Louisiana voucher students don't outperform peers
Around 7,100 students receive vouchers in Louisiana, 87 percent of whom are black, the says. The cost to the state is $146 million a year and growing.
The findings are under review at an academic journal. "I think it says something more about how private schools funding (and have) adapted" to students with vouchers.
The study follows an earlier review from the organization that said voucher recipients did "significantly worse" than their peers in the first year, and "slightly less negative" after year two.
The study primarily focuses on children who were old enough to have taken state tests the year before, which leaves out the large number of voucher students who start in kindergarten.
It made no difference whether the student stayed in the voucher program or returned to publicschool. The schools that did participate needed support: they had disproportionately low enrollment, the researchers said.
"At the same time, these results could also point toward issues with changing schools and sectors".
With time, the study suggests, voucher students and their new schools are able to adjust to one another, allowing the students to ultimately surpass their public-school peers in language achievement.
However, students who left for private schools in lower grades still showed learning losses inLouisiana voucher students don't outperform peers: