As lawmakers in various states continue to debate several ideas for expanding education choice options for families, cumulative research is continuing to show positive results.
For the past four years, researchers at the non-profit EdChoice have compiled every newly published study on education choice models to determine effectiveness and impact on students participating in the education choice option, but also students who stay in a traditional public school setting.
This year, they added a review of Ohio’s Educational Choice Scholarship Program and Income-Based Scholarship Program, as well as the Kansas Tax Credit for Low Income Students Program.
In total, 187 studies have been reviewed showing the impact of education choice - and 84% of them show a positive effect.
The research isn't just limited to one state or region - it is comprehensive, across states large and small, red and blue, rich and poor.
Other than school safety (a new data point added this year), the highest positive impact comes from the category of parental satisfaction:
"Parent satisfaction studies have examined three ESA programs, seven voucher programs, eight tax-credit scholarship programs, and at least seven privately funded scholarship programs across thirteen states and Washington, D.C. Of the 33 studies examining the effects of private school choice programs on parent satisfaction, 31 have found positive effects, one study found no visible effect, and two studies found negative effects."
Regarding the impact on Program Participant Test Scores:
"These studies examined three voucher programs and five privately funded scholarship programs across five states and Washington, D.C. Of the 17 random-assignment studies examining participant test scores, 11 have found positive outcomes for either the full sample or at least one subsample of students studied. Four found no visible effect for any group of students, and three found negative outcomes for all or some group of students."
On Program Participant Educational Attainment:
"These studies examined four voucher programs, one tax-credit scholarship program, and one privately funded scholarship program, across five states and Washington, D.C. Of the seven studies examining program participants’ educational attainment, five have found positive outcomes for either the full sample or at least one subsample of students studied, and two studies found no visible effect for any group of students. None of these studies found negative educational attainment outcomes for any group or subgroup of students."
On Public Student Test Scores:
"These studies examined nine voucher programs, one tax-credit scholarship program, and one privately funded scholarship program across eight states and Washington, D.C. Of the 29 studies examining the effects of private school choice programs on public school test scores, 26 found positive effects, one study found no visible effect, and two studies found negative effects."
On Civic Values & Practices:
"These studies examined two voucher programs and at least three privately funded scholarship programs across four states and Washington, D.C..Of the 11 studies examining the effects of private school choice programs on civic values and practices, six found positive effects, five studies have found no visible effect, and zero studies found negative effects.
On Racial and Ethnic Integration:
"These studies examined five voucher programs across three states and Washington, D.C. Of the eight studies, seven found positive effects on integration in schools. One was unable to detect any effects, and none found negative effects."
Regarding Fiscal Effects:
"Analyses reviewed here cover 24 voucher programs, 18 tax-credit scholarship programs, three education savings account programs, and one privately funded scholarship program across 23 states and Washington, D.C. Of the 74 studies on the fiscal effects of individual private school choice programs, 68 found net savings for taxpayers. Five found that programs were cost-neutral, and five studies estimated that a program generated net costs. Four of these studies estimated a range of fiscal effects and reported net costs in the short run and net savings in the long run."
And finally, on School Safety and Climate:
"These studies examined five voucher programs and three privately funded scholarship programs across four states and Washington, D.C. Of the eight studies examining educational choice’s impact on school climate and safety, eight found positive outcomes. None of these studies found negative outcomes for school safety."
All 187 studies included in the report are referenced and linked to by the researchers.
The analysis concludes that conversation surrounding education choice doesn't end with this data.
"We live in a world where conversation is driven by short op-eds and even shorter tweets, with discussions about school choice research limited to a few studies, at most. In contrast, we present this comprehensive guide as a convenient way to see the relevant studies on a variety of topics. This resource should inform the debates about school choice."