Wisconsin Public Radio | Study Shows Wisconsin Choice Schools Outperform Traditional Public Schools

Wisconsin Public Radio covered our most recent report, Apples to Apples, which looked at test scores at various types of schools and how they performed relative to one another. Our study showed that choice schools outperform traditional public schools.

“For the first time, student demographic data from choice schools were made available to the public this year. The study, Apples to Apples, was able to take into account factors such as race and poverty when analyzing test scores.  

The study found students at private schools in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program were about 5 percent more likely to be proficient in English/language arts and about 4 percent more likely to be proficient in math than students in traditional public schools. Students in private schools using vouchers also scored on average 2.8 points higher on the ACT.

“I think (this study) is important because we are able to make these apples to apples comparisons and put all schools on a level playing field,” said Will Flanders, education research director at the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty and author of the study. “When we do that, we can see which schools are actually more effective at educating the kids that really need access to better educational options, particularly those from minority backgrounds and those that are dealing with poverty.””

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