Why+the+School+Voucher+System+in+Washington,+D.C.,+has+been+a+Failure

= FACT SHEET - DC VOUCHER PROGRAM = =Published by[| www.RheeFirst.com]=

=Michelle Rhee supports school vouchers as one of the “best educational options for all students” yet under her watch, math and reading test scores of voucher students in private schools were statistically similar to those who were not offered scholarships=

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= THE CLAIMS: Supporting school vouchers in Washington, D.C., Rhee said, "..........my job......= =was to provide the best educational options for all students."= =[]= =[|tenure]=

= THE FACTS. Rigorous evaluations and empirical evidence show that there is no basis for her= =claims.=

= Three congressionally mandated evaluation reports on the District of Columbia voucher= =program have documented its lack of effectiveness. According to the final evaluation= =report released in 2010, there is no conclusive evidence that the voucher program has= =resulted in increased achievement for students overall or for students formerly attending= =schools in need of improvement—the students whom the program was primarily intended= =to assist. (Evaluation of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program Final Report, US= =Dept. Of Education, June 2010.)=

= The studies found that on average, after at least four years, students who were offered (or= =used) scholarships had reading and math test scores that were statistically similar to those= =who were not offered scholarships. The studies match the findings about other voucher= =programs, including those in Cleveland and Milwaukee.=

= The voucher program spends public money on private school tuition. It is the private= =schools that choose which students may attend. Thus, the receiving school may, and= =often does, cherry pick the best voucher student applicants—which in turn results in= =success rates that are artificially inflated. That said, the fact that there was no academic= =improvement by the applicants chosen over those not chosen suggests at the very least= =there is no truth to the myth that private schools perform better than public schools.=

=Rhee touts vouchers and perpetuates the myth of private schools as superior to public= =schools: "If I did not have a place for their children at one of my public schools that I= =would feel comfortable sending my own children to…..then who am I to deny that parent= =a $7,500 voucher ...... so that they could attend a good ... school."= =[]= =[|studentsfirst]=

= During Rhee’s tenure, there were 1,322 continuing scholarship students attending 1 of the= =52 private schools in the District in the fall of 2009. The Program’s $13-14 million= =annual appropriation has been sufficient to support about 1,700 scholarship students each= =year, if each student uses the full value of his or her scholarship. Rather than providing= =needed assistance to all our students and schools, school vouchers provided resources to a= =handful of students to attend private schools yet these students showed no increased= =achievement over public school students.= = = = = = There is little if any public accountability with school voucher programs, as private= =schools do not have to meet the same academic, civil rights and special education= =requirements as regular public schools. At a time when we should be raising the= =academic bar for students, voucher students are exempt.=

= Voucher students were less likely to have access to important services such as programs= =for English language learners, special programs for students with learning problems,= =counselors, tutors and after-school programs.=

= A 20-year track record and research shows that when compared with students of similar= =socio-economic backgrounds, voucher students do not perform better than students= =attending public schools.= =The Washington, D.C., evaluations also found that the voucher program had no impact= =on student motivation and engagement, on students’ satisfaction with their schools, or on= =whether students viewed their schools as safe and orderly.=

=--= =Other resources:= =People for the American Way []= =[|Public-Education-Fighting-Vouchers-in-Our-Nations-Capital]= =American Federation of Teachers []= =[|http://www.aft.org/pdfs/teachers/vouchersmythsfacts06.pdf]= =National Education Association []= =[|http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/2009-04-]= =[|23_Debunking_Myths_About_the_DC_Voucher_Program.pdf]=

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