Anna J. Egalite

Measuring Competitive Effects From School Voucher Programs: A Systematic Review

Studies of the competition effects from voucher or tuition tax credit scholarship programs on public school student academic outcomes have taken place in seven locations throughout the United States, with the majority of studies taking place in Florida, followed by Wisconsin. This article reviews 21 total studies of the impacts on student academic outcomes, finding neutral to positive results. The various competition measures used in the literature are thoroughly reviewed and regression discontinuity design is identified as the most rigorous estimation strategy capable of identifying the causal effect of competition threats on traditional public schools.

A Review of the Empirical Research on Private School Choice

Parents in the United States have had the legal right to choose the school their child attends for a long time. Traditionally, parental school choice took the form of families moving to a neighborhood with good public schools or self-financing private schooling. Contemporary education policies allow parents in many areas to choose from among public schools in neighboring districts, public magnet schools, public charter schools, private schools through the use of a voucher or tax-credit scholarship, virtual schools, or even homeschooling. The newest form of school choice is education savings accounts (ESAs), which make a portion of the funds that a state spends on children in public schools available to their parents in spending accounts that they can use to customize their childrens education. Opponents claim that expanding private school choice yields no additional benefits to participants and generates significant harms to the students “left behind” in traditional public schools. A review of the empirical research on private school choice finds evidence that private school choice delivers some benefits to participating students—particularly in the area of educational attainment—and tends to help, albeit to a limited degree, the achievement of students who remain in public schools.

The Impact of Targeted School Vouchers on Racial Stratification in Louisiana Schools

The question of how school choice programs affect the racial stratification of schools is highly salient in the field of education policy. We use a student-level panel data set to analyze the impacts of the Louisiana Scholarship Program (LSP) on racial stratification in public and private schools. This targeted school voucher program provides funding for low-income, mostly minority students in the lowest-graded public schools to enroll in participating private schools. Our analysis indicates that the vast majority (82%) of LSP transfers have reduced racial stratification in the voucher students’ former public schools. LSP transfers have marginally increased stratification in the participating private schools, however, where just 45% of transfers reduce racial stratification. In those school districts under federal desegregation orders, voucher transfers result in a large reduction in traditional public schools’ racial stratification levels and have no discernible impact on private schools. The results of this analysis provide reliable empirical evidence on whether or not parental choice harms desegregation efforts in Louisiana.

The Competitive Effects of the Louisiana Scholarship ProgramOn Public School Performance

Given the significant growth rate and geographic expansion of private school choice programs over the past two decades, it is important to examine how traditional public schools respond to the sudden injection of competition for students and resources. This article uses 1) a school fixed effects approach, and 2) a regression discontinuity framework to examine the achievement impacts of the Louisiana Scholarship Program (LSP). This targeted school voucher program has provided public funds for low-income students in low-performing public schools to enroll in participating private schools since the 2012-13 school year. The main findings of the competitive effects analysis reveal neutral to positive impacts that are small in magnitude. Effects are largest for students attending those public schools most affected by the competitive threat. Policy implications are discussed.

The softer side of learning: Measuring students’ non-cognitive skills

With an abundance of datasets of standardized test score data, researchers and education policymakers run the risk of focusing exclusively on the measurement of cognitive outcomes in key academic subjects such as math and reading at the expense of important non-cognitive outcomes. We use behavioral measures of conscientiousness, perseverance, and delay of gratification as well as a self-reported measure of student grit – defined as student perseverance and passion for long-term goals – to assess the non-cognitive skills of 174 16- to 18-year-old students attending a residential public high school in Arkansas, United States. Analysis shows that 11th grade students (16- to 17-year-olds) rate themselves lower on self-reported grit but outperform their 12th grade counterparts (17- to 18-year-olds) on behavioral measures of persistence, delay of gratification, and conscientiousness. These findings point to the strengths and limitations of existing tools for measuring non-cognitive skills and the need for more measures to be developed and tested with diverse populations.

Finding the Right Fit: Recruiting and Retaining Teachers in Milwaukee Choice Schools

This article explores differential hiring and retention practices across schools of choice using data gathered as part of a comprehensive evaluation of a large-scale school voucher program in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A variety of interview, survey, and observation instruments are used to describe the challenges and strategies that 13 schools report regarding teacher recruitment and retention. We conclude that schools with established partnerships with institutions that share a religious or philosophical commitment experience the highest success with recruiting and retaining teachers. We describe the strategies used by these schools and make recommendations for improving teacher retention in schools of choice.

The Effects of Teacher Match on Students' Academic Perceptions and Attitudes.

Using student survey data from six U.S. school districts, we estimate how assignment to a demographically similar teacher affects student reports of personal effort, happiness in class, feeling cared for and motivated by their teacher, the quality of student–teacher communication, and college aspirations. Relying on a classroom fixed-effects strategy, we show that students assigned to a teacher with similar demographic characteristics experience positive benefits in terms of these academic perceptions and attitudes. The most consistent benefits are among gender matches, and the largest benefits are demonstrated by the combination of gender and racial/ethnic matches. The effects of gender matches are largely consistent across elementary and middle school, while the most consistent effects from race matches occur in middle school.

Muslim Educators in American Communities

Charles Glenn’s timely book about Muslim educators in the United States addresses some of the burning questions of the day: How should we accommodate immigrants in a way that respects their culture, religious identity, and expression of community but also ensures their children are being well-educated in preparation for citizenship? It is a thoughtful volume that tackles tough, but important questions about pluralism, assimilation, and the ingredients for building a healthy civil society. Few would disagree that being Muslim in America today has its challenges, including what is frequently a hostile political climate. The president of the United States has stated he would “strongly consider” closing mosques, told a reporter, “I think Islam hates us,” and issued an executive order widely dubbed the “Muslim ban” that has since been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The fear of violent, antiwestern jihadism has led many of his supporters to wonder if Islam itself is fundamentally incompatible with democracy. In the midst of heated popular rhetoric about their religion, culture, and practices, the seven Islamic secondary schools profiled here teach their students they must represent “the true face of Islam” (p. 121) and that they must balance adherence to the transcendent moral authority of their faith with the responsibilities and civic obligations associated with living in a democracy that is home to non-Muslims with diverse beliefs and perspectives. Drawing on rich qualitative data, Glenn documents the personal advantages of attending a faith-based school, such as a feeling of unity and solidarity with one’s peers and the development of “psychological strength” (p. 122) to maintain a Muslim lifestyle. Student quotes reveal how this sense of belonging builds their self-confidence and helps them develop a social identity built around their faith. The role of school staff in modeling appropriate behavior appears to be crucial, “arguably even more influential than specific instruction,” (p. 110) we learn. This emphasis on character education and adherence to Islamic principles as the foremost goal of Islamic schools comes at a price, however, which is the risk that academic considerations will be a secondary concern to religious formation. The author describes how the schools profiled here are grappling with this balance. Academic considerations aside, it’s clear that Islamic schools offer their students a rootedness in faith. Critics may wonder if this focus on the development of private virtue and character building is compatible with the cultivation of civic virtue. Do these private benefits come with a public cost? A teacher quote about the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorists’ attacks illustrates why some prefer a multicultural public education to a faith-based private education:

Peers with special educational needs and students’ absences

Abstract In the United States, the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) specifies that students with disabilities should be educated in the “least restrictive environment,” yet little is known about how successfully schools have been able to apply appropriate supports, practices and resources so that all students benefit from inclusion. Using a quasi-experimental method and a longitudinal data-set provided by the Florida Department of Education that spans an eight-year panel from 2001 through 2009, this paper analyses the relationship between the density and diversity of peers with special educational needs and general education students’ absence rates in grades three through eight. Results show that a one standard deviation increase in the measure of special education peers is associated with an increase in general education students’ absences of .03 to .43 more days per year, depending on the empirical specification chosen. This represents as much as a five percent increase in the average student’s annual absences. Implications are discussed.

Will Decentralization Affect Educational Inequity? The Every Student Succeeds Act:

Purpose: In December 2015, President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act, which was a long overdue reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. What is remarkable about this new federal legislation is that it explicitly reverses the decades-long federal effort to more tightly couple the U.S. educational system. While not removing testing requirements, the legislation dramatically reduces the federal role in shaping education policy, returning significant power to the states to design educational systems as they best see fit. The law places sharp limits on the use of federal executive power over education and has the potential to remove the federal government from oversight and accountability over schools, raising questions about the equity implications of this policy change. Research Method: Utilizing public documents, including legislation, speeches by federal officials, analyses by policy organizations, and news accounts, the authors trace the evolution of federal efforts from a more tightly coupled educational system to one with greater state and local flexibility in order to estimate the equity impact of efforts to decentralize governance. Findings: While certain provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act may reduce inequity and improve educational outcomes for all students, rigorous enforcement of the law’s protections will be necessary in order to ensure existing inequities are not exacerbated.