A UW-Madison researcher has completed a preliminary report on the Milwaukee, WI, school choice program, the first empirical study of a U.S. "choice" program. The report is based on data from 1990-91, the first year of the program.
The researcher, John Witte, a professor of political science, recommends that the program continue "for at least several more years."
"This program is not now, nor probably will it ever be, the answer for the extensive and complex problems associated with providing a quality education for Milwaukee children," Witte wrote. "It is equally difficult to believe . . . that, given the current size and limitations of the program, it poses a serious threat to the public school system. It offers the seeds of innovation, opportunities for poor parents that are already available to most other parents in (Wisconsin), and marginal support for nonsectarian private schools."
Limited Improvement
Witte explained that he made his recommendations despite the fact that the program to date has demonstrated "limited educational success." But he argued that it would be unrealistic to expect significant changes in student achievement in only one year.
Through the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the state of Wisconsin pays tuition to nonsectarian private schools for participating students from low-income Milwaukee families. The payment is equal to the amount of per-student state aid that Wisconsin would pay to the Milwaukee Public School (MPS) system.
To be eligible, students must come from families with an annual income of no more than 1.75 times the national poverty level and cannot have been enrolled in a private school or another public school district during the previous year.
The study was mandated by Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction when the program was originally created. The research is funded by The Spencer Foundation.
Seven schools initially joined the program but one closed in the middle of the 1990-91 school year.
Witte and his research staff used a variety of methodologies to assess the first year of the program. They surveyed all participating families as well as a random sample of 5,438 MPS parents to assess parent knowledge and evaluation of the choice program, attitudes toward their children's prior experiences in public schools, and the extent of parental involvement in schools.
A follow-up survey was sent to choice parents to assess their attitudes relating to their children's first year in private schools.
Detailed case studies were made in the four private schools that enrolled the majority of choice students. Questionnaires were completed by all "choice" students in fourth through eighth grades. Researchers observed community group, parent, and board of director meetings for several schools. And they analyzed first-year outcome measures, including achievement tests, attendance, and attrition.
Their data show that, in September 1990, 341 of 558 applicants were enrolled in the "choice" schools: 74 percent were African-American, 19 percent Hispanic, 6 percent white, and 1 percent other minorities. In September 1991, 562 of 695 were enrolled: 73 percent were African-American, 23 percent Hispanic, and 4 percent white.
The September 1990 data show that 78 percent of the program students' families earned less than $15,000 per year and only 7 percent earned more than $25,000. Data from the random sample of MPS families show that 47 percent of the city's school children come from families with incomes of less than $15,000 and 35 percent from families that have incomes greater than $25,000.
In September 1990, four schools accounted for 253 or 341 students in the program. In September 1991, those schools had 521 of 562 enrolled.
Achievement tests showed that "choice" students were behind the average for all MPS students as well as the averages for a randomly selected sample of low-income MPS students. Over the first year of the program, there was not a "dramatic change" in test results, said Witte.
Attendance for "choice" students was 94 percent. But the report stated attendance varies little across elementary schools in Milwaukee and, therefore, is not a very discriminating measure. The report stated for "choice schools" overall attendance is "satisfactory and not a problem."
High Marks for Schools
On each of eight questionnaire items in the 1991 survey, "choice" parents were more satisfied with their children's school than MPS parents. On each item, the choice parents also said they were much more satisfied than they were a year earlier, before their children joined the choice program.
Eighty-four percent of the "choice" program parents gave their children's schools a grade of A or B. On a scale of 1 to 4, the average rating was 3.3. In 1990, only 32 percent of the "choice" parents rated the school their children had attended an A or B. The average rating was 2.1.
For information about this project, write Witte at WCER, 1025 W. Johnson Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53706.
Reprinted with permission of WCER Highlights, published by the Wisconsin Center for Educational Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Education.