One of the underpinnings of the school choice movement has always been our belief in accountability. Without a doubt, voucher programs have always had market accountability. If parents are unhappy with the education a private school is providing to their children then they simply leave. A private school failing to meet the educational needs of its students is destined to struggle or fail.
Many people, friend and foe alike, have also suggested additional accountability (or perhaps more accurately, transparency) for school choice programs. They want to know if students using the programs are performing better academically than their cohorts in public schools.
At SCO, we agree that the measurement of academic performance is important. To that end, we have repeatedly pushed to have longitudinal analysis conducted on voucher student test data. After all, all students using an EdChoice Scholarship in Ohio take the state assessment test. Despite high profile studies in Florida, Washington, DC, and Milwaukee, we have not been able to get a similar study done in Ohio. That is soon going to change.
The recently passed state budget included language that will increase public transparency of the scholarship programs and give parents additional information to help them make informed decisions about their children’s education. The new language will require the Ohio Department of Education to:
§ Compile and organize test scores of voucher students on a statewide, school district, and private school basis
§ Post voucher student performance to the website each year (without identifying individual students)
§ Notify all eligible parents how voucher students are performing on the state assessment
§ Provide data on their child’s performance annually to the parents of all voucher students and compare the performance to that of similar students who attend the public school that the child would have been assigned
In this case, a change of language in the budget is a good thing. Given that parents are the primary consumer when making decisions about their children’s education, it is important that they know how their children are faring.
In addition, we welcome the chance to show policy makers and naysayers what we hear from so many parents….the program works.
– Chad Aldis
