Accountability Model Proposed for Voucher Schools

Aiming to "restart" the dialogue on accountability for publicly funded voucher programs, a Washington think tank argues in a new report that voucher proponents need to "wake up—and catch up to the educational demands and expectations of the 21st Century."

The report—being released March 24 by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which long has backed private school vouchers—suggests a sliding-scale approach. The idea is that the more voucher students a particular religious or secular private school enrolled, the greater would be its obligation for both public transparency and accountability.

"We think the time has come for the school voucher movement to come to terms with the idea of accountability for participating schools," Michael J. Petrilli, the vice president for national programs and policy at the Fordham Institute,...