May 2, 2017
Leah Askarinam of The Atlantic discusses a new study that raises questions about the value of the school voucher program for low-income families in the nation’s capital. On average, test scores were lower for students who used federal aid to attend private schools, when compared with those who attended D.C. public schools. Where does D.C.’s Opportunity Scholarship Program, the only federally funded voucher program in the country, fit into the ongoing debate over school choice? How are policymakers -- including U.S. Secretary of education Betsy DeVos -- responding to the new study by the federal Institute of Education Sciences? What does the study reveal about parental satisfaction with the D.C. voucher program? And what questions should local reporters ask when covering voucher and school choice issues in their own school communities?