Are choice students learning more in private schools? We don't know

Private school choice programs are now serving students in 34 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico, according to an EdChoice report, writes Chad Aldeman. Are children learning more? We don't know.

Private school students in Council Bluffs, Iowa

Charter schools are held accountable for students' learning, he writes. If the school does poorly, it closes. But most states have no way of tracking the achievement of students using Education Savings Accounts (ESAs).

Private schools want to maintain their independence, and choice advocates say parents can hold schools accountable, taking their ESA dollars elsewhere. But that's taxpayers' money, writes Aldeman. He wants "to know how my investments are working."

State spending on choice is rising, yet most private-school choice programs provide about two-thirds less per pupil than total funding at a neighborhood public school, writes Marty Lueken. He calls funding parity "the next frontier."

Fordham's Michael Petrilli thinks private schools should receive more public funding only if they "agree to accept all comers and/or participate in state accountability systems." Like Aldeman, he thinks that "when taxpayers pay for children to attend private schools, they should be able to see how well they're learning."

Figuring out if publicly funded homeschoolers are learning will be even more difficult. But it does seem like a relevant question.

In Iowa, ESA-using students in private schools are outperforming students in traditional public schools, according to the state's Condition of Education report for 2024, writes John Kristof on Informed Choice. Unlike most choice states, Iowa requires private school students to take the same standardized test as public students.

The ESA advantage is largest for students learning English as a second language, and for black and Hispanic students, but there's an edge in all categories, writes Kristof.

ESA students in 2023-24 were prior public school students or incoming kindergarteners. They came from low- to middle-income families.

It's possible that parents of higher achievers were more likely to apply for ESAs, he writes. More research will be needed to determine if the ESA edge is due to selection bias or some other factor.