Report Takes Aim at First Year of D.C. Voucher Program

Only 6 percent of the students participating in the first year of the federally financed private-school-voucher program for the District of Columbia came from public schools designated as being in need of improvement, according to a report released last week by the People for the American Way Foundation.

The liberal watchdog group, which opposes private school vouchers, said fewer than 80 of the 1,300 children in the 8-month-old program came from such low-performing schools, though Congress said enrollment of those students was a priority when it created the program. The remaining vouchers, worth up to $7,500 a year, went to students who were attending other public schools in Washington or who were already enrolled in private schools.

Judith E. Schaeffer, the deputy legal director for the Washington-based organization, said the low participation by students who were supposed to be targeted by the federal voucher experiment was a surprise “and...