Low-income students w/ private school vouchers: math scores drop for several years

This paper examines the impact of the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program on student achievement for low‐income students in upper elementary and middle school who used a voucher to transfer from public to private schools during the first four years of the program.

The authors analyzed student‐level longitudinal data from public and private schools taking the same statewide standardized assessment.

Overall, voucher students experienced an average achievement loss of 0.15 SDs in mathematics during their first year of attending a private school compared with matched students who remained in a public school. This loss persisted regardless of the length of time spent in a private school.

The authors did not observe statistically meaningful effects in English/Language Arts.

Although school vouchers aim to provide greater educational opportunities for students, the goal of improving the academic performance of low‐income students who use a voucher to move to a private school has not yet been realized in Indiana.