Voucher Programs
A formal voucher program for K-12 schooling did not exist in the U.S. until the State of Wisconsin established one for Milwaukee in 1990. The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program was limited to low income families and to no more than 1 percent of students from the Milwaukee Public Schools (raised later to 1.5 percent). The amount of the voucher rose from $2,446 in 1990 to $4,894 in 1998 and $5,882 in 2003-04, amounts predicated upon the amount of state aid to local school districts. Until 1995 the Milwaukee voucher was limited to attendance in non-religious schools and only about a dozen schools and about 830 students participated by the fifth year. In 1998 religious schools were declared eligible by state law for the voucher, an action that was upheld subsequently by Wisconsin courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. This broadening of school eligibility promoted a large expansion: By 2003-04, 107 schools were enrolling 12,778 voucher students and two-thirds of voucher recipients were enrolled in religious schools.
The second of the existing voucher plans was established by the State of Ohio for the city of Cleveland beginning in 1995. Known as the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program, it has particular prominence because it was the focus of a U.S. Supreme Court decision which resulted in the legal approval (at the Federal level) of inclusion of religious schools in a voucher plan (Zelman vs. Simmon-Harris 2002). Low income families were given preference for vouchers in Cleveland, with those below 200 percent of the poverty level (about $36,000 for a family of four) provided with 90 percent of tuition or $2,250, whichever is lower; families above 200 percent of the poverty level were provided with 75 percent of tuition or $1,875, whichever is lower. The vast majority of students in the program chose religious schools; this was not surprising, since such schools represent three quarters or more of existing private enrollments more generally.
The Florida voucher program was established in 1999 and has two components. Schools that receive an F for two years out of four on the Florida educational assessment system must allow their students either to select another public school or to receive a voucher to go to a private school. The voucher has a value of up to about $4,500. Some 542 students were using the voucher in 2002-03. Florida also sponsors the McKay Scholarships for students with disabilities, a voucher approach. Parents who decide that their handicapped child is not progressing in public schools can use what is spent in the public school to apply towards private schools. In 2002-03 almost 9,000 out of 375,000 students with disabilities were taking advantage of this finance mechanism. The amount that could be allocated to the voucher was a maximum of more than $21,000, depending upon the services that were being provided in the public school for that child. Parents could add on to the voucher amount to pay for a more expensive placement.
In Spring 2003 the State of Colorado passed a voucher plan to take effect in the Autumn of 2004. This program provides vouchers to students from low income families with low academic performance if they are in districts where 8 or more schools in 2001-2 had low or unsatisfactory performance (or are in a district which participates in the program voluntarily). The amount of the voucher depends upon the grade level and district expenditure, and the plan starts with a maximum of 1 percent of student enrollments in eligible districts, rising to no more than 6 percent by 2007.
School Choice Programs
In response to various pressures, many states and districts are offering a wider choice of schools for students to enroll in (as well as relaxing territorial/residential rules on which students can enroll at particular schools).
Rules on home-schooling have been made easier, allowing families to educate their children at home and in some cases contract with their district for home-based education. According to recent evidence there are approximately 1 million home-schoolers in any given year.
Also, charter school laws have been created in 36 states. Charter schools are public schools that are able to waive compliance with state and local regulations in exchange for adhering successfully to a specific mission, their charter. In 2002-3 there were 2,556 charter schools serving 685,000 students. These schools simulate some of the dynamics of a market by increasing the supply of alternatives to parents and by competing with existing public schools. In addition, many of them contract with for-profit, educational, management organizations to operate their schools. Typically they also have their own boards of trustees and considerable autonomy relative to public schools in their states. Although they are not components of a private marketplace, they contain features of choice and competition which some analysts believe are good predictors of behavior in such a marketplace.
Evaluating the Evidence
So far, most of the empirical research on vouchers and school choice has focused on a relatively narrow, efficiency-related question: what are the achievement gains for participants? The evidence suggests at best modest advantages. Independent randomized field trials of vouchers show no clear achievement gains after three years for participants. In both Milwaukee and Cleveland, the results are not dramatic. An early evaluation in Milwaukee shows that voucher participants do post small gains in Mathematics. In Cleveland, although there were no differences in achievement between voucher and non-voucher students generally, fourth grade students who participated in the voucher plan since kindergarten achieved at slightly higher levels in reading, language, and overall score, but not in mathematics, science, or social studies. No overall evaluation of the Florida programs has been published (Howell and Peterson, 2002).
Our own research on the impact of school choice on achievement yielded similarly modest conclusions: in a review of over 40 empirical studies, we found that competition between schools had only moderate effects in improving school performance (Belfield and Levin, 2002). In separate reviews of the differences in student achievement between private and public schools, only modest differences in attainment were found. McEwan, P.J. 2001. Comparing the effectiveness of public and private schools. Occasional Paper, www.ncspe.org. Overall, and on average, the impact on achievement of educational vouchers and school choice in general is unlikely to be dramatic.
As regards to home-schooling, there is very little evidence on whether children educated in this way do well academically. Test score data are hard to obtain, and many home-schoolers may choose not to take standardized tests (P.J. McEwan, 2001).
Finally, the evidence on charter schools is mixed, with academic achievement gains in some states and losses in others. This is not surprising: because the intention of charter school legislation is to encourage flexible educational provision in response to local needs, charter schools themselves are heterogeneous. As well as exemption from regulations in hiring unionised teachers, charter schools can choose a non-traditional pedagogy and or curriculum; they can also select the mode of delivery (classroom-based or through distance-learning) and school facilities. Given this heterogeneity, the evidence on charter schools' performance (at least as reflected in test score comparisons) is mixed. For advocates, the charter school movement represents a freedom from government intrusion – not only in how the education is provided, but also in how it should be assessed. Hence, test score comparisons may not be appropriate ways to compare charter schools (NCES, 2001).
However, individual academic achievement gains are unlikely to be the only appropriate method of evaluating privatization and school choice programs. Other criteria to consider include: Do the programs offer freedom of choice? Are they efficient? Do they offer a fair education to all families? Will they promote the public good? Levin, HM. 2002. A comprehensive framework for evaluating educational vouchers. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24, 159-174. On these issues, the only conclusive evidence is that parents report high satisfaction levels when they are given greater school choice options.
VOUCHERS AND SCHOOL CHOICE IN NEW ZEALAND
The educational system in New Zealand was substantially overhauled in the 1990s: school choice opportunities within the public school system were greatly expanded, along with a system for accountability (curricular reforms were also enacted contemporaneously). Reform originated in 1989, when the national Department of Education was dissolved and a new educational plan, known as Tomorrow's Schools, was implemented. New Zealand, which supports 3.8 million inhabitants, placed nearly 2,700 primary and secondary schools under local authority (G. Miron and C. Nelson, 2002). The legal responsibility of governing state schools was transitioned from professional bureaucrats to elected School Boards of Trustees, characterized by parents, educators, and businessmen.
In 1991 the decentralization of the New Zealand school system was further expanded. Under the original reform, school zoning policies were enacted to ensure all students could attend their nearest school. Schools were entitled to admit students outside their immediate zone, but only if additional space was available. Following 1991, schools were permitted to enroll all pupils and students were no longer guaranteed admission at their local school (H. Levin, 2002). At present, the New Zealand educational system is comparable to charter school reform in the United States, (although important differences exist), local schools depend on centralized funding and sponsorship, but are provided with the autonomy and authority to govern their own affairs (E.B. Fiske and H. Ladd, 2000).
Despite the rapid decentralization of New Zealand's schools, centralized bureaucracy remains. The national Department of Education was transformed into the smaller Ministry of Education, however, this institution is no longer charged with oversight and administration, but rather serves to provide guidance, make policy recommendations, and set clear curricular goals. In addition the Education Review Office, which functions independently of the Ministry of Education, has established a system of accountability based on assessments of governance and management criteria. The educational reforms in New Zealand have been subject to considerable evaluation, and several issues have arisen (A.Woodfield and P. Gunby, 2003).
Segregation of students: There is some evidence that families – in exercising new choices – are choosing to segregate themselves according to ethnic groups, although the extent of this (incremental) segregation is not easily identifiable and may be mixed with other motives (such as the desire to exploit stronger peer effects or community resources).
Overall achievement: Because there is no national assessment system, it has not been possible to offer a full evaluation as to whether test scores improved since the reforms. International evidence comparing the New Zealand education system with others is not conclusive.
School management: The policy of decentralizing educational decisions, with elected school board officials, and greater financial autonomy, appears to have been well-received and allowed for more effective management of the school system.
Articles of Interest
A recent article in the International Herald Tribune reviews the perception of China having a lack of academic originality, and excels only at imitation rather than innovation. A contributing factor is that academics can easily stay on past their usefulness. At Beijing University, widely regarded as China's most prestigious school, a majority of staff are home grown. And, after being hired, they have had little cause to fear for their jobs, regardless of their performance in research, teaching or publishing. Since July the University has been moving ahead with a radical personnel reform program that will protect senior faculty hired under the old system but will dramatically raise the bar for junior faculty hoping to stay on. For the entire article "China Seeks Ways to Nurture Creativity" by Ted Plafker, see the October 21 edition at http://www.iht.com
The Washington Post reports on the passing of legislation to America's first federally funded school voucher program next fall in Washington, DC. The deal should be approved by the House and Senate later in November. The legislation would permit Secretary of Education Roderick R. Paige to start a five-year pilot program -- in consultation with Washington DC Mayor Anthony Williams -- that would provide taxpayer-funded grants of as much as $7,500 to at least 1,700 District schoolchildren for attending private and parochial schools. These "opportunity scholarships" would be limited to children in families earning up to 185 percent of the poverty level -- about $35,000 for a family of four -- and priority would go to children attending low-performing schools. See the article by Spencer Hsu in the November 20th issue online at: www.washingtonpost.com
Amy Waldman of the New York Times reports on the growth of the private education sector in rural India. Tuition can range from 40 rupees a month to 150 rupees a month, or more than $3.There are tens of thousands private schools across India. The schools are founded by former teachers, landowners, entrepreneurs and others. Parents are convinced that private education, particularly when English is the language of instruction, is their children's only hope for upward mobility. See the article in the November 15 issue online:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/15/international/asia/15INDI.html?ex=1070299066&ei=1&en=86b06c470cf36a34
Reporters Sullivan and Jordan of the Washington Post report on the high number of Mexican students who do not progress past the sixth grade. According to government education officials, at least 300,000 Mexican children each year drop out of school after the sixth grade. Some last a year or two more, but the average Mexican has left school by age 14. A decade ago, South Korea had the same situation, but has turned that around and today it ranks first in academic achievement in OECD countries, while Mexico remains at the bottom and its economy remains dependent unskilled labor.
See the entire November 24th story online at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8909-2003Nov23.html
Events
The 2nd SEEL (Supporting Excellence in e-Learning) Conference will be held in France in May, 2004. Key priorities include exploring the organic link between different types of learning (individual, community, institutional, societal), identifying the kinds of services an e-learning region or city should provide to its citizens and enterprises, defining a framework for quality for e-learning regions and cities and discussing how to reconcile quality and innovation. See their website for further information: www.seelnet.org
Beijing Normal University and the Chinese Society of Education are sponsoring an International Symposium on Economic Globalization & Education Industry, to be held on April 7th_9th, 2004. The symposium will mainly discuss how Chinese private education will use experiences in foreign countries for reference in improving the level of raising and operating educational funds, accelerating the development of education industry and Chinese nongovernmental education under the background of economic globalization.
For more information please see the website: http://www.compe.cn/Symposium_en.htm
EdInvest News is read by over 5,000 individuals. EdInvest, the education investment information facility, is a forum for bringing together individuals, corporations and other institutions interested in education and the future of developing countries. A service of the World Bank Group, EdInvest will provide information for making private investment in education possible on a global scale.
Michael Latham (send comments to edinvest@ifc.org )