Jay Evensen
  • Front Page
  • Opinions
  • Second Thoughts
  • Portfolio
  • Awards
  • About

Strong evidence school vouchers help African Americans

8/28/2012

1 Comment

 
Picture
School voucher programs can help African-American students succeed and go on to college. That was the clear finding of newly released study by researchers at Harvard and the Brookings Institution.

Don’t look for the public school monopoly to get it, however.

(Read the entire study here.)

Fifteen years ago, Cardinal John J. O’Connor, Archbishop of New York, issued an invitation (some might call it a challenge) to the chancellor of the New York City public school system to “send the city’s most troubled public school students to Catholic schools.”

If the city did so, he said, he would see to it they were educated.

Because Catholic schools are religious schools, the city wouldn’t allow any direct vouchers to students. So a group of private philanthropists stepped in and offered to cover a portion of private school tuition for eligible students for three years. The students had to qualify as low-income and either be entering first grade or be in grade 1-4. Then they were placed in a lottery from which scholarship winners were chosen.

The researchers followed the scholarship winners and the losers, comparing the two through the years. By 2011, those students all were at least 21 years old. Of the African American students who attended private schools, college enrollment was 24 percent higher than among those who didn’t.

That’s pretty clear evidence that politicians everywhere ought to begin looking seriously at voucher programs to help disadvantaged students have a chance in life.

The study found no similar improvements among any other racial group. Hispanic students saw a slight increase in college enrollment among voucher recipients, but it was statistically insignificant.

Plenty of theories exist as to why the outcome was most dramatic among African Americans. At the least, however, winning a voucher did not harm the education of any student, and it also saved public money.

Tuition in New York City’s Catholic schools was estimated to be $1,728. That was 72 percent of the total cost per pupil of $2,400 at these schools. The total cost at public schools, meanwhile, was more than $5,000 per student.

The voucher provided $1,400 in tuition, which means poor families had to make up the rest. Despite this, 77 percent of the recipients were able to do so at least part of the time.

Despite the study, keepers of the public school monopoly continue to refuse to give an inch toward the proponents of allowing poor people real education choices. National School Boards Association executive director Anne L. Bryant told CNN the study didn’t account for how much parents get involved with their students.

The type of parent who would enroll a child in a voucher program probably is the kind who would be most involved in helping that student, she said.

Clearly, she hadn’t read the study. Researchers compared the voucher recipients with those who had applied for, and not received, vouchers in a random lottery. They also compared it to those who received, but didn’t accept, the voucher.

The real story here is that African American students with, as Bryant called them, dedicated parents, were significantly less able to get their students into college as long as they were relegated to public schools. That is an inexcusable betrayal of people who want better for their kids.

Rich kids get all the advantages. Poor kids have to take what the state offers them.

Utah rejected a voucher system because of intense pressure from public school advocates. It’s time to rethink that decision, especially as budgetary pressures continue to mount on an overcrowded school system.

Clearly, vouchers don’t offer a quick fix to declining educational performance, and they may not help everyone. However they ought to be available, alongside public charter schools, as choices for concerned parents. There is no discernable downside. 

1 Comment
Kirsti E Evensen
8/29/2012 03:37:35 am

It is amazing to me that a private school can do so much more for students with less money. We frequently hear that schools need more money to be successful but clearly this is not the case. I'm not sure what the answer is, but I do feel that many public school educators could benefit from a change in their attitudes towards low income students. Students will respond in an encouraging environment.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Search this site


    Like what you read here?

      Please subscribe below, and we'll let you know when there is a new opinion.

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Picture

    The author

    Jay Evensen is the Senior Editorial Columnist of the Deseret News. He has nearly 40 years experience as a reporter, editor and editorial writer in Oklahoma, New York City, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. He also has been an adjunct journalism professor at Brigham Young and Weber State universities.

    Archives

    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012

    Categories

    All
    Campaign 2012
    Congress
    Crime
    Culture
    Iran
    Oil And Gas
    Poverty
    Steroids
    Taxes
    Utah
    Washington
    World Events
    World Events

    Links

    Deseret News
    Newslink
    Marianne Evensen's blog

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.