Education Next – Douglas N. Harris
“An NBER Working Paper made waves last week because it found large negative effects. It is the first study to find large negative effects of vouchers on achievement. It’s well done. I believe it. The question is, why? Why are the effects so negative when prior studies have found either no effect or positive effects? Good question. Unfortunately, we know much less about reasons than some have suggested. The libertarian Cato Institute chimed in quickly: “Although not conclusive, there is considerable evidence that the problem stemmed from poor program design. Regulations intended to guarantee quality might well have had the opposite effect.” Others on the pro-voucher side had similar responses–not surprising for those who want the government as uninvolved as possible.”(more)