Whether Students in Private Schools, Using Publicly Funded Vouchers or Paying Tuition, Perform Better than Their Peers in Public Schools

Critics of school choice agree that skimming, offering public school students vouchers to attend private schools, removes the pubic systems highest achieving students and most involved parents. This practice also reduces the amount of state financial support given to public school districts. In response to competition, school choice supporters argue that public school officials will seek more qualified teachers, develop a more challenging curriculum, and develop a more aggressive work ethic. In this research, Caroline Minster Hoxby questions "whether students in private schools, using publicly funded vouchers or paying tuition, perform better than their peers in public schools." Before answering her question, Hoxby conducts a pre-study examining the choice of school districts and between public and private schools. …