Opponents to School Vouchers
Reduces Public School Funding
Opponents of voucher programs claim it drains money that is supposed to go towards improving public education. This threatens to reduce and relocate public school funding to private schools. Opponents think that money should be going to improving existing public schools, and the voucher program will only continue to decrease the funding going toward public schools, making them worse off.
Voucher opponents, including some private school advocates, also are concerned that the government is beginning to insert itself into private education. Related, there is concern that taxpayer money is supporting private schools when the state has no say over the curriculum, teachers, or testing practices of these schools. See Government Involvement for more information on this argument.
Many supporters of school vouchers are encouraged by the supposed achievements of private schools in having higher test scores at a much lower cost per pupil in comparison to public schools. But opponents point out that that is a result of the “cream skimming effect,” which is that the students who go to private schools are from certain privileged economic, religious, or ethnic groups, thus resulting in being easier and cheaper to educate. This separation between the advantaged and disadvantaged makes it appear that private schools are better, when in reality it could be the effects of “cream skimming” that results in the appearance of higher achievement.
Voucher opponents, including some private school advocates, also are concerned that the government is beginning to insert itself into private education. Related, there is concern that taxpayer money is supporting private schools when the state has no say over the curriculum, teachers, or testing practices of these schools. See Government Involvement for more information on this argument.
Many supporters of school vouchers are encouraged by the supposed achievements of private schools in having higher test scores at a much lower cost per pupil in comparison to public schools. But opponents point out that that is a result of the “cream skimming effect,” which is that the students who go to private schools are from certain privileged economic, religious, or ethnic groups, thus resulting in being easier and cheaper to educate. This separation between the advantaged and disadvantaged makes it appear that private schools are better, when in reality it could be the effects of “cream skimming” that results in the appearance of higher achievement.
It's Not Enough
Opponents to the voucher system also argue that it is an unjust system. Currently, students receive school vouchers through a random lottery. The lucky children that receive a voucher will leave to attend a better school, while those unlucky children are stuck in their assigned school that they were trying to get out of. Opponents to this program stress that this is not a fair system since it does not accommodate all eligible or willing children, and it leaves some children out of the potential education gains that will help them towards a better future.
Another argument is that the vouchers aren’t necessarily going to those who need it the most. Students that are eligible to enter the voucher program are economically disadvantaged, but they are usually the most well off of the least advantaged students. The very worst off students who are supposed to be targeted in the voucher programs are the ones left out of it. They do not have the parental support to enroll them in the voucher system, so they are just left in their assigned public school. Even if they did receive a voucher, they still might not be able to afford a good private school of their choice. So then the most well off of the disadvantages get moved to private schools, so the public schools only get worse and are blamed for being “failing” when it is really the effects of the voucher system pulling out the more advantaged students.
By pulling out the more advantaged students, segregation can actually worsen instead of getting better. As the most advantaged students leave the public schools, the schools decrease in quality, which means that anyone with enough money will migrate to better performing public schools. This actually perpetuates economic and social segregation that vouchers sought to improve.
Another argument is that the vouchers aren’t necessarily going to those who need it the most. Students that are eligible to enter the voucher program are economically disadvantaged, but they are usually the most well off of the least advantaged students. The very worst off students who are supposed to be targeted in the voucher programs are the ones left out of it. They do not have the parental support to enroll them in the voucher system, so they are just left in their assigned public school. Even if they did receive a voucher, they still might not be able to afford a good private school of their choice. So then the most well off of the disadvantages get moved to private schools, so the public schools only get worse and are blamed for being “failing” when it is really the effects of the voucher system pulling out the more advantaged students.
By pulling out the more advantaged students, segregation can actually worsen instead of getting better. As the most advantaged students leave the public schools, the schools decrease in quality, which means that anyone with enough money will migrate to better performing public schools. This actually perpetuates economic and social segregation that vouchers sought to improve.
Supporting Evidence
The studies done to evaluate voucher programs have been very inconclusive. While some arrive at the conclusion that test scores and school performance has increased as a result of market competition, many studies also report that no significant changes have been made at all. Even studies done in the same area, for example in Milwaukee, different people have reached very different conclusions on the success of the program.
Video: School Vouchers Ignore the Problem of Poverty
Sources:
- Brighouse, Harry, and Gina Schouten. "Understanding the Context for Existing Reform and Research Proposals." Whither Opportunity?: Rising Inequality, Schools, and Children's Life Chances. Ed. Greg J. Duncan and Richard J. Murnane. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2011. 507-21. Print.
- McEwan, Patrick. “The Potential Impact of Vouchers.” Peabody Journal of Education 79.3 (2004): 57-80. Web. 5 May 2013.
- Schouten, Gina, and Harry Brighouse. High-Commitment Charter School Paper Draft. Working paper. N.p., n.d. Print.