Attending a Private Voucher School Did Not Improve Students’ Academic Achievement. 

  • There were “no significant impacts of the program, either positive or negative, overall on student achievement after 2 years.” 

  • There were “no significant achievement impacts for students who came from SINI schools, [Schools in Need of Improvement] the subgroup of students for whom the statute gave top priority.”

Source:  2008 U.S. Dep’t of Ed. Report at 34-38.

Attending a Private Voucher School Did Not Have a Positive Impact on Student Safety or Satisfaction.

  • “[T]here was no evidence of an impact from the offer of a scholarship or the use of a scholarship on students’ reports of dangerous activities.”

  • “[T]here was no evidence of an impact of the offer of a scholarship or the use of a scholarship on . . .  [student] reports of satisfaction with their school.

Source:  2008 U.S. Dep’t of Ed. Report at 42-43, 50.

The Program Did Not Improve Student Motivation or Engagement or the Educational Experience.

  • Participation in the program* led to no statistically significant impacts on a student’s “aspirations for the future”; “frequency of doing homework”; “time spent reading for fun”; “engagement in extracurricular activities”; or “attendance” or “tardiness rates.”

  • Participation in the program led to no statistically significant impacts on “how students rated their teacher’s attitude”; “the challenge of their classes”; “the availability for advanced learners” or “the “availability of before-and-after-school programs.”

  • 54% of the students who left their voucher school in the third year did so because the “child did not get the academic support he/she needed at the private school” and 21% left because the “child did not like the private school.”

Source:  2008 U.S. Dep’t of Ed. Report at xxvi, 57-58, F-6.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF STUDENTS IN THE VOUCHER PROGRAM ATTENDED A FAITH-BASED SCHOOL.

  • In year two of the program, 77% of students in the program attended a faith-based voucher school.

Source:  2008 U.S. Dep’t of Ed. Report at 14.

THE VOUCHER PROGRAM DECREASED STUDENT ACCESS TO KEY SERVICES.

 % of students in the program whose schools have the service as compared to students not in the program:

  • ESL Programs - 31% fewer
  • Learning Support/Special Needs - 24% fewer
  • Tutors - 10% fewer
  • Counselors - 15% fewer
  • Nurse’s Office - 42% fewer
  • Cafeteria - 14% fewer

Source:  2008 U.S. Dep’t of Ed. Report at xvii, 16.

* In accordance with the report, participation “in the program” includes all students offered a voucher, regardless of whether they used the voucher.