ERIC Number: ED634985
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Aug-29
Pages: 11
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Does School Choice Affect Private School Tuition? Backgrounder. No. 3785
Bedrick, Jason; Greene, Jay P.; Burke, Lindsey M.
Heritage Foundation
In the past three years, more than 20 states have enacted new education choice policies or expanded existing ones. Several more states are considering adopting policies that would allow parents to choose the learning environments that align with their values and work best for their children. However, some critics have raised concerns that school choice policies might spur increases in private school tuition, thereby undermining efforts to expand education options. A review of the research literature by the Martin Center found that the research "suggests that federal student aid increases university tuition rates, perhaps by as much as 60 cents on the dollar." The effects of these subsidies are evident. In inflation-adjusted dollars, the national average cost of college tuition and fees has risen 239 percent since 1980. In order to determine the effects of school choice policies on private school tuition, the authors analyzed 10 years of tuition data from Private School Review. The data show that, overall, the adoption of private school choice policies does not elevate tuition rates. If anything, the estimated effect shows that enacting school choice results in private schools charging lower tuitions than they otherwise would, although that effect is not statistically significant.
Descriptors: Private Schools, Tuition, School Choice, Educational Policy, Trend Analysis, Policy Analysis, State Policy, Student Financial Aid, Costs, Elementary Schools, High Schools
Heritage Foundation. 214 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20002-4999. Tel: 202-546-4400; Fax: 202-546-8328; e-mail: info@heritage.org; Web site: http://www.heritage.org
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Education; High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Heritage Foundation, Center for Education Policy
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A