Free college is politically popular, but may not improve graduation rates, conclude Brookings researchers on Chalkboard. It depends on how the program is designed. Their study analyzed Milwaukee’s Degree Project, which was launched in 2011. The Kalamazoo Promise is credited with raising college graduation rates, but Milwaukee’s Degree Project has had little effect. Photo: Neil Austell/Kalamazoo Gazette Students at 18 randomly selected high schools could receive up to $12,000

Milwaukee’s school voucher program will save taxpayers half a billion dollars in the long term, writes Jason Crye, executive director of Hispanics for School Choice. Graduation rates are higher for Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) participants compared to comparable students who attended district schools, notes a Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty study by William D. Flanders and Corey DeAngelis. Crime rates are lower. By 2035, because of higher high school graduat