ERIC Number: ED613076
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021-May
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Estimating a Price Tag for School Vouchers
Shand, Robert; Levin, Henry M.
National Education Policy Center
School vouchers, a school choice policy that allows students and families to use public funds to fully or partially pay the cost of attending private schools, became a major area of policy debate once again during Betsy DeVos's tenure as United States Secretary of Education. Recent evaluations have found negative impacts of vouchers on academic outcomes among students using them, particularly on academic test scores, although older research has found mixed results. However, the input side has received less research attention; we know relatively little about the costs of implementing voucher systems. This policy brief provides an overview of the literature on the effects and costs of vouchers and applies recent empirical evidence on policy effects, behavioral responses, and contextual factors to determine administrative costs of a universal voucher system. It concludes with recommendations for further research and policy.
Descriptors: Educational Vouchers, Educational Finance, School Choice, Cost Effectiveness, Expenditure per Student, Educational Policy, Program Administration, Student Transportation, Elementary Secondary Education
National Education Policy Center. School of Education 249 UCB University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309. Tel: 303-735-5290; e-mail: nepc@colorado.edu; Web site: http://nepc.colorado.edu
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice
Authoring Institution: University of Colorado at Boulder, National Education Policy Center
Identifiers - Location: California
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A