New research shows that blacks who participate in private school choice programs are significantly more likely to enroll in college.
The joint study from the Brookings Institution and Harvard University was conducted in New York City over a 15-year period. Malcom Glenn, national director of communications for the American Federation for Children, relays that results show African-American students on a voucher program are much more likely to go on to college.
"Most notably is the fact that African-Americans who participated in this voucher program in New York City were 24 percent more likely to enroll in college as a result of receiving a voucher, 31 percent more likely to enroll in a full-time college," Glenn reports.
He hopes this study will show legislators throughout the country the importance of tracking the success rates of their own voucher programs.
"We're very, very strong proponents of strict accountability measures and programs, and oftentimes that goes back to bill design," the communications director explains. "So, when we're putting together legislation, and when legislators are considering school choice bills, it's very important that they put into place at the onset evaluations like this one."
Similar studies showing increased achievement and parental satisfaction have been conducted in Milwaukee, Florida and Louisiana.