We should be learning from other states that have more experience with tax credit scholarships/vouchers/etc. Indiana is facing an expansion of their voucher program, though there’s no proof it’s effective.
“Instead of approving two voucher expansion bills, lawmakers should instead call for a comprehensive and independent study of Indiana’s five-year-old entitlement program. Do they truly believe support of private schools is an effective use of tax dollars, or do they fear that data on Indiana’s program will reveal the same results as voucher evaluations elsewhere?
“’No voucher study anywhere has ever shown academic gains; not in Milwaukee, not in D.C., not in Cleveland,’ said education historian Diane Ravitch in an email.
“Nor does the newest study, she notes, an evaluation by the National Bureau of Economic Research of first-year evidence from Louisiana’s voucher program. Comparing academic outcomes of students who won a seat in the state’s voucher lottery with those of students who did not, the Harvard-based researchers found that ‘(voucher) participation substantially reduces academic achievement.’
“’The negative impacts of vouchers are consistent across income groups, geographic areas and private school characteristics, and are larger for younger children,’ according to the study from the respected and nonpartisan research group.”
Read more here: http://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/editorials/Do-vouchers-work–Real-data-needed–not-spin-11007242