The Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice

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NeoVouchers: The Emergence of Tuition Tax Credits for Private Schooling by Kevin G. Welner

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Collateral Damage: How High-Stakes Testing Corrupts America’s Schools
by David C. Berliner and Sharon L. Nichols

Great Lakes Center News & Press Releases

June 24, 2009 High-Quality Charter School Report Confirms Past Research CREDO study reinforces evidence showing no overall impact of charters on student achievement, according to new review
Related Documents:	Gary Miron’s and Brooks Applegate’s Review Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) Report

June 22, 2009 Friedman Tax-Credit Reports Inaccurate and Unsubstantiated Reports’ conclusions highly suspect, according to new review
Related Documents:	Luis Huerta's Review The Fiscal Impact of Tax-Credit Scholarships in Montana The Fiscal Impact of Tax-Credit Scholarships in Georgia The Fiscal Impact of a Corporate & Individual Tax-Credit Scholarship Program on the State of Indiana

May 28, 2009

Milwaukee Voucher Report Sound But Of Limited Value
Future reports examining voucher program should be improved and clarified

Related Documents:

This is the third Think Twice review in recent weeks to examine the School Choice Demonstration Project’s Milwaukee reports. Previously, a review by Dr. Clive Belfield found that a report about the Milwaukee voucher program’s fiscal impact offers valuable insights but also questioned the report’s findings regarding fiscal benefits and noted that the report omits some important factors essential to a more complete analysis. And a review by Dr. Gregory Camilli of a report about the Milwaukee voucher program’s competitive effects raised a number of questions about the report’s statistical methods, ultimately concluding that any positive effect of competition is very small, if it exists at all.

Clive Belfield’s review can be found at:
http://greatlakescenter.org/docs/Think_Twice/TT_Belfield_MPCP.pdf

Gregory Camilli’s review can be found at:
http://greatlakescenter.org/docs/Think_Twice/TT_Camilli_MilwVoucher.pdf

May 27, 2009 Reviewer Commends RAND Report on Charter Schools Examination of eight states uses sound methods and provides honest presentation
Related Documents:	Derek C. Briggs' Review of Charter Schools in Eight States: Effects on Achievement, Attainment, Integration and Competition RAND Corporation Report

May 21, 2009 D.C. Voucher Study Offers Little Support for Continuing Program
Related Documents:	Martin Carnoy’s Review of Evaluation of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program: Impacts After Three Years School Choice Demonstration Project; Institute of Educational Sciences, National Center for Educational Evaluation and Regional Assistance Report

May 18, 2009 Voucher Study’s Approach and Outcomes Questioned Report on High Achievers Offers Useful Analyses but Overstates Policy Implications
Related Documents:	Gregory Camilli’s Review of The Effect of Milwaukee's Parental Choice Program on Student Achievement in Milwaukee Public Schools School Choice Demonstration Project; Department of Education Reform, University of Arkansas Report

May 13, 2009 Reason Report Found to be Reckless and Irresponsible New review concludes report is “a major step backwards”
Related Documents:	Bruce Baker’s Review of Weighted Student Formula Yearbook 2009 Reason Foundation Report

May 5, 2009 Milwaukee Charter School Report Generally Sound Review of report raises key questions but praises contribution
Related Documents:	Robert Bifulco’s Review of The Impact of Milwaukee Charter Schools on Student Achievement Brookings Institution Report

April 29, 2009 Voucher Cost Report Provides Useful Starting Point While report on Milwaukee program sheds light on vouchers' fiscal impact, it omits discussion of important factors
Related Documents:	Clive Belfield’s Review of The Fiscal Impact of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program: 2009 Update School Choice Demonstration Project/Department of Education Reform University of Arkansas Report

April 27, 2009 Friedman Foundation’s Voucher Report Misrepresents Research Existing studies on competitive effect of vouchers found insufficient to support advocacy claims, new review finds
Related Documents:	Christopher Lubienski’s Review of A Win-Win Solution: The Empirical Evidence on How Vouchers Affect Public Schools Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice Report

April 20, 2009 K-12 Virtual Education on the Rise Online schooling has clear successes, but important challenges remain, policy brief concludes
Related Documents:	*The Realities of K-12 Virtual Education* Gene V Glass, Arizona State University Executive Summary Policy Brief

April 15, 2009 Survey of Private School Advocates Raises Accountability Issues Fordham report focuses on accountability for voucher schools and highlights differing standards for public schools, according to new review
Related Documents:	Ernest House’s' Review of When Private Schools Take Public Dollars: What’s the Place of Accountability in School Voucher Programs? Thomas B. Fordham Institute Report

April 8, 2009 Restructuring Schools Won’t Raise Student Achievement Research predicts failure for NCLB’s ultimate sanctions, concludes new report
Related Documents:	NCLB’s Ultimate Restructuring Alternatives: Do they Improve the Quality of Education? William J. Mathis, Associate Professor (adj), University of Vermont Executive Summary Policy Brief

March 10, 2009 Mathematica Study of Alternative Teacher Certification Does Not Apply to Vast Majority of American Classrooms, Experts Say They Note Methodological Limitations and Caution against Relying on the Report to Inform Teacher Certification Policy
Related Documents:	Corcoran and Jennings' Review of An Evaluation of Teachers Trained Through Different Routes to Certification: Final Report Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. Report

March 9, 2009 Blame for School Achievement Gap Misplaced New report urges policymakers to address poverty in order to increase student learning
Related Documents:	*Poverty and Potential: Out-of-School Factors and School Success* David C. Berliner, Regents’ Professor Arizona State University Executive Summary Policy Brief

March 4, 2009 Dropout Report Uses Inaccurate Data Reviewer finds that Buckeye’s case for “dropout recovery” charter schools is made with inflated numbers
Related Documents:	Sherman Dorn's Review of The High Cost of High School Dropouts in Ohio The Buckeye Institute Report

December 10, 2008 Ohio Charter Schools Report False and Deceitful Review finds financial analysis and claims are only shoddy propaganda
Related Documents:	Gary Miron's Review of Public Charter Schools: A Great Value for Ohio’s Public Education System The Buckeye Institute Report

December 2, 2008

Review finds Pro-voucher Polls Plagued by Biased Questions and Sampling Problems

Related Documents:

Review:

Jon Lorence and A. Gary Dworkin Review of 10 state public opinion surveys on K-12 school choice

The Friedman Foundation Public Opinion Surveys:

December 1, 2008 Multiple Pathways prepares students for college and careers New report focuses on high school reform done right
Related Documents:	*Multiple Pathways: 21st Century High Schools that Prepare All Students for College, Career and Civic Participation* Marisa Saunders, UCLA & Christopher A. Chrisman, Holland & Hart LLP Executive Summary Policy Brief

November 10, 2008 “Realistic Expectations” Urged for KIPP Schools Expert says existing research offers positive but mixed picture
Related Documents:	*What Do We Know About the Outcomes of KIPP Schools?* Jeffrey R. Henig, Ph.D. Teachers College, Columbia University Executive Summary Policy Brief

October 15, 2008 Report’s Alarm over U.S. Education Lacks Support Review finds Education Olympics of little value to policymakers
Related Documents:	Fierros & Kornhaber Burris Review of Education Olympics 2008: The Games in Review Fordham Institute Report

October 14, 2008 Argument Against 8th Grade Algebra Doesn’t Add Up Reviewer finds Brookings report overreaches for its conclusions
Related Documents:	Burris Review of The Misplaced Math Student: Lost in Eighth-Grade Algebra Brookings Institute Report

September 30, 2008

Claim that Private Schools Outperform Public Schools Doesn’t Hold Up
Review concludes that Cato’s simple tally of unscreened studies is not a useful way of summarizing research

Related Documents:

Clive Belfield's Review of Markets vs. Monopolies in Education: A Global Review of the Evidence

Cato Institute Report

September 10, 2008 Children Reap Lasting Benefits from Quality Preschool Programs As candidates debate national preschool policy, expert urges policymakers to stick with what works
Related Documents:	*Preschool Education and Its Lasting Effects: Research and Policy Implications* W. Steven Barnett, Ph.D., National Institute for Early Education Research Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Executive Summary Policy Brief

September 8, 2008 “Evidence-Based” Report on Vouchers Lacks Evidence Review finds that report claiming Ohio vouchers improve public schools is riddled with flaws
Related Documents:	Christopher Lubienski's Review of Promising Start: An Empirical Analysis of How EdChoice Vouchers Affect Ohio Public Schools Friedman Foundation Report

August 25, 2008

Wall Street Journal Early Education Commentary is Misleading
Reviewer finds rehashed claims have no more merit today than two years ago

Related Documents:

July 29, 2008 Report on High Achievers Offers Useful Analyses but Overstates Policy Implications
Related Documents:	Gregory Camilli's Review of High Achieving Students in the Era of NCLB Thomas B Fordham Institute Report

May 22, 2008

Florida Voucher Report Too Flawed to be Valuable
Review criticizes report’s conclusion that vouchers have positive impact on special education outcomes

Related Documents:

John T. Yun's Review of The Effect of Special Education Vouchers on Public School Achievement: Evidence from Florida’s McKay Scholarship Program

Manhattan Institute for Policy Research Report

May 12, 2008

Alternative Teacher Certification Oversold
Report concludes that programs such as Teach for America lack evidence of demonstrated success

Related Documents:

Alternative Teacher Certification Oversold
Report concludes that programs such as Teach for America lack evidence of demonstrated success
Gene V Glass, Ph.D. Arizona State University

Executive Summary
Policy Brief

April 29, 2008

School Choice Report Card Earns Poor Grades
Review concludes think tank’s ranking of states’ choice policies offers little useful information

Related Documents:

Wendy Chi's Review of Choice and Education across the States

The Heartland Institute Report

April 24, 2008

Turnaround Report is Commendable, Even with Weaknesses
Review praises, but raises concerns with, ambitious proposal for worst-performing schools

Related Documents:

Patrick McQuillan's Review of The Turnaround Challenge

Mass Insight Education & Research Institute Report

April 7, 2008

Review Finds Both Strengths and Weaknesses in Weighted Student Funding Report
Fordham Institute’s “Fund the Ohio Child” report takes measured approach but falls short in use of research to support its claims

Related Documents:

Bruce Baker's Review of Fund the Child: Bringing Equity, Autonomy and Portability to Ohio School Finance

Fordham Institute Report

March 31, 2008 Report Urges Caution for Schools Contracting Out Support Services Outsourcing could save money, but it often costs more and can have negative effects on schools and communities
Related Documents:	A Guide to Contracting Out School Support Services: Good for the School? Good for the Community? William J. Mathis, Ph.D., Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union Lorna Jimerson, Ed. D., Champlain Valley Union High School Executive Summary Policy Brief

March 24, 2008

Report’s Attack on Federal Preschool Proposals is Misleading and Inaccurate
Review finds bias, selective use of evidence in Lexington report

Related Documents:

W. Steven Barnett's Review of How Sound an Investment? An Analysis of Federal Prekindergarten Proposals

Lexington Institute Report

March 20, 2008

School Choice Series Paints Mixed Picture
Series of 10 policy briefs looks at research evidence on school reform

Related Documents:

School Choice: Evidence and Recommendations	Intro	.
Negotiating Public and Private: Philosophical Frameworks for School Choice	Policy Brief	Summary
How Legislation and Litigation Shape School Choice	Policy Brief	Summary
The Impact of Advocacy Fundingon the School Choice Debate	Policy Brief	Summary
School Choice and Accountability	Policy Brief	Summary
Funding Formulas, School Choice, and Inherent Incentives	Policy Brief	Summary
Teacher Qualifications and Work Environments Across School Types	Policy Brief	Summary
Educational Innovation and Diversification in School Choice Plans	Policy Brief	Summary
School Choice and Segregation by Race, Class, and Achievement	Policy Brief	Summary
The Competitive Effect of School Choice Policies on Performance in Traditional Public Schools	Policy Brief	Summary
The Impact of School Choice Reforms on Student Achievement	Policy Brief	Summary

February 19, 2008

‘Privatization Primer’ Not Ready For Prime Time Review finds Mackinac Center report offers little evidence for privatization, ignores arguments against the practice

Related Documents:

Think Twice Review

Mackinac Center Report

January 28, 2008 Increased Parental Involvement Important for ELL Student Success Despite obstacles, programs exist to increase the engagement of parents whose children are English Language
Related Documents:	Promoting ELL Parental Involvement: Challenges In Contested Times M. Beatriz Arias, Ph.D., Milagros Morillo-Campbell, Ph.D., Arizona State University Executive Summary Policy Brief

January 15, 2008

Report Overstates Claims for Florida’s A+ Accountability System

Related Documents:

Think Twice Review

Feeling the Florida Heat? How Low-Performing Schools Respond to Voucher and Accountability Pressure

January 9, 2008

Reports Claiming Vouchers Can Reduce Dropout Rates Found to be of Poor Quality

Related Documents:

Think Twice Review

The High Cost of Failing to Reform Public Education in Missouri
The High Cost of Failing to Reform Public Education in Indiana
The High Cost of Failing to Reform Public Education in Texas
The High Cost of South Carolina’s Low Graduation Rates
The High Cost of Low Graduation Rates in North Carolina

January 7, 2008 Race and Class More Influential Than Academics When Parents Choose Schools New policy brief challenges key assumptions about school choice
Related Documents:	Executive Summary Policy Brief

Center In The News

Teri Battaglieri: With Testing Scheme, Schools Will Find only Failure in the Future

Pre-2008 Press Releases