No Test-Score Edge Found for Cleveland Voucher Students

A new study of the Cleveland voucher program finds that participating students did not show higher test-score gains than comparison students, and in fact performed slightly worse in math.

The report by the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, housed at Teachers College, Columbia University, adds fuel to the long-standing debate over private school vouchers.

Clive R. Belfield, the center’s associate director, said his reanalysis of data from 2000 and 2002 revealed no academic advantages for voucher users. And in mathematics, one of three subjects covered, he said the vouchers actually correlated with a “moderate disadvantage, equal to one-tenth of...