Report does little to address concerns about education vouchers

A “Think Twice” review of a think tank report from the folks at the National Education Policy Center.  The charter school and school choice aspects are important for readers of this space.

Inside Look Great Lakes Center’s exclusive subscriber email featuring key points, information and social media content about reviews and research June 22, 2023READ IN BROWSER Hello, Great Lakes Center subscriber: Education researchers have studied vouchers for more than 25 years, and since then, no studies have consistently shown positive impacts on the test scores of students who use education vouchers. In fact, during the last decade, researchers have documented devastating impacts on student achievement. A recent report by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute covers Ohio’s school voucher program, known as EdChoice, and considers the impacts of voucher-induced competition on Ohio’s public schools, racial segregation and local district finances. However, a review of the report found it does little to alleviate the fears of voucher opponents and instead provides new data that will serve only policymakers who are already supportive of vouchers. Read on to learn more. Maddie Fennell Executive Director Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice REPORT REVIEWED Michigan State University professor Joshua Cowen reviewed “The Ohio EdChoice Program’s Impact on School District Enrollments, Finances and Academics.” WHAT THE REVIEWER FOUND The Fordham Institute’s report considers three possible harms associated with Ohio’s voucher program, including public school student outcomes through competition, district financial resources and increased racial segregation. Unsurprisingly, the report finds that Ohio vouchers had few of the harmful impacts examined and concludes that it dismisses the main concerns of voucher program critics. Cowen’s review found that the questions asked in the report are too limited. Its methods make sense in support of this narrow scope, but the questions themselves are outdated considering the current issues taken by voucher critics, which are focused mainly on decreased student achievement for those students using vouchers. The report also relies on lax standards for inferring data than peer-reviewed articles would typically allow. In addition, Cowen notes, the report’s foreword – which was written by Fordham Institute staff – frames it as an effort to provide new data for privatization advocates rather than responding to the valid concerns raised by voucher critics. This effectively undermines the work of the authors the institute hired to write the study. Voucher advocates will appreciate the report, Cowen found. However, the report does nothing to lessen the primary concerns of voucher critics and others who are dedicated to serving children through community-based public education. Therefore, Cowen concluded that the report has little value in the debate over the use of vouchers as a public policy tool to improve education. Read the full review on the Great Lakes Center website or on the National Education Policy Center website. WHY YOU SHOULD CARE The report doesn’t reflect the concerns of current scholarly literature around student achievement and vouchers. The fact remains that years of research has shown decreased student achievement in students using vouchers. As a result, the report is only of use to policymakers who support vouchers, and because it asks outdated questions and doesn’t focus on current concerns about vouchers, any use of it in policymaking will be outdated and potentially harm public school funding. TALKING POINTS TO REMEMBER A report from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute covers Ohio’s voucher program and does little to alleviate the fears of voucher opponents by focusing on outdated issues. A review of the report found it doesn’t reflect current scholarly literature or address the fact that research shows decreased student achievement for those using vouchers. Policymakers should not use the report. SOCIAL SHARES Want to share this Think Twice Review with your social networks? We drafted some sample social media posts for your use. Years of research has shown us the negative impacts of #EducationVoucher policies. A report uses outdated questions to promote the use of vouchers. Read more: A @nepctweet review finds a report about #EducationVoucher programs in Ohio does little to address the concerns of voucher opponents. Read the review: A report from @educationgadfly does little to address the valid concerns of #EducationVoucher opponents. Follow Us

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