Vouchers Do Not Improve Academic Achievement
Repeated studies of voucher programs across the country show that vouchers do not improve students’ academic achievement and can result in worse test scores for students.
Vouchers do not improve student achievement and, in many states, lead to a decline in achievement. Recent studies of the Louisiana, Indiana, and Ohio voucher programs have revealed that students who used vouchers perform worse academically than their peers. In addition, studies of voucher programs in Alabama, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and the District of Columbia found that students offered vouchers showed no improvement in reading or math over those not in the program.
Voucher programs also fail to offer participating students greater educational resources. Students in the District of Columbia voucher program, for example, were less likely to have access to key services such as English as a Second Language programs, learning supports, special education supports and services, and counselors than students who were not part of the program. Similarly, a survey of the Milwaukee voucher program conducted in 2013 found that out of 110 Milwaukee voucher schools surveyed, 39 reported having no art, music, physical education, library or technology specialist teachers.