What Do You Think?
![]() ![]()
The Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation Ranks the Nation's Voucher Programs
![]()
Foundation Ranks Nation's Voucher Programs, Says Some Better Than Others
March 16, 2004 • Friedman Foundation • Release INDIANAPOLIS – A landmark study released today makes a striking conclusion: Some school voucher and choice programs are better than others. "Almost fifty years have passed since Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman came up with the voucher concept," said Robert Enlow, the study's author and Executive Director of the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation. "Yet, school vouchers are often viewed by the media as if all programs were the same. In reality, there is a great deal of variation in design and characteristics of voucher laws." The report, "Grading Vouchers: Ranking America's School Choice Programs," evaluates and ranks the nation's thirteen school voucher programs based on three simple criteria: how many students are eligible to receive a voucher (Student Eligibility); how much money the voucher is worth (Purchasing Power); and how many and what type of private schools parents can choose (School Eligibility). For each category, the program is assigned a letter grade, and the final ranking is based on the average of the three. The nation's highest scoring voucher program is Florida's McKay Scholarship with a 3.6 GPA or A-, while the lowest scoring voucher program is the Iowa Personal Tax Credit with a 1.76 GPA or C-. Milwaukee's voucher program, the nation's oldest program for low-income families, receives a grade of C, while Colorado's program, one of the newest, gets a B-. "This report does a good job of comparing and grading the various voucher programs on how closely they line up with Milton Friedman's ideal concept of vouchers, which from our perspective is the gold standard for educational choice in America," said Gordon St. Angelo, President and CEO of the Friedman Foundation. Other results include: Arizona's Tax Credit Vouchers (A-), Pennsylvania's Tax Credit Vouchers (B+), Vermont and Maine's Tuitioning Programs (B), Florida's A+ Opportunity Voucher Program (B), Florida's Corporate Tax Credit Scholarships (C+), Illinois Personal Income Tax Credit (C), Minnesota's Personal Tax Deduction (C), and Cleveland's Program (C-). "Ranking anything is an inherently difficult exercise, guaranteed to create debate," added Enlow. "Yet, we in the school choice movement must not shy away from this debate. The fact is that some voucher and choice programs are simply better than others when it comes to giving parents greater educational freedom." "Ranking Vouchers: Grading America's School Choice Programs" |