The effects of charter schools and educational vouchers on students

Abstract

This thesis evaluates whether two market-based educational reforms, charter schools and educational vouchers, have led to better student outcomes for both the students who participate them and for students in public schools around them. In Chapter l, I estimate the effects of Michigan charter schools on student achievement for both the students attending them and students at neighboring public schools. Adjusting for previous test scores, I find that charter students do no better and may actually do worse than public school students. I also find that Michigan charter schools have had little or no effect on test scores in neighboring public schools. In Chapter 2, I estimate the effects of Colombia's high school voucher program. Between 1992 and 1997, the Colombian government awarded vouchers to over 100,000 poor students. Most of these vouchers were awarded randomly. Using the randomization to eliminate selection bias, I estimate the effects of the vouchers on participating students. The results suggest voucher winners had higher grade completion, lower repetition rates, a higher probability of taking the college entrance exam, and higher test scores. In Chapter 3, I study the effects of private school scholarships on disadvantaged, elementary students in Michigan. I find that the scholarship did not have a significant effect on the likelihood that a student attends private schools. Students who applied for this scholarship were planning to attend private schools anyway.