The general purpose of this evaluation is to assess the effectiveness of independent charter schools in promoting two desirable student outcomes: student achievement growth and educational attainment. Independent charter schools are authorized by non-district entities and are considered "independent" because they are not a part of the…

The "Idaho K-12 & School Choice Survey" project, commissioned by The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice and conducted by Braun Research Incorporated (BRI), measures Idaho registered voters' familiarity and views on a range of K-12 education issues and school choice reforms. We report response "levels" and…

This report serves as a quick reference guide for elected officials to compare key education policies and data in their states to the rest of the nation. The first section highlights major state policies for all 50 states in both table and chart formats (see Summary Charts ). The second section provides key state data, such as per-student spending…

This survey collects information about employers' use and views of the vocational education and training (VET) system and the various ways employers use the VET system to meet their skill needs. Information collected is designed to measure the awareness, engagement and satisfaction of employers with the VET system. (Contains 12 tables.)…

This study seeks to provide outcomes-based information on Oklahoma's proposal to give tax credits for contributing to organizations that provide scholarships to K-12 private schools. The study constructs a model to determine the fiscal impact of tax-credit scholarships on the state and on local school districts. The author estimates the impact…

Hurricane Katrina set the stage for a transformation of public education in New Orleans, replacing the city's existing school system with a decentralized choice-based system of both charter and district-run schools. Using principal, teacher, and parent surveys administered three years after Katrina, this study examined schools' governance and…

At the request of Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) and the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers (PFT), Mathematica has developed value-added models (VAMs) that aim to estimate the contributions of individual teachers, teams of teachers, and schools to the achievement growth of their students. The authors' work in estimating value-added in Pittsburgh…

This report presents selected findings from the Public School District Data File of the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). SASS is a nationally representative sample survey of public and private K-12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. School districts associated with public schools and library…

This report analyzes the net fiscal impact of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP). The net fiscal benefits of the MPCP have continued to grow. The estimated increase was particularly sharp in FY10, from $37.2 million to $46.7 million. This increase was primarily due to the cut in the voucher amount, while MPS' per pupil revenues continued…

This report updates two previous reports: "Trends in the Use of School Choice: 1993 to 1999" (Bielick and Chapman 2003) and "Trends in the Use of School Choice: 1993 to 2003" (Tice et al. 2006). Using data from the National Household Education Survey (NHES) of the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education…

This is the third-year report in a five-year evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP). The MPCP, which began in 1990, provides government-funded vouchers for low-income children to attend private schools in the City of Milwaukee. The general purposes of the evaluation are to analyze the effectiveness of the MPCP in terms of…

Voucher options like tuition tax credit-funded scholarship programs have become increasingly popular in recent years. One argument for such school choice policies is that public schools will improve the quality of education they offer when faced with competition for their students. This study examines the effects of private school competition on…

The purpose of this project is fourfold: to report on the levels of approval for key policy leaders, awareness about certain reforms and policies, and support for various policies and public proposals; to identify large gaps between positive and negative feelings toward leaders and policies; while recognizing limitations, to compare these levels…

This study presents data from a major national survey of teachers conducted by the U.S. Department of Education; the Schools & Staffing Survey. The authors break down these observational data for public and private school teachers, in order to compare what teachers have to say about their work in each of the two school sectors. These are…

Indiana legislators are currently debating the merits of a proposal to adopt a statewide tuition scholarship tax credit program. The proposed program would make available $5 million in tax credits that businesses and individuals could claim by making donations to non-profit Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs). SGO donations would be matched…