NEPC Review: Graduation Rates for Choice and Public School Students in Milwaukee, 2003-2008

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Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/defaults/7w62f918g

Abstract

This review examines a research study that compares high school graduation rates of students who used vouchers to attend private high schools in Milwaukee and students who attended public high schools in that same city. The study reports that for the most recent year of data, a sample of voucher students had estimated graduation rates 12 percentage points higher on average than a sample of public school students. Overall, the trend favoring voucher students was observed in five of the previous six years. The analysis is technically accurate and makes defensible assumptions as necessary for the final calculations. However, although the results are descriptively useful, any real claims about whether the voucher program is actually causing higher graduation rates would depend on a much stronger research design.

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