Students participating in Ohio’s Educational Choice Scholarship program (EdChoice) between 2008 and 2014 were significantly more likely to enroll in college and earn a bachelor’s degree than public school students according to a study by the Urban Institute. The report is the first to track the impact through college graduation of a school voucher program that has been previously shown to reduce test scores, as well as the first to share evidence on the effects of vouchers on the college outcomes of public school students
The program had the largest benefits for Black, low-income, and male students, and for students who remained in the program for at least four years according to the report findings.
Additional key takeaways:
* Sixty-four percent of EdChoice scholarship users enrolled in college within two years of their expected graduation, compared with 48 percent of public school students.
* EdChoice students were more likely to enroll in four-year colleges (45 percent) than public school students (30 percent).
* EdChoice students who remained in the program for at least four years were 44 percent more likely to enroll in college than students in public schools; effects were much smaller for students who only remained in the program for one to three years.
* Among a smaller group of students who are old enough to be observed through their potential college graduation, 23 percent of EdChoice students earned a bachelor’s degree compared with 15 percent of public school students.
* The availability of vouchers increased college enrollment and graduation among students attending public schools as well. Non-EdChoice students who attended public schools that were eligible for the program were about three percentage points more likely to enroll in college and 6 percentage points more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree than non-participants at public schools that were not eligible.
Given the rapid expansion of private school choice programs across the country, it is important to understand how they affect the students who participate in these programs and the students who remain in public schools. These findings provide the latest evidence on the long-term impacts of a statewide voucher program on both private and public school students’ enrollment in and graduation from college
The Urban Institute is a nonprofit research organization that provides data and evidence to help advance upward mobility and equity. The Urban Institute is a source for changemakers who seek to strengthen decision making, create inclusive economic growth and improve the well-being of families and communities.