context of national K–12 education spending. I took the total spending data over […]

The 2017 EdChoice Yearbook Superlatives

superlatives feature image

The EdChoice team has put in its votes for this year’s educational choice yearbook superlatives, and these are our winners. Enjoy.   Most Empowering Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program Our team weighed purchasing power, funding stream stability and the ability of parents to use their funds flexibly to determine the educational choice program that empowers the […]

U.S. States Ranked by Educational Choice Share, 2017

School Choice Share

In my continual quest to provide the most comprehensive data possible, I have revamped how we look at the educational choice share, or EdChoice share. This year, the EdChoice share looks at what proportion of all K–12 students are enrolled in an education savings account (ESA), voucher or tax-credit scholarship program. To get this number, […]

Why Milwaukee’s Voucher Program Isn’t the Litmus Test for School Choice Everywhere (Despite Its Positive Results)

School choice in Milwaukee

Milwaukee, Wisconsin has a 25-year-old school voucher program (MPCP) restricted to low-income students, district-run chartered public schools and some privately funded vouchers. Because the MPCP is the oldest publicly funded U.S. voucher program, its results have attracted a lot of attention.  Sadly, much of what has been said and written, from school choice expansion proponents […]