Florida’s school vouchers work
- Florida's largest school voucher program boosts college attendance, graduation, study finds - Orlando Sentinel
Excerpt: Florida students who took part in the state’s largest school voucher program were more likely to enroll in college, and graduate with bachelor’s degrees, than similar youngsters who remained in public schools, according to a new study released Monday.
The study looked at students who took part in the state’s Tax-Credit Scholarship Program, which helps pay private-school tuition for children from low-income families. The program is serving nearly 100,000 students this year, making it the largest school-choice program in the nation.
The study of more than 16,000 students found that those who entered the program to attend a private high school did the best.
Bottom Line: The Urban Institute study lays to waste any of the excuses used by those who want to perpetuate the status quo in Florida education. As time goes on, we have better information on the long-term impact of the voucher program. Students who were able to utilize vouchers benefited significantly in every category studied by the Urban Institute. Here are a couple of telling stats from the Urban Institute study:
- 64% of voucher recipients enrolled in college (19% higher than non-voucher recipients)
- College graduation rates for those enrolled were also 20% higher
Also observed in the study, while there’s benefit at every age and grade level, the benefit to vouchers grows overtime. In other words, elementary school students performed better with the use of school choice, but the benefit is most significant for those in high-school. I’ve long advocated for increased school choice. There’s not a more fundamentally important conversation for our society, yet the bureaucracy/teachers’unions have fought for the status quo for generations.
If the education establishment truly cared about their students, they’d want to ensure they had the best possible education. The Urban Institute has once again proven that school choice works. We pay taxes for education. We should have school choice on where our children are educated rather than by bureaucrats who draw maps and an education establishment that fights to maintain political power rather than improve outcomes. There literally is not a single factual, statistical case that can be made against expanded school choice.