Since the nomination of Betsy DeVos as the U.S. Secretary
of Education and hearing about her history of support of school vouchers, I
have become increasingly interested in whether or not school vouchers are
legitimately effective tools for student success. The Detroit Free Press
published an article that
highlighted a question that many seem to be asking: Can school vouchers give
kids, especially those in high-poverty areas, a shot at a better education? The article mentions a 2013 research study
out of Washington, D.C. that found that students who used federally funded
vouchers to attend private school were far more likely to graduate from high
school on time and saw better reading scores, but reviews of the Louisiana
Scholarship Program in 2015 and 2016 found that students receiving vouchers to
attend private schools performed significantly worse on state exams. Though
early research has had compelling evidence that kids using vouchers were making
more progress, there have been negative findings as well. Ultimately, there is
limited and mixed evidence on the effectiveness of these vouchers that vary
dramatically due to a number of factors. Due to positive findings, though, some
researchers have stated that vouchers warrant continued exploration.
DeVos and other proponents of school vouchers have stated that their support is in large part due to a desire to give parents the ability to make choices that will be in the best interest of their children, while others say that the threat of vouchers may spur public schools to improve as well. Though I find both points interesting, I see parents able to make school choice in my own county due to existing open enrollment policies. I also do not think that school voucher programs in particular will motivate public schools to improve with more urgency.
Currently, one of the biggest issues with vouchers is how voucher programs vary dramatically on a state-by-state basis. There are inconsistent standards for voucher qualification and not every state has these programs to begin with. In addition, though it has been said that $20 billion of federal money will be invested toward school choice in the upcoming presidential administration (with $110 billion of state-provided funds), it is unclear as to where that money will come from and whether or not this plan will get through Congress, as a similar plan was rejected in Congress in 2015.
I see this as relevant to leadership in two ways. One is
simply due to the fact that this is on track to become one of the most major
initiatives that the Department of Education could undertake under its
impending leadership. Another is to serve as a reminder that as educational
leaders we must strive to see our schools become continuously stronger. It
takes dedicated individuals to influence significant change, and as many of us
are teachers in public school systems, we have the potential to help make school
vouchers less relevant in our particular neighborhoods and school districts.
Valerie,
ReplyDeleteI was so glad to read your blog post as I have never really thought about school vouchers. Honestly, I do not know much about school vouchers and after reading your post, I am very interested.
After reading the article that you shared, I can see the hesitations with people's attitudes towards the voucher program. The lack of evidence plays a big role in that hesitation. Also, the differing results in different states would play a role in my hesitation. It is interesting to hear about the research study in Washington D.C. alongside the study done in Louisiana in 2015 and 2016. I wonder if the researchers thought about differing circumstances for these students. It makes me think about their home lives, school histories for the students, attitudes of the students, perceptions of the parents... I think there are numerous outstanding circumstances that can affect the outcomes of those studies.
While I understand the importance of choice for parents, I also agree with your point when you share, "I also do not think that school voucher programs in particular will motivate public schools to improve with more urgency." I do not think that these voucher programs will encourage public schools to be better. We should continue to motivate our public schools and seek ways to become better for our students. Each child is given the right to a free, public education and that education should be the best that we can all offer. If changes need to occur in our schools, we should be learning from successful systems and schools around the country.
I am interested to see what happens now with school vouchers and our states. Now, I am going to start following this topic as the Department of Education tackles this initiative.
As a teacher this is one of the most troubling parts of the Trump presidency. Bush made inclinations toward vouchers and privatization, but Trump seems to sailing headfirst into this arena with little actual data to support this move. It's easy to point out what's wrong with something, but when you try to replace it, there should be some evidence demonstrating the likely success of the new program. The fact that this thought process will now dominate the federal education department is scary.
ReplyDeleteValerie,
ReplyDeleteI wrote about Betsy DeVos as the U.S. Secretary of Education as well but just from a different perspective. I was excited to read your blog about her history of support for school vouchers. It is our responsibility to this administration and their appointees at the forefront of our conversations. It is a huge problem that the voucher programs vary dramatically on a state-by-state basis and also that there are inconsistent standards for voucher qualification. Some of the supporters of vouchers like them because they give parents the ability to make choices that will be in the best interest of their children. However, what happens to children in communities where the parents don't know how to or care to advocate for their children.
The thought of this appointment going through really has me on edge!