IU report finds Cleveland school voucher program beginning to reach objectives

Sept. 7, 1999

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- An Indiana University evaluation report on the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Grant Program from 1996 to 1999 has shown that the experimental school voucher program is fulfilling many of its initial objectives. However, much remains to be learned about its overall impact on student achievement, the public and private school systems, and parents.

"As with all experiments that examine the effects of changing long-held ideas or ways of operating, it will take time to fully understand how, why and for whom the Cleveland Scholarship Program works," said Kim Metcalf of the Indiana Center for Evaluation. The center, part of the IU School of Education, conducted the initial evaluation. Metcalf, director of the center, is principal researcher on this project. The Ohio Department of Education commissioned the report and released it to the Ohio General Assembly on Sept. 1.

Established in June 1995, the Cleveland program provides qualified families with an opportunity for a scholarship (tuition voucher) used to defray the cost of private school enrollment for their child. The program, one of the most contentious and hotly debated educational experiments in the country, offers an important opportunity to learn much about the efficacy of providing families a wide range of choices for their children's education, according to Metcalf.

He said that at the end of the third year, many of the operational elements of the program have only recently become routine. While it is possible to develop some reasonable conclusions about the program and its impact on the families and educators whom it affects, he said much remains to be learned.

The evaluation team's conclusions indicate that:

• Scholarship students show a small but statistically significant improvement of achievement scores in two of five areas (language and science). What remains to be determined is whether the gap diminishes, remains, or widens with time.

• The scholarship program effectively serves the population of families and children for which it was intended and developed. The program was designed to serve low-income students while maintaining the current racial mix of Cleveland's public schools.

• The majority of children who participate in the program are unlikely to have enrolled in a private school without a scholarship. Seventy-five percent of those applicants who did not receive a scholarship remained in public school.

• Parents who apply for the scholarship program are likely to be better educated, and more interested, motivated and involved, than parents who did not apply. Even in the lowest income levels, parents who pursue a scholarship for their children are more likely to have completed a college degree and to engage in a greater number of school-related activities such as parent-teacher conferences.

• Scholarship parents' perceptions of and satisfaction with their children's schools are substantially improved. When parents were asked about satisfaction with several elements of their children's schools, scholarship recipients were much more satisfied than others. All parents who applied for a scholarship indicated the two most important factors were improving the quality of their children's education and their safety at school.

• There are substantial differences between public and private school classrooms and schools. Public schools tend to be larger, and public school teachers are likely to have more teaching experience than their private school peers. On the other hand, private school classrooms tend to be smaller than public school classrooms.

The Ohio Department of Education has committed to a continuation of the Indiana Center for Evaluation's study of the program through the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 school years. The ongoing evaluation will concentrate on the impact of the scholarship program on students' academic achievement; the experiences of families, students and educators in and with the program; the effect of the program on students' attendance, conduct and motivation over time; and the overall impact of the program on both public and private schools.

In addition, Metcalf said another important issue to examine now is the impact of the ongoing court battles over the constitutionality of the scholarship program on schools, teachers, families and students. In August, U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. suspended the Cleveland scholarship program while the court decides if it violates the U.S. Constitution. Three days later, he reversed his action.

"Ongoing uncertainty about the status of the scholarship program has been a source of concern for many scholarship parents and for the private schools attended by their children," Metcalf said. "Many parents fear they might be forced to move their children out of the private schools to which they had only recently become adapted." He said that in response to this uncertainty, private schools have been reluctant to add new classes or hire new teachers to meet the increased demand created by scholarship students.

"What remains to be learned is whether resolution of the constitutionality issue will enhance the capacity of the scholarship program through increased private school enrollment of scholarship students," he said.

To receive a copy of the complete evaluation report and executive summary, contact the Indiana Center for Evaluation at 812-855-4438. Metcalf can be reached at 812-855-4438 or kmetcalf@indiana.edu

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