Remember how voucher advocates claim that vouchers will “save” poor kids from “failing public schools”? T’aint so.
Stephen Dyer compared the progress of Ohio students in voucher schools to those in public schools. Guess what? The longer students are enrolled in voucher schools, the farther behind they fall.
He writes:
One thing you’d expect to hear a lot from voucher proponents is that students taking private school tuition subsidies do better the longer they’re in the private schools taxpayers are paying.
I mean, assuming these “choices” are so vastly superior to “failing” public schools, right?
Yet you never hear that argument. Now I know why: according to state test data, the longer students take vouchers, the worse they do on state tests — in some cases a lotworse. Especially in high school.
Here is how students perform on state High School proficiency rates, depending on how long they’ve been taking vouchers. You can see pretty clearly that especially in English and Math, students do markedly worse if they’ve been taking vouchers for 3 plus years than they do if they’ve only been taking it for a year.
This provides some pretty compelling evidence that students taking vouchers are better prepared by public schools, but once they enter the private system, that success wanes. Only in Social Studies is there an increase, but it’s only a 0.9% increase. Math drops by nearly 1/4. Overall, there’s, on average, a 12.1% drop in proficiency rates the longer a high school student takes a voucher….
Let me put it simply:
- Generally, Voucher students do worse on state tests the longer they take vouchers.
- The Black-White achievement gap is much greater among voucher students than public school students.
- Private Schools that accept Vouchers take a Whiter population of students than the districts from whence the students come.
I just have one simple question: How is it again that Vouchers provide “better” opportunities for students of color who are being “failed” by public schools, as voucher proponents continuously claim?
Because Ohio data sure suggest that students of color are best served by their local public schools, not the private schools who are more reluctant to take them, even with significant taxpayer-funded tuition subsidies.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“The longer students are in voucher schools the further behind they fall.”
That’s simply because they have learned more.
It’s just an example of the old saw: “the more you have learned, the more you can forget. The more you can forget, the more you do forget. The more you forget, the less you know. So why learn?”
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If we don’t support these tests, I’m not sure why we are using them as a comparison.
And if kids are consistently be labeled as failures in the Public system, why not go to a school that is more freeing?
I’m a strong supporter of public schools but this push by them especially at a younger age….I can see why a parent may want another space. I can see why that may be the reason for failing online schooling too.
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The teachers in voucher schools do not need to be certified. The principals don’t need a college degree.
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I truly get it but the current public school system is not sustainable.
Maybe this was the plan all along. Make schools so horrible is so many ways….
Let’s let parents opt in to all of the assessments vrs opting out.
Let’s let kindergartens students find joy in play. Let’s stop all of the harmful practice but instead we choose to test, test and test some more.
I think we need to look at other indicators than a test…just saying
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To those who are disturbed that Stephen Dyer judged the failure of voucher schools by test scores, consider this.
The so-called reformers like Jeb Bush, Bill Gates, Ron DeSantis, Gregg Abbot, and every GOP governor use the test scores of public schools to allege that they are failing and that vouchers will enable children to get higher test scores and close achievement gaps.
I agree with Dyer that’s it’s important to point out that these claims are false.
Reformers know it, so they prefer to use other measures, like parent satisfaction. But that’s not why they pour billions into vouchers.
Imagine if they advertised vouchers like this: “With vouchers, your child will fall behind her peers in public school, will likely be worse off in reading and math, but despite all that you as a parent will be happy.”
Voucher studies often fail to point out that voucher schools have a shockingly high attrition rate because students return to their public school. How satisfied do you think they are if they bail out?
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Well OF COURSE they’re going to be “happier,” even if they’re not. It’s Sunk Cost Fallacy– they won’t want to admit they made a mistake with their child’s education, especially if the mistake isn’t apparent right off. So they’re going to keep making the same errors. Human nature.
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The point of the test scores is this:
Standardized testing was considered the evidence necessary to prove that public schools fail. But it didn’t work out that way. Charters did no better (and sometimes worse). Critics of public schools fawned over standardized test scores.
While you are correct regarding test scores, it’s fun to note that the very evidence once preferred by public school critics can now be used against their arguments.
Why suddenly do test scores not matter to those that thought they would be the data that proved public schools are bad? Funny how these school choice advocates have no interest in the scores any more.
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Of course voucher school students don’t score as high on standardized tests. It’s because they aren’t test prepped and Common Cored/Bored/Gored for months on end like public school students. Why do you think private schools are filling up with former public school students? Parents have voiced concerns and public school officials have ignored ….so parents “quietly quit” public education for the sake of their children
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saddest reality
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A different reason- the credentials and pay of staff at religious schools is lower.
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Trump: ‘I Love the Poorly Educated’ Duh.
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“…which is why I love myself so much” Donald thought to himself.
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These results seem similar to results from receivership. Looking at some of the data in MA for districts that have gone into receivership, a short term bounce seems to occur, followed by results worse that those at the start of receivership. Interesting and concerning.
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Vouchers are often used to facilitate “white flight” from diverse public schools. They often use the funds to supplement tuition that affluent parents would have paid for regardless. In this case vouchers transfer wealth from the working to the affluent class. Most vouchers on their own face value cannot purchase quality education. In Florida most of the so-called Freedom Scholarships have been spent on low quality, inexpensive Christian schools that often discriminate against students. These schools are no substitute for a well resourced public school with professional teachers.
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“If we don’t support these tests,
I’m not sure why we are using them
as a comparison.”
If it quacks like dissonance,
chances are…
Once conditioned to believe a
SCORE based degree casts a
glow of superiority over less
titled mortals, the stage is
set for cognitive dissonance.
Preach SCORE dissent BUT
practice SCORE obedience
(give tests, use tests as a
measuring tool).
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“according to state testing data”. Pass the kool Aid please. While some schools are better and some worse according to the test, as long as the focus is on scores, all schools will fail because their students are pulled away from “A” level learning.
Don’t get sucked into the testing game. As long as we compare schools based on the test, we are playing their game. Whether schools win or lose, the kids will always lose. We must stop giving the test credibility.
Let the charter advocates pound their chest and scream from the mountain tops about their test scores while public schools ignore their nonsense and simply say, we are teaching our kids to think… while it’s still legal.
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“Don’t get sucked into the testing game.”
They, meaning the edudeformers and those testing apologists here, are almost all already sucked into that game. Mental Masturbation. . . Sadly so.
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