Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Evaluation Of D.C.'s Voucher Program
The William E. Doar, Jr. Public Charter School for the Performing Arts just received it annual review from the D.C. Public Charter School Board and we received a glowing report. This started me thinking about how Congress would measure the success of the 2 year-old private school voucher program. Here are some criteria and my score:
1. Public Demand - A+, their are more people that want to take advantage of the scholarships then slots.
2. Satisfaction of parents/children - A+, from what I have read the families love it.
3. Satisfaction of participating schools - I don't have information in this area but it would certainly be interesting to have feedback from the schools. It looks to me like over 65 private schools are participating in the Opportunity Scholarship Program and that this list is growing.
4. Retention rate. A+, the program is over enrolled at its Congressionally capped limit of $1,700 students.
5. Attendance - Do we see that kids attend school at a higher percentage than traditional public school students who wanted to take advantage of the voucher but could not get a slot?
6. Standardized Test Scores - this is the criteria that will make or brake the program. And although people will want this information now, my research has shown that it takes at least 5 years to have a statistically significant impact in this area.
Now that I have taken my guess as to how the program will be evaluated you can see exactly how one was completed. Click here for an evaluation of the 1st year of the use of vouchers in Washington, D.C. as performed by Georgetown University. I believe you will see a lot of areas of overlap.
I also learned this from the study, "...according to a Memorandum of Understanding between the Office of the DC Mayor and DCPS, public schools that lose students as a result of the Opportunity Scholarship program will be reimbursed for any lost resources, thereby eliminating any fiscal impact of the program on specific public schools, at least in the short run" (p. 50). Perfect.
PermaLink | 4:05 AM |
|
1. Public Demand - A+, their are more people that want to take advantage of the scholarships then slots.
2. Satisfaction of parents/children - A+, from what I have read the families love it.
3. Satisfaction of participating schools - I don't have information in this area but it would certainly be interesting to have feedback from the schools. It looks to me like over 65 private schools are participating in the Opportunity Scholarship Program and that this list is growing.
4. Retention rate. A+, the program is over enrolled at its Congressionally capped limit of $1,700 students.
5. Attendance - Do we see that kids attend school at a higher percentage than traditional public school students who wanted to take advantage of the voucher but could not get a slot?
6. Standardized Test Scores - this is the criteria that will make or brake the program. And although people will want this information now, my research has shown that it takes at least 5 years to have a statistically significant impact in this area.
Now that I have taken my guess as to how the program will be evaluated you can see exactly how one was completed. Click here for an evaluation of the 1st year of the use of vouchers in Washington, D.C. as performed by Georgetown University. I believe you will see a lot of areas of overlap.
I also learned this from the study, "...according to a Memorandum of Understanding between the Office of the DC Mayor and DCPS, public schools that lose students as a result of the Opportunity Scholarship program will be reimbursed for any lost resources, thereby eliminating any fiscal impact of the program on specific public schools, at least in the short run" (p. 50). Perfect.
PermaLink | 4:05 AM |
| 
