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Private School Vouchers and Student Achievement: An Evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program

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  • Cecilia Elena Rouse

Abstract

In 1990, Wisconsin became the first state in the country to provide vouchers to low income students to attend non-sectarian private schools. In this paper, I use a variety of estimation strategies and samples to estimate the effect of the program on math and reading scores. First, since schools selected students randomly from among their applicants if the school was oversubscribed, I compare the academic achievement of students who were selected to those who were not selected. Second, I present instrumental variables estimates of the effectiveness of private schools (relative to public schools) using the initial selection as an instrumental variable for attendance at a private school. Finally, I used a fixed-effects strategy to compare students enrolled in the private schools to a sample of students from the Milwaukee public schools. I find that the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program appears to have had a positive effect on the math achievement of those who attended a private school; but had no benefits for reading scores. I have found the results to be fairly robust to data imputations and sample attrition, however these limitations should be kept in mind when interpreting the results.

Suggested Citation

  • Cecilia Elena Rouse, 1997. "Private School Vouchers and Student Achievement: An Evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program," NBER Working Papers 5964, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:5964
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Fernando Coloma, 1999. "Posibilidades de Competencia en el Sector Educacional Subvencionado," Latin American Journal of Economics-formerly Cuadernos de Economía, Instituto de Economía. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile., vol. 36(108), pages 781-839.
    2. Alan B. Krueger & Pei Zhu, 2002. "Another Look at the New York City School Voucher Experiment," Working Papers 849, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    3. Jens Otto Ludwig & Helen F. Ladd, 1998. "The Effects of MTO on Educational Opportunities in Baltimore: Early Evidence," JCPR Working Papers 25, Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research.
    4. John Barnard & Jiangtao Du & Jennifer L. Hill & Donald B. Rubin, 1998. "A Broader Template for Analyzing Broken Randomized Experiments," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 27(2), pages 285-317, November.
    5. Welsch, David M. & Zimmer, David M., 2012. "Do student migrations affect school performance? Evidence from Wisconsin's inter-district public school program," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 195-207.
    6. Alejandra Mizala & Pilar Romaguera, 1998. "Desempeño escolar y elección de colegios: La experiencia chilena," Documentos de Trabajo 36, Centro de Economía Aplicada, Universidad de Chile.
    7. Christopher Nelson & Kevin Hollenbeck, 2001. "Does Charter School Attendance Improve Test Scores?: Comments and Reactions on the Arizona Achievement Study," Upjohn Working Papers 01-70, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    8. Henry M. Levin, 1998. "Educational vouchers: Effectiveness, choice, and costs," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(3), pages 373-392.
    9. Carneiro, Pedro & Heckman, James J., 2003. "Human Capital Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 821, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Alan Krueger & Pei Zhu, 2002. "Another Look at the New York City School Voucher Experiment," Working Papers 849, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    11. Pablo González & Alejandra Mizala & Pilar Romaguera, 2002. "Recursos diferenciados a la educación subvencionada en Chile," Documentos de Trabajo 150, Centro de Economía Aplicada, Universidad de Chile.
    12. Rouse, Cecilia Elena & Krueger, Alan B., 2004. "Putting computerized instruction to the test: a randomized evaluation of a "scientifically based" reading program," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 323-338, August.

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    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General

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