The Heartland Institute takes a look at Dr. Will Flanders annual review of school performance rankings and notes that,
The results of these school choice programs should not be surprising. In May 2016, EdChoice released a report in which it examines 100 empirical studies of private school choice programs, 18 of which used the “gold standard” random assignment to measure outcomes. The available empirical evidence on these private school choice programs makes it clear they have a positive impact on the academic performance of participating students, while doing so at a lower cost than public schools, and while simultaneously benefitting public school students, decreasing segregation, and improving civic values and practices.
Besides these academic achievements, studies have shown high school students participating in MPCP have lower levels of criminality than their MPS peers, and MPCP students are expected to generate almost $475 million in additional economic benefits “associated with higher graduation rates” from 2016 to 2035.
Based on what we know about the educational benefits of school choice programs in general and on Wisconsin’s students in particular, it is not out of bounds to say an expansion of the programs that would make them completely open to all students is well-deserving. The goal of public education in Wisconsin today and in the years to come should be to allow all parents to choose which schools their children attend, require every school to compete for every student who walks through its doors, and make sure every child has the opportunity to attend a quality school.