The Effect of Special Education Vouchers on Public School Achievement

[Guest guest]

Comment: This report shows some clear evidence that vouchers do not

negatively impact students with disabilities that remain in the public

school system vs. taking the vouchers to attend private placements. In

fact, the report indicates that the students in the public school system

showed significant progress academically because of the option for school

choice. And this report breaks down data by area of disability.

" Our results from evaluating Florida's McKay program provide additional

evidence that rather than being harmed, public schools respond to the

challenge of exposure to school choice by improving the education they

provide. These findings are consistent with most previous research, which

demonstrates school-choice policies' positive effect on public school

achievement. "

Very interesting reading. ~Amy~

The Effect of Special Education Vouchers on Public School Achievement:

Evidence From Florida's McKay Scholarship Program

by Jay P. Greene <http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/greene.htm> and

Marcus A. Winters <http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/winters.htm>

Executive Summary

This paper evaluates the impact of exposure to a voucher program for

disabled students in Florida on the academic performance of disabled

students who remain in the public school system. The authors utilize

student-level data on the universe of public school students in the state of

Florida from 2000-01 through 2004-05 to study the effect of the largest

school voucher program in the United States, the McKay Scholarship Program

for Students with Disabilities (McKay), on achievement in math and reading

by students who have been diagnosed as disabled and remain in the public

school system.

This paper is the first empirical evaluation of the impact of exposure to a

voucher program designed to allow students with disabilities to enroll in

schools other than their local public schools on the achievement of disabled

students who remain in their local public schools. Vouchers for disabled

students are the fastest-growing type in the United States. Programs similar

to McKay are currently operating in Ohio, Georgia, and Utah and have been

recently considered by other states.

Highlights of the study include:

* Public school students with relatively mild disabilities made

statistically significant test score improvements in both math and reading

as more nearby private schools began participation in the McKay program.

That is, contrary to the hypothesis that school choice harms students who

remain in public schools, this study finds that students eligible for

vouchers who remained in the public schools made greater academic

improvements as their school choices increased.

* Disabled public school students' largest gains as exposure to McKay

increased were made by those diagnosed as having the mildest learning

disabilities. The largest category of students enjoying the greatest gains,

known as Specific Learning Disability, accounts for 61.2% of disabled

students and 8.5% of all students in Florida.

* The academic proficiency of students diagnosed with relatively

severe disabilities was neither helped nor harmed by increased exposure to

the McKay program.

For the complete report go to:

<http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_52.htm>

http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_52.htm

http://tinyurl.com/3wl57c

Amy

Fighting the fight for all our children's rights...