A recent study has found that students in Tennessee who use vouchers to attend private schools are showing modest improvements in academic achievement, but they still trail behind their peers in public schools. The study, conducted by researchers at Vanderbilt University, compared the performance of students who received vouchers through the state’s school voucher program to their public school counterparts.
The research found that voucher recipients in third through eighth grades saw gains in both math and reading scores over a two-year period. However, these gains were not enough to bring them up to the same level as students in public schools. The study also showed that the achievement gap between voucher recipients and public school students widened as students progressed through middle school.
Despite the modest improvements, the findings raise concerns about the effectiveness of the state’s voucher program, which was implemented in 2016 to provide low-income families with the option to attend private schools. Critics of the program argue that it diverts funding away from public schools and fails to adequately support the academic needs of voucher recipients.
The study’s lead author, Ron Zimmer, emphasized the importance of ongoing research to understand the impact of voucher programs on student outcomes. While the results show some positive gains for voucher recipients, there is still room for improvement to ensure that all students in Tennessee have access to a quality education.
As the debate over school choice continues, policymakers and educators will need to carefully consider the findings of this study and work towards addressing the challenges faced by voucher recipients in order to ensure that all students have the opportunity to excel academically.
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