Peterson, P. E., Howell, W. G., Wolf, P. J., & Campbell, D. E., (2003)
‘School Vouchers: Results from Randomized Experiments’
in Hoxby, C. (ed.), The Economics of School Choice, University of Chicago Press
Assesses how 3 small-scale school voucher systems affected low-income families and their children.
Uses the fact that vouchers are assigned to eligible applicants by randomised lotteries to create a ‘control group’.
Key Results:
Finds that test score gains for pupils given vouchers are statistically significant only for African American pupils.
However, parents whose children went to private schools (using the vouchers) were significantly better satisfied with numerous aspects of their schools including safety, teaching, and class size.
