Study: Vouchers Benefit Students AND Public Schools

The mediocre (at best) state of America’s public education system is no secret.

Many have argued for years in favor of educational vouchers as a tool for improvement.

Vouchers would provide funds for parents to send their children to the private school of their choice if they wish.  Parents do, after all pay taxes which go to support the public education system.  If they are dissatisfied with the performance or options supplied by the government system, why should they not be able to take their money and spend it to better the education of their child at the educational facility of their choice.

Ironically, while liberals are vehemently in favor of choice when that choice can be used to kill the child in a womb, and are vehemently opposed to monopolies in the private sector, they just as vehemently oppose choice when it comes to other educational opportunities, and vehemently guard the monopoly of the government public education system.

In the process, the academic excellence of America’s students suffer, as does the public education system itself.  Being insulated from competition, it is easy for education bureaucrats to circle the wagons and force you into a “my way or the highway” approach to education. 

After all, many people will not shell out the extra money (on top of the taxes they’re already paying to support the public education system) to pay for private school or homeschooling resources.  Many families may find it difficult to afford that, even if they wanted to.

But it is getting harder and harder for the bureaucrats to defend their inept educational monopoly.

LifeSiteNews reports on a new study which finds strong evidence that vouchers are not only good for the students who can get them, but for the public school system.

The study, titled “A Win-Win Solution: The Empirical Evidence on How Vouchers Affect Public Schools,” analyzed “all available empirical studies on how vouchers affect academic performance in public schools.”

It found that 16 of 17 empirical studies show that vouchers actually improve public schools, while the one remaining study found that vouchers had no visible impact on public schools. Significantly, that one study, in Washington DC, was also the only study conducted on a voucher program that intentionally protects public schools from the impact of competition.

The study cites research in states including Wisconsin, Florida, Ohio, Texas, Maine and Vermont, that compared schools where a majority of students were eligible for vouchers to those where fewer students were eligible. It found that schools that were more exposed to vouchers reported higher gains in math, science and language scores.

The study concludes that, “Even if vouchers did not improve public schools, there would still be other reasons to implement them. They provide a better education to those who use them, they provide better services for disabled students, they put students into schools that are more racially integrated, they improve students’ civic values, they save the public money, and so forth.”

In the private sector, competition with other similar businesses drives creativity, innovation and change.  This competition usually results in a better product or service because you must improve and adapt in order to give your customers a reason not to leave you for a better product or service from your competitor.  

Even with these exciting results, educrats will continue to keep the wagons circled and fight the expansion of vouchers to all school districts and students across the country.

Incidentally many presidents and congressional representatives use their taxpayer-funded $100K+ salaries to send their children to private schools, while working hard to keep your educational choices for your children limited.  Including President Obama.

But the taxpayers of the United States must put pressure on their elected representatives and force this needed change on our educational system.

Aren’t our children worth it?

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