NEPC Review: 'Apples to Apples: The Definitive Look at School Test Scores in Milwaukee and Wisconsin for 2024' (Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, March 2025)
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| Title: | NEPC Review: 'Apples to Apples: The Definitive Look at School Test Scores in Milwaukee and Wisconsin for 2024' (Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, March 2025) |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Benjamin R. Shear, University of Colorado at Boulder, National Education Policy Center (NEPC) |
| Source: | National Education Policy Center. 2025. |
| Availability: | National Education Policy Center. School of Education 249 UCB University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309. Tel: 303-735-5290; e-mail: nepc@colorado.edu; Web site: http://nepc.colorado.edu |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 16 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice |
| Document Type: | Reports - Evaluative Opinion Papers |
| Education Level: | Elementary Education Secondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Public Schools, Private Schools, Charter Schools, Expenditure per Student, Program Effectiveness, Scores, Cost Effectiveness, Data Analysis, Elementary Schools, Secondary Schools, Statistical Analysis, Research Reports, Review (Reexamination) |
| Geographic Terms: | Wisconsin, Wisconsin (Milwaukee) |
| Abstract: | The growth of school choice programs, including publicly funded private school vouchers and charter schools, raises questions about the relative effectiveness and cost of these options. A recent Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) report analyzes publicly available test score data in Wisconsin to investigate these questions. The report uses statistical adjustments to compare test scores across Wisconsin public schools, private "choice" schools, and charter schools. Based on these analyses and the per-pupil funding amounts for each program, the report concludes that choice schools (private schools and charters) are relatively more effective, lower cost options that provide "more bang for the buck." However, the statistical analyses are unable to overcome fundamental limitations inherent in the publicly available data, and the report also suffers from a lack of systematic fiscal analyses--meaning that it fails to provide strong evidence for either of its central claims. The report also lacks important methodological details, further limiting the usefulness of the results to inform policymakers or the public about the relative cost and performance of Wisconsin schools. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | ED677374 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | The growth of school choice programs, including publicly funded private school vouchers and charter schools, raises questions about the relative effectiveness and cost of these options. A recent Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) report analyzes publicly available test score data in Wisconsin to investigate these questions. The report uses statistical adjustments to compare test scores across Wisconsin public schools, private "choice" schools, and charter schools. Based on these analyses and the per-pupil funding amounts for each program, the report concludes that choice schools (private schools and charters) are relatively more effective, lower cost options that provide "more bang for the buck." However, the statistical analyses are unable to overcome fundamental limitations inherent in the publicly available data, and the report also suffers from a lack of systematic fiscal analyses--meaning that it fails to provide strong evidence for either of its central claims. The report also lacks important methodological details, further limiting the usefulness of the results to inform policymakers or the public about the relative cost and performance of Wisconsin schools. |
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