NEPC Review: The Cost- Effectiveness of Wisconsin’s Private School Choice Programs

John’s University December 2023 Summary School Choice Wisconsin recently published The Cost-Effectiveness of Wisconsin’s Private School Choice Programs, a report comparing the cost and academic performance of voucher recipients in Wisconsin to public school students. [...] A recent report, The Cost-Effectiveness of Wisconsin’s Private School Choice Programs, pub- lished by School Choice Wisconsin, endeavors to fill this need by examining the academic performance and fiscal efficiency of voucher school recipients in Wisconsin.6 Since Wiscon- sin is the oldest voucher program in the U. [...] It calculates cost-effectiveness by dividing the DPI score by per-pupil revenue.11 It then calcu- lates the relative productivity of voucher schools and public schools by dividing the voucher school cost-effectiveness score by the public-school cost-effectiveness score and subtracting it by one to get a percentage difference.12 But the conclusions require dependence on very questionable assumption. [...] Review of the Validity of the Findings and the Conclusions Ultimately, the validity of the findings and conclusions is called into serious question be- cause of the report’s lack of foundation in any literature and especially because of its signif- icant methodological shortcomings. [...] A wolf at the schoolhouse door: The dismantling of public education and the future of school.