Council for American Private Education (CAPE) is a coalition of national associations serving private schools K-12. "Outlook" is published monthly by CAPE. This issue contains the following articles: (1) NAEP Math Results Raise Question: Are Reforms Working?; (2) CAPE Calls for Equity in Discretionary Grant Programs; (3) "Let Me…

The District of Columbia School Choice Incentive Act of 2003, passed by the Congress in January 2004, established the first federally funded, private school voucher program in the United States. The purpose of the new scholarship program is to provide low-income parents, particularly those whose children attend schools identified for improvement…

When Chester E. Finn Jr.--already one of Washington's best-known education policy entrepreneurs--took charge of an unknown foundation in Dayton, Ohio, in 1997, the match quickly blossomed into a fruitful marriage. Drawing on a nearly $50 million endowment in need of a mission, Mr. Finn, in the decade since, has shaped the Thomas B. Fordham…

This study evaluates the initial effect of Washington, DC's Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) on the academic performance of public schools and its effects on the opportunities that District students have to attend integrated schools. The OSP is a federally sponsored school voucher program that provides vouchers worth up to $7,500 for an…

Seven years after the Civil Rights Project first documented extensive patterns of charter school segregation, the charter sector continues to stratify students by race, class and possibly language. This study is released at a time of mounting federal pressure to expand charter schools, despite on-going and accumulating evidence of charter school…

During the spring of 2004, the first federally funded voucher program--the District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP)--was established. The School Choice Demonstration Project (SCDP) recognized that publicly-funded school vouchers represent a relatively new and unstudied approach to school choice and education reform. To address …

Outlook is the monthly newsletter for the Council for American Private Education (CAPE). Each issue contains information relating to private education such as: new legislation and regulations, the most recent research, court rulings, national trends, federal initiatives, private school news briefs, and more. This issue contains the following…

The Washington, D.C. school system has a long history of poor academic achievement; however, over the past decade, the District of Columbia has made strides in offering families greater choice about which schools their children attend, thanks to a strong charter school law and the federally funded D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. District…

This report presents findings about the relationship between participation in the Title I school choice and supplemental educational services options and student achievement from the National Longitudinal Study of "No Child Left Behind" (NLS-"NCLB"). A key component of the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001"…

As part of the "District of Columbia School Choice Incentive Act of 2003" Congress mandated evaluation of this first federally funded, private school voucher program in the United States (now called the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP). This report presents findings from the evaluation on the impacts 2 years after families who…

This report is the first phase of a three-part Quality Schools Project to help the District of Columbia create a firm analytical basis for planning for quality schools to meet the needs of the city's families. The Quality School Project is a joint effort of the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education, the 21st Century School Fund, the…

School choice remains an important part of the national discussion on education reform strategies and their benefits. While a variety of policies encourage parents' selection of schools for their children--for example, charter schools, magnet schools, and district open enrollment--scholarships that allow students to attend a private school have…

Opponents of school choice argue that private schools are not "accountable" because they are not subject to detailed oversight by a regulatory bureaucracy. They claim private school employees can be expected to engage in abusive and criminal behavior more frequently. School choice supporters respond that parents hold private schools…

School choice remains an important part of the national discussion on education reform strategies and their benefits. While a variety of policies encourage parents' selection of schools for their children--for example, charter schools, magnet schools, and district open enrollment--scholarships that allow students to attend a private school have…

Voucher programs have long endured intense legislative challenge and judicial scrutiny. This article details the recent history of a successful voucher implementation plan for the District of Columbia. The importance of a broad base of politically active and astute citizens, parents, religious leaders, and Federal legislators is highlighted. The…