Synthesis Of 100 School Choice Studies Finds Positive Outcomes

(NAPSI)—As school choice programs in the states continue to grow, researchers look to empirical evidence to find out whether they are working.

The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice published a report last week that analyzes more than 20 years’ worth of rigorous, empirical studies on the effects of school choice programs. The report—“A Win-Win Solution: The Empirical Evidence on School Choice”—found that results from those studies were overwhelmingly in favor of school choice policies in five key areas:

• How does school choice affect the academic outcomes of program participants?

• How does educational choice affect nearby public schools?

• Do school choice programs cost or save taxpayers money?

• What is the effect of school choice on racial segregation in public and private schools?

• How do private schools affect school choice participants’ civic values?

The author, Dr. Greg Forster, senior fellow at the Friedman Foundation, discovered that of the 100 school choice studies examined, 87 found positive effects for students, schools and taxpayers. Ten studies showed no statistically significant effect, and only three studies found that choice had a negative effect.

“Our first edition of the Win-Win report included 19 studies; this time around, we were able to look at 100,” said Robert Enlow, president and CEO of the Friedman Foundation. “Every year, we see more and more empirical research that points to the same conclusion: If well designed, school choice programs work.”

Though the scoreboard is overwhelmingly in favor of educational choice policies, this synthesis is also the first to ever include instances where school choice programs caused declines in student performance. Only two studies (released earlier this year) show this, and they were both studies of the same school choice program: the Louisiana Scholarship Program. The studies find slight declines in student performance in the Louisiana program’s first year but academic improvement in its second year.

“Looking at what isn’t working well—and figuring out why—is an important part of our work,” Enlow said. “Educational choice forces us to pursue innovation and opportunity, and we’re committed to improving programs to make sure they’re working well for students.”

For more on what the research says about each of the five key topic areas mentioned above, download the report at www.edchoice.org/Win-Win.

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