Quote:
Originally Posted by bgalbrecht
According to the Washington Post, the Department of Education concluded after a 3 year study that the voucher system found limited gains in reading and no significant progress in math. It may have been popular, but that doesn't mean it was effective. Since this article was in May 2009, the study and its results were probably from before Obama took office.
My personal suspicion is that the voucher system and charter schools may be the educational equivalent of the placebo effect. The parents who take their kids out of the system because they are concerned about the effectiveness of standard public schools are sending a message to their kids that they are important, and that their education is important, and the parents probably spend more time with the kids on things like their homework, all of which probably motivate the kids to work harder/do better. I don't have any children, so it's hard for me to judge the results of these things. |
Yes, the parents who take their children out of the crap schools and send them to better ones are the ones actually interested in their children and their education. The ones that don't give a damn will leave their children in whatever is convenient for them.
This still is an amazing improvement. Families interested in education can actually give their kids a good education. Familes that aren't let their kids languish in the pathetic inner-city schools. It self-selects for people that will get the most advantage from the vouchers.
-Marcy