Tag Archives: Research

More Proof of College Jumpstart Success

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The push for dual enrollment, programs that allow high school students to begin earning college credit for free, is on the rise. And for good reason: A recent report released by Boston-based nonprofit Jobs for the Future shows that high school students who took college courses during high school are more likely to enroll in and graduate from college.

Dual-enrollment students are those who have completed college courses while enrolled in a high school that awarded both high school and college credit for their courses.  The study has shown that dual-enrollment students were almost 50% more likely to earn a college degree than those who were not enrolled in the program.  This is a significant distinction as high school graduates continue to face an increasingly educated and competitive job market.

As the Huffington Post reported, the study followed over 32,000 Texas high school students over the course of six years after graduation.  Half the students were dually enrolled while the other half was not and both groups were similar according to their academic and social backgrounds. The impact of dual enrollment was strong across both racial and income lines and dual-enrollment, low-income students proved more likely to attend a four-year university after graduation.

The report urges other states to follow Texas’ example and to employ further college-prep programs designed to target “underrepresented groups in higher education.” This is another crucial wayfor underserved youth to access opportunities that will prepare them for success.

To read the full report please click here.

Ohio is a leader in this area and has many options for high schoolers to earn college credit for free. Be sure to check out School Choice Ohio’s website for the full scoop.

New national reports share great school choice findings

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Two recent national reports demonstrate both increasing support for school choice programs nationwide, as well as demonstrated student performance improvement among voucher recipients.

 A recently-published study found a 24 percent increase in college enrollment among low-income, African American students who used education vouchers when compared to their public school peers. The Effects of School Vouchers on College Enrollment was published jointly by the Brown Center on Education at the Brookings Institute and the Harvard Kennedy School Program on Education Policy and Governance.

The study, published by Paul Peterson and Matthew Chingos, focused on the New York City School Choice Foundation Scholarship, which provided a half-tuition voucher to 20,000 lottery-selected students in the New York City Public School District beginning in 1997. The study analyzes data from a randomized field study of students and found that only 36 percent of African American students in public schools went on to college within three years of anticipated graduation, compared to 45 percent of voucher recipients.

This information builds on evidence that shows school voucher usage has a dramatic increase on high school graduation rates. Recently published reports on the effects of voucher programs in Milwaukee and Washington, D.C. showed increases of between 12 and 18 percent in graduation rates among students who have taken advantage of vouchers in comparison to those students who have remained in public schools.

The Effects of School Vouchers on College Enrollment was published at the same time as the results of the most recent Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll, which showed a considerable increase in public support for allowing students the choice to attend a private school utilizing a public voucher. Forty-four percent of respondents said they supported the idea, a 10 percent increase from the previous year.

This is the 44th such poll PDK/Gallup has conducted, and it used the same questions that were used in the previous polls. Used to measure Americans’ attitudes toward the public education system in the U.S., the authors note that it is “unique and significant because its longitudinal data documents important changes in American opinions about education over time.”

The full PDK/Gallup survey on Public Education in America can be read here. The full Brookings/Harvard Kennedy School report can be read here.

American Federation for Children Policy Summit

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This week, the American Federation for Children, a national school choice advocacy group, hosted a spectacular 24-hour summit with school choice advocates from across the country. The highlights of inspiring speeches and state-to-state networking fueled our fire.

We heard from panels of forward-thinking public school leaders from Tennessee, Indiana and Pennsylvania who believe that school choice is the most important way to spur improvement in the public schools. Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett said that giving parents the chance to vote with their feet is the only way to “make it more painful for schools to stay the same than to change.”

One of our favorite ideas came from the research panel: What if we gave families the flexibility to mix and match the best of all educational options? Wisconsin allows students to mix time and funding between public and private schools, online and in-person settings, and homeschool and school options. Now, THAT makes sense.

It was wonderful to see a great crew of fellow Ohioans there as well: Rabbi A.D. Motzen from Agudath Israel, Tracie Craft and Ericka Murphy from Ohio BAEO, Ron Adler from the Ohio Coalition for Quality Options, Susan Stagner from Connections Academy, and Ohio Representatives John Barnes, Anne Gonzales, and Matt Huffman.

Rep. Barnes joined legislators – mostly Democrats – from Georgia, Florida, and Wisconsin on a panel to discuss the huge gains Ohio has made in providing school choice for its families and the many thousands of positive stories that have resulted.

We also heard from the author of the first parent trigger law: former California Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero who spoke passionately about needing to bring parents to the table. As a high school student, she was told that she was not college material. Now, PhD in hand, she shakes her head and insists that access to college starts with a strong K-12 education that supports high goals for every student. She put it in stark terms: “If we do not educate, we will incarcerate.”

AFC had an all-star line-up of keynote speakers: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Fox commentator Juan Williams, and Newark Mayor Cory Booker. All shared about their own personal experiences of educational choice and what it has meant for the families they serve. You can watch all their speeches at: www.AFCPolicySummit.com.

Thank you to AFC and all our national and Ohio friends for making our trip to New Jersey a fantastic time. With the research and inspiration, we hope to hear about many more students accessing the school of their choice next year.

New report shows state school rating system deceptive

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Our friends at the Ohio Association for Gifted Children released a new report today called “Grading on a Curve: The Illusion of Excellence in Ohio’s Schools,” which finds that Ohio’s school rating system can be very deceptive. Today in Ohio, 352 school districts (almost 60 percent of all districts) are rated excellent or excellent with distinction. That sounds very promising on the surface, but this report takes a deeper look at the performance of each of these schools to show how they really stack up.

Below are some of the findings highlighted in the report:

  • 67 districts rated excellent or excellent with distinction had zero students take AP exams
  • 109 districts rated excellent or excellent with distinction had average ACT scores below the state average
  • 160 districts rated excellent or excellent with distinction had fewer than 20% of their graduating class receive diplomas with honors
  • 136 districts rated excellent or excellent with distinction had college remediation rates above the state average
  • 220 districts rated excellent or excellent with distinction serve fewer than 20% of their identified gifted students with 85 of the highly rated districts reporting no gifted services at all

Based on their findings, the Ohio Association for Gifted Children makes several recommendations, including eliminating the labeling of districts until a meaningful system can be developed. School Choice Ohio shared a similar recommendation in October, which called for Ohio to create crystal clear, meaningful state ratings for schools.

The statistics shared in the OAGC’s report show that even in the state’s highest performing public schools, there are still some students whose educational needs are not being met. For those students, it is crucial that they have options so that they can reach their full academic potential. House Bill 136 would create an income-based scholarship program that would give the state’s low-and middle income families the opportunity to find the educational environment that best meets their child’s unique learning needs.

On Education Vouchers and Being Accountable

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On Wednesday, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute hosted a simulcast panel discussion on the future of charter schools and vouchers. The panel featured national experts including Ohio’s own Dr. Susan Zelman, namesake of the famous Zelman v Simmons-Harris US Supreme Court case based on the Cleveland Scholarship.

 

Much of the discussion landed on questions of accountability for schools outside the local public school district. Those same questions have routinely been raised in Ohio.

 

Accountability can take lots of forms, but the greatest attention is given to academic accountability (testing). Charter schools take all the same state tests as district schools and face closure if they don’t show student achievement. And private schools are both accountable to paying customers (parents who are free to leave the school if they feel it fails to educate their child) and required to administer state tests to students who receive vouchers.

 

Still, the question has been raised: When a school accepts state vouchers, how much information should the public have about student achievement?

 

At School Choice Ohio, we believe the student achievement of a student using a voucher matters and these students’ test scores should be among the information made public.

 

That’s why we supported landmark legislation in the latest budget that requires the Ohio Department of Education to report test scores of the students who use the EdChoice Scholarship and the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program.

 

These recent changes to Ohio law will put our state on the forefront of voucher accountability nationwide. Parents will have more information about how their children are doing and the public will have information about the investment they’re making in scholarship programs with tax dollars.

 

- Sarah Pechan