Accountability, School Choice and Vouchers

Source: Annenberg Edexchange Ed Working Papers

Date: February 2025

A Framework for Evaluating and Reforming School Vouchers

"Following the 2002 work of economist Henry Levin, who laid out a framework for evaluating school vouchers, we provide an updated framework involving four major goals: equity, effiency, accountability and democratic goals. We review what is known from recent research around these four major areas under today's voucher programs. We raise questions that policymakers and advocates should ask when considering these programs. We provide guidance on how existing research and evidence can and should be used to inform policy decision making and how ongoing evaluation and data collection might be planned and implemented. We comment on the implications for these publicly funded private tuition schemes for the role of education in civic engagement and democracy. Finally, we provide a series of policy recommendations for more closely aligning existing voucher programs with the four major goals."

Early Childhood Education

Source: Urban Institute

Date: 3/24/25

Pathways to Pre-K

The District of Columbia boasts the greatest access to public prekindergarten for 3- and 4-year-old children in the United States, offering a full-day, school-year universal preschool program. High participation rates indicate that public investments are supporting working families and helping DC's children thrive. However, enrollment is only one of several different steps families must take to secure a seat. In this brief, we map out families' experiences across application and enrollment to illustrate how families come to enroll, or not enroll, in Pre-K3, DC's public prekindergarten program for 3-year-old children.

ESAs

Source: Bellwether

Date: 3/25/25

Public Money, Private Choice: The Components and Critiques of Education Savings Accounts

Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) offer parents a publicly funded, government-authorized savings account they can draw on for certain K-12 educational expenses. As these programs have expanded in recent years, they have become a flashpoint in education policy debates. For some, ESAs are an extension of existing private school choice programs' potential to help families seek alternatives to the public school system. For others, they undermine the public education system by siphoning funding from community institutions.

But these arguments often oversimplify or misrepresent key details about how ESAs work - which students are eligible, how much funding they receive, what kinds of expenses the programs can pay for - and the evidence of their impact to date.

Public Money, Private Choice: The Components and Critiques of Education Savings Accounts aims to establish a common fact base about ESA programs that can inform all sides of the policy debate. How have ESAs emerged in state policy, and how are they designed? What are the common critiques of ESAs, and what evidence is available to evaluate them? What do other government programs that provide payments directly to families reveal about the design of ESAs?

Politics, Policy, and School Practices

Source: Cato Institute

Date:3/25/25

Cutting School Food Subsidies

The District of Columbia boasts the greatest access to public prekindergarten for 3- and 4-year-old children in the United States, offering a full-day, school-year universal preschool program. High participation rates indicate that public investments are supporting working families and helping DC's children thrive. However, enrollment is only one of several different steps families must take to secure a seat. In this brief, we map out families' experiences across application and enrollment to illustrate how families come to enroll, or not enroll, in Pre-K3, DC's public prekindergarten program for 3-year-old children.

School Choice

Source: AEI

Date: 3/24/25

Policy Review and Outlook: Revisiting the Federal School Choice Agenda

This report is part of our "Policy Review and Out­look" series, which revisits earlier works from the "Sketching a New Conservative Education Agenda" series and updates them given new facts. While driving innovation in education through new ideas and policies is essential, we believe there is equal value in reflecting on past proposals, assessing their relevance in today's context, and identifying opportunities for improvement.

With that in mind, we followed up with Peter Mur­phy, coauthor of the 2022 "Sketching a New Conservative Education Agenda" report A Federal School Choice Agenda.1 This installment of "Policy Review and Outlook" revisits the 2022 report, offering a timely follow-up and renewed perspective on federal school choice.

Student Achievement/School Choice

Source: WILL

Date: 3/27/25

Apples to Apples

WILL's annual Apples to Apples report puts schools on a level playing field to fairly assess education in the Badger State across public, charter, and private voucher schools. Demographic factors have historically played a significant role in student performance. Any honest assessment of how schools and school sectors are performing must take these factors into account. However, much of the existing reporting on school performance ignores this reality. Because Wisconsin's private parental choice programs are means tested, choice schools accept more students from a lower socioeconomic status than the average school. This annual report endeavors to incorporate these factors through rigorous statistical modeling that controls for, and assesses the impact of, several student characteristics. The 2025 Apples to Apples report has been updated to include the most recent student data from the 2023-24 report cards.

Review of Making the Grade: Accounting for Course Selection in High School Transcripts with Item Response Theory

Source: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University

Reviewed by: Michael Russell, Boston College

The role of standardized test scores in college admissions is evolving, with many institutions shifting away from the SAT and ACT. In their absence, high school GPA has become the primary indicator of college readiness, though it doesn't account for course difficulty. A new Annenberg Institute report introduces "Transcript Strength," a measure designed to adjust GPA based on course rigor. While promising, the report acknowledges the approach requires further research and development.

In his review of Making the Grade: Accounting for Course Selection in High School Transcripts with Item Response Theory, Michael Russell of Boston College agrees that the approach has potential but will require future refinement. The report applies a "partial credit model" from Item Response Theory-commonly used in assessment development and research-to evaluate course difficulty, generating a Transcript Strength measure. Preliminary findings suggest this tool provides insights into high school achievement distinct from GPA and SAT scores.

Coalition Sues Trump Administration For Dismantling Department of Education, Hurting All Students

By: Sharon Krengel, Education Law Center

Advocacy organizations representing millions of educators, civil rights champions, school employees, students, and families will file a lawsuit Monday to stop the Trump Administration's illegal attempts to dismantle the United States Department of Education.

How News Reporters Are Being Deceived by Fake Groups of 'Moms' and 'Parents' Attacking Public Schools

By: Maurice T. Cunningham , Bucks County Beacon

These groups are the creation of deep-pocketed, "dark money" conservative networks, not "grassroots" advocates.

Private School Parents Hurt Their Kids by Taking Free Government Money

By: Stephen Dyer, 10th Period

New analysis out of Ohio: The longer a private school parent takes tuition subsidies, the worse their students do academically. "On all proficiency tests, students getting a voucher for one year or less overall are about 75% proficient. Three years later, they're 54% proficient."

The Full Measure of a School

By: Erik W. Robelen, EducationNext

What if state accountability systems also involved visitors-trained and experienced-walking the halls of schools, observing classrooms, and talking with educators, parents, and students, then reporting back with findings?

National Coalition for Public Education Flyer on Keeping Public Funds in Public Schools

By: National Coalition for Public Education

This is a 2 page flyer that can be used to oppose federal voucher legislation. "The Educational Choice for Children Act (H.R. 817 and S.292 in the 119th Congress) would give away $10 billion per year to fund private school vouchers. Vouchers divert critical funds from public schools to subsidize/pay for students, many who already attend private schools. Private schools cherry pick which students they want to admit, resulting in discrimination."

What do the massive Education Department layoffs look like? See for yourself.

By: Naaz Modan & Jasmine Ye Han, K-12 Dive

In eight visuals, k12dive examines what the Trump administration's moves could signal for education's near future.

GreatLakesCenter.org