School Choice in Pa. is Cure for Disaster

An excellent commentary by Jeanne Allen in the Delaware County Times sums up the case for school choice and the empirical evidence:

Pennsylvania’s neighbors have led by example and have provided exceptional advice. Students in Washington, D.C.’s Opportunity Scholarship Program posted graduation rates that were 18 percent above their conventional public school peers.

Students who participated in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program for four years demonstrated significantly higher learning gains in math (11 percentage points) and reading (6 percentage points) than their peers in conventional public schools. In addition, they graduated at a rate that was 18 percent higher than students in conventional public schools.

Students who participated in the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program demonstrated a 7-percentage point increase in reading scores and a 15 percentage point increase in math scores over their peers in conventional public schools.

Low-income students participating in a Florida corporate voucher program are keeping pace with — and in many cases outpacing — all students nationwide (not just low-income children), despite the fact that the scholarships are a third of the cost of the per pupil expenditures in conventional schools.

The data do not lie. School choice works.