Work

Effects of the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program on Public School Students’ Achievement and Graduation Rates

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: We examined the competitive effects of the largest, statewide K–12 private school voucher program in the United States. We relied on network proximity data to generate a drive-time measure that accounts for road lengths, intersection turn times, speed limits, and traffic patterns. This allowed us to calculate travel time between two points in 1-minute intervals. We used this precise measure in a difference-in-differences framework to examine impacts on student math and English language arts test scores and graduation rates. Using a student-level dataset that covers the 2006–07 through 2015–16 school years, we found little evidence that the average student in an Indiana traditional public school had been affected—either positively or negatively— by the enactment and growth of the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program. We discuss policy implications of these findings.

Source: AERA Open

DOI: 10.1177/23328584251326927

Authors: Anna J. Egalite, Andrew D. Catt

Institutions: Hoover Institution, North Carolina State University, Stanford University

Language: English

Topic: School Choice and Performance

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,000