School Vouchers

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses that, as a solution to better education, especially for low-income and racial-minority students, the "school choice" program provides parents with public-funded school vouchers to pay for tuition in private and parochial schools. The author points out that the National Education Association reports only 33 percent of voucher schools expressed willingness to participate in state-administered standardized tests; thus, there is no way to evaluate whether the tax dollars spent on a child's private education are yielding measurable results. The paper relates that, even though the majority of the beneficiaries of school vouchers are African-American, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has long opposed the school voucher program because vouchers are merely a band-aid that does not solve the underlying problems of American public schools.

From the Paper:

"There are no short-term solutions to the lackluster quality of education in many public schools in less affluent districts. However, diverting much-needed funding away from such schools will only worsen the problem in the long run. Instead of vouchers and its allied problems, more forward-thinking school districts in Tennessee have initiated the STAR class size project. This program was geared towards hiring more teachers and reducing class sizes in area public schools. A similar program, Success for All, has instituted a reading-based curriculum in 1,100 schools nationwide. This program, which cost a fraction of the voucher budget, has resulted in higher reading scores in standardized tests."

More papers on School Vouchers:

• Article Review # 134308 : "Why School Vouchers Can Help Inner-City Children"
• Analytical Essay # 123964 : "Research Summary about School Vouchers"
• Analytical Essay # 123776 : "Case Analysis and School Vouchers"
• Essay # 23652 : "School Vouchers"

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