Human Services News

From Economic Policy Institute:

School choice and vouchers have become an increasingly important part of that educational reform policy debate. The debate is rooted in ideological differences between market proponents, who attach greater importance to individual choice, and supporters of a publicly run educational system, who place greater importance on equity, commonality, and public accountability.

What do we know about research on competition effects?

We are indebted to Anneliese Dickman of Milwaukee's Public Policy Forum, and Emily Van Dunk, formerly of the Forum and now at the Milwaukee County Budget Office, who know more about Milwaukee's voucher program than almost anyone and were incredibly generous with their advice and data.

This study is an attempt to contribute to that empirical debate by revisiting the issue of whether competition improves student achievement in traditional public schools, a key argument for educational markets.

Our study uses data from an extensive choice reform in Milwaukee's Public School District (MPS), a district with the typical educational problems of an American urban center, but unusual in that it has had a voucher plan, the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP), targeted at low-income students since 1990.

By the 2002-03 school year, more than 11,000 students were using vouchers to attend private schools, and more than 100 schools were accepting voucher students.

The Wisconsin legislature made no provision to evaluate the expanded voucher plan.

However, one of the main arguments for increasing educational choice is that choice induces competition among schools vying for students, and this improves student performance in all schools, private and public.

The first method, already employed by Caroline Hoxby and, in a modified form, by Rajashri Chakrabarti, compares the fourth-grade test scores of students in three categories of Milwaukee public schools in the 1996-2004 period with each other and with a control group of schools outside of Milwaukee.

Using this method, we find essentially no evidence that students in those traditional public schools in Milwaukee facing more competition achieve higher test score gains.

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