That sounds good in theory. It makes sense. But some hypotheses that make sense sometimes just don't work out in practice.
The research, observations, and experience on voucher programs—while often discussed—doesn't actually show they outperform well-funded public schools.
In fact, numerous rigorous studies—including lottery-based experiments and evaluations in places like Washington, D.C., New York, Indiana, Louisiana, and Ohio—found no overall test-score improvements from vouchers; in many cases, scores actually declined for students who transferred from public to private schools.
For example, in Louisiana and Indiana, voucher students performed noticeably worse in math and reading compared to peers who stayed in public schools.
Betsy DeVos, the new U.S. secretary of education, is a strong proponent of allowing public education dollars to go to private schools through vouchers, which enable parents to use public school money to enroll their children in private schools, including religious ones. Vouchers are advanced...
Stanford’s Martin Carnoy also concluded that evidence for academic gains from vouchers is very weak, and that they often distract policymakers from investing in proven public-school strategies—like better teacher training, early childhood programs, or after-school support—which yield much higher returns .
Betsy DeVos, the new U.S. secretary of education, is a strong proponent of allowing public education dollars to go to private schools through vouchers, which enable parents to use public school money to enroll their children in private schools, including religious ones. Vouchers are advanced...
Meanwhile, while voucher programs occasionally show modest gains in high school graduation or college enrollment, those effects are small—and researchers warn those might reflect school selection biases or other confounding factors, not true learning improvements.
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/...chool-voucher-studies/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Put simply, vouchers don't seem to deliver better academic outcomes—and sometimes even make things worse. By contrast, investing in public schools has a much stronger evidence base supporting real, equitable gains in student achievement.