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www.NewHeightsEducation.org<br />
www.NewHeightsEducation.org<br />
Charter and Private<br />
Schools Outperform<br />
in Wisconsin<br />
(With Less Funding)<br />
Could market competition be the reason?<br />
I find that private schools produce 2.27 more points on the Accountability Report Card for every $1,000 invested than districtrun<br />
public schools [across 26 cities], demonstrating a 36 percent cost-effectiveness advantage for private schools. Independent<br />
charter schools produce 3.02 more points on the Accountability Report Card for every $1,000 invested than district-run public<br />
schools [throughout Milwaukee and Racine], demonstrating a 54 percent cost-effectiveness advantage for independent charter<br />
schools.<br />
These are important findings, particularly in light of Governor Tony Evers’s attempts to limit parental choice in education. This<br />
year he has proposed freezing the number of students who can enroll in Wisconsin’s three low-income voucher programs,<br />
phasing out the special-needs student voucher program, and banning the creation of new charter schools until 2023.<br />
DeAngelis recommends instead that full education funding follow all students, regardless of what type of school their parents<br />
think is best for them, including charter and private schools. That would introduce powerful incentives for all schools to use<br />
funds wisely to attract and retain students. He also suggests giving public-school principals more autonomy over budgeting to<br />
improve spending efficiencies.<br />
Source: The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE)<br />
https://fee.org/<br />
Vicki Alger<br />
Wednesday, May 22, 2019<br />
Private schools and independent public charter schools are more productive than district public schools, according to a new<br />
report.<br />
“The United States invests over $660 billion on K-12 education, or over $13,000 per student, each year,” according to report<br />
author Corey DeAngelis, who adds:<br />
That is equal to over $169,000 for each child’s K-12 education. Interestingly, real education expenditures in the U.S. have nearly<br />
quadrupled in the last half century without consistent improvements in student outcomes... Because education dollars are<br />
scarce resources, and because students’ academic success is important for society, it’s vital to examine which education sector<br />
delivers the most “bang for the buck.”<br />
A Case Study of Wisconsin<br />
DeAngelis compares the productivity of schools in cities throughout Wisconsin based on per-pupil funding and student<br />
achievement. The Badger State offers a rich field for study because it’s home to the country’s longest-running modern voucher<br />
program, launched in 1990, and its first charter school opened in 1994. Wisconsin’s four private-school parental choice programs<br />
currently enroll over 40,000 students combined, and more than 43,000 students are enrolled in charter schools.<br />
Because of the competitive pressures public charter schools and private schools face, one would expect them to be more productive<br />
than district public schools, as DeAngelis explains:<br />
Economists argue that traditional public schools hold significant monopoly power because of residential assignment and funding<br />
through property taxes... If a family is unhappy with the education services provided to their children in traditional public<br />
schools, they usually only have four options: (1) pay for a private school out of pocket while still paying for the public school<br />
through taxes, (2) move to a more expensive house that is assigned to a better public school, (3) incur the costs associated with<br />
homeschooling while still paying for the public school through taxes, or (4) complain to the residentially assigned public school<br />
and hope things get better. Private school vouchers reduce the costs associated with option one by allowing families to use a<br />
fraction of their public education dollars to pay for private school tuition and fees. Independent charter school laws give families<br />
the option to attend privately run public schools regardless of the default public school assignment. Private and charter schools<br />
must cater to the needs of families if they wish to remain in business, so they have strong financial incentives to spend their<br />
scarce education dollars wisely. In other words, more power is in the hands of the consumers—families—in a system with school<br />
choice.<br />
Compared to Wisconsin district public schools, private schools participating in parental choice programs receive 27 percent<br />
less per-pupil funding, and charter schools receive 22 percent less. Yet these schools get more bang for every education buck,<br />
according to DeAngelis:<br />
88 88 <strong>NHEG</strong> | GENiUS <strong>Magazine</strong> MAGAZINE | <strong>November</strong> | www.geniusmag.com<br />
- <strong>December</strong><br />
<strong>November</strong> - <strong>December</strong> 2019 | <strong>NHEG</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> 89