Rethinking the Welfare State: The prospects for ... - e-Library

Primary and secondary education 155
had “higher educational attainment, lower grade repetition, an increased probability of
taking college entrance exams, higher test scores and a lower probability of teenage
marriage” 117 than their non-recipient counterparts. Similarly, Michael Kremer found that
voucher recipients were 10 percent more likely to complete eighth grade, were more
likely to graduate from high school and scored higher on high school completion and
college entrance exams. 118
Although the results of this program have been largely positive, its introduction has
generated increased costs for both the government and for recipient households. It has
been estimated that it costs about US$24 more to award a child a voucher than it would to
create a space for him or her at a public school. 119 Therefore, unlike the American
experience in which private schools are able (or are forced) to educate children with
fewer resources than public schools, the Colombian experience has resulted in increased
per student expenditures on primary and secondary education. As well, lottery winners
spend approximately US$19 more annually on education than lottery losers. 120 This is
due to both the tuition fees required in excess of the voucher amount and the wages that
are lost when a child devotes more time to school and less time to paid labour. Although
these costs may lead one to question the attractiveness of vouchers in the short-run, the
long-term benefits greatly outweigh the costs. It has been estimated that voucher
recipients can expect to earn US$36–300 more annually than non-recipients. 121
CHILE
Chile has one of the longest-standing voucher programs for primary and secondary
education in the world. It was introduced in 1980 with the goal of improving education
through complete decentralization and partial privatization. 122 By the following year 30.4
percent of elementary students and 40.8 percent of secondary students were using
vouchers. 123 Prior to these reforms, “the administration of the Chilean school system was
fully centralized in the Ministry of Education. The Ministry was not only responsible for
the curriculum of the whole education system, but also for the administration of the
public schools, which accounted for 80 percent of all schools in the country.” 124 Thus, the
government had enjoyed a virtual monopoly on education, resulting in both inefficiency
and ineffectiveness. The benefits of increased competition in the education market can be
readily seen in the Chilean system.
Efforts to improve achievement levels of students included the implementation of a
Standardized Performance Examination in 1982. In 1988, scores on this test
demonstrated that achievement levels were substantially higher in voucher schools than
in the municipal public schools. 125 Contreras found that on an Academic Aptitude Test
(PAA), males attending voucher schools obtain 49 additional points on the math section
than those in public schools. The comparable gain for females is 32 points. Gains on the
reading portion were 63 points and 55 points, respectively, for males and females. 126 As
well, there has been a corresponding increase in the number of years of schooling
completed by low-income students and a significant decline in illiteracy levels. 127 It was
found that whereas only 50 percent of secondary school-aged children actually attended
secondary school in 1970, by 1998 this proportion had risen to 82 percent, 128 evidencing
the positive impact that the voucher program has had on enabling children to have access
to quality schooling.