Who Chooses? Voucher and Interdistrict Choice Programs in Milwaukee

TLDR

Educational choice in the U.S. is a highly debated reform issue, with key research questions focusing on who chooses, why, and the effects on outcomes. The article examines who chooses in Milwaukee’s voucher and interdistrict choice programs, focusing on the first set of questions. The authors argue that the choice of students and families depends on the type and design of the program itself.

Abstract

Choice in American education remains one of the more important and certainly more controversial issues in education reform movements. This article analyzes two types of choice programs located in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Numerous research issues are involved in the debates over educational choice. Two of the most important sets of issues are who chooses and why, and what are the effects on educational outcomes? This article is concerned with the first set of questions. The theme of the article is that who chooses is a function of the type and design of the choice program itself. Although there are some similarities in the characteristics of students and families in the Milwaukee Parental Choice program (a private-school voucher program) and the Chapter 220 program (an interdistrict public-school choice program), the contrasts are sharp and consistent across key variables. That result may not be welcomed by those seeking simple and decisive conclusions concerning some general theory of educational choice. We, however, view it somewhat positively because the message is that policymakers have the ability to create different choice programs to address different problems with appropriate effects on diverse student populations.