Study eyes tests of voucher pupils

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Pupils in the Cleveland voucher program performed on the same level as their public school peers, according to the final part of a five-year Indiana University study.
After tracking the test scores of 6,000 pupils from kindergarten through fourth grade, the researchers concluded there is virtually no difference in performance.
The study, commissioned by the Ohio Department of Education, also reported high parent satisfaction with the program, and a desire of poor parents to give their children the same opportunities that more affluent families have.
"It seems to reflect a desire to help their children develop ways of interacting, behaving and thinking that will help them to be successful, productive and self-sufficient adults," said the report's chief author, Kim Metcalf.
Vouchers provide public money for pupils to attend private schools. This year, the Cleveland program has awarded vouchers worth up to $3,000 to nearly 5,100 pupils who attend mostly Catholic schools.
The Cleveland voucher program is supported by money from the city school district's disadvantaged-pupil fund.
"It's bad public policy, from my point of view, but if the state wants to fund it, fine," Cleveland Teachers Union President Richard DeColibus said. "Just don't take the money out of the Cleveland public schools' budget."
Parents interviewed by researchers said vouchers enabled them to send their children to what they believed were safer schools that provided a strong moral grounding lacking in public school systems.
"I think you can't teach them without having some kind of moral value system," said Marilyn Anthony of Cleveland, who used a voucher to send her granddaughter to St. Rocco School. "Since when doesn't a child need some kind of standard?"
The study found little variation in the class sizes and teacher experience that voucher pupils and public school pupils encountered. It also found that white and Latino children were better represented in the voucher program than black children.
The U.S. Supreme Court found last year that Cleveland's program constitutional. State legislatures across the nation are debating whether to set up their own voucher options.