An item from the folks at the NEPC that may be of interest to some readers.

Wisconsin families and policymakers deserve a more accurate, less biased assessment of the state voucher program. View this email in your browser Thursday, December 12, 2023 Publication Announcement Report’s Claims of Voucher Success Undermined by Flawed Methodology and Limited Research Basis KEY TAKEAWAY: Wisconsin families and policymakers deserve a more accurate, less biased assessment of the state voucher program. NEPC Review -> Document Reviewed -> NEPC Resources on Vouchers -> CONTACT: Michelle Renée Valladares (720) 505-1958 michelle.valladares@colorado.edu Stephen Kotok (718) 990-2654 kotoks@stjohns.edu BOULDER, CO (December 12, 2023)—A recent report from School Choice Wisconsin claims that Wisconsin’s voucher programs are highly “productive,” achieving better academic outcomes at lower costs than public schools. A closer examination, however, calls into question the validity of these assertions. Stephen Kotok of St. John’s University reviewed The Cost-Effectiveness of Wisconsin’s Private School Choice Programs, and identified substantial methodological shortcomings that undermine its conclusions, including reliance on biased comparisons and limited financial accounting. While comparing the cost and academic performance of voucher recipients in Wisconsin to public school students, the report overlooks important considerations regarding true school funding costs, and fails to assess the voucher program against an appropriate comparison group of students. The funding calculation fails to account for special needs students, additional school fees, and state oversight expenses. The report also ignores recent studies examining the effectiveness of voucher programs in other states and showing starkly negative outcomes for the voucher recipients. Professor Kotok explains that the Wisconsin-specific claims are undermined by the reality that students are not randomly assigned to vouchers or admitted through a lottery, so it is very problematic to compare students and their academic results without controlling for other variables. He agrees that while voucher costs and their impact are important policy questions, this report does not contribute to answering those questions. Find the review, by Stephen Kotok, at: https://nepc.colorado.edu/review/wisconsin-vouchers Find The Cost-Effectiveness of Wisconsin’s Private School Choice Programs, published by School Choice Wisconsin, at: https://schoolchoicewi.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/The-Cost-Effectiveness-of-Wisconsins-Private-School-Choice-Programs.pdf NEPC Reviews (https://nepc.colorado.edu/reviews) provide the public, policymakers, and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected publications. NEPC Reviews are made possible in part by support provided by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice: http://www.greatlakescenter.org/ The National Education Policy Center (NEPC), a university research center housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, sponsors research, produces policy briefs, and publishes expert third-party reviews of think tank reports. NEPC publications are written in accessible language and are intended for a broad audience that includes academic experts, policymakers, the media, and the general public. Our mission is to provide high-quality information in support of democratic deliberation about education policy. We are guided by the belief that the democratic governance of public education is strengthened when policies are based on sound evidence and support a multiracial society that is inclusive, kind, and just. Visit us at: http://nepc.colorado.edu/ Copyright 2023 National Education Policy Center. All rights reserved.

NEPC
National Education Policy Center
School of Education, University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309