Yes, I know that President Bush (USA) doesn't use the term "voucher" anymore, but his plan still uses them under a different name (part of the "spin" on this topic).  In essence, the plan would provide "vouchers" worth (1) a certain amount of money (that could be put toward tuition at a private or parochial school) OR (2) a "pass" that would allow a youngster to enroll in another public school (one with higher achievement scores) outside of his/her neighborhood.   Here are a number of reasons why the plan can't possibly work.
 

1. Private and parochial schools with high test scores and high demand for entry will raise their tuition.  The government voucher won't pay for the full amount.  The families of poor kids in underachieving schools may receive a $500 voucher, but that won't pay the $1500 tuition.

2. If everyone wants to go to the same school, there isn't enough room for all of them.  Suppose there are 25 openings at a high achieving school and 150 kids apply to enroll there.

3. If small class size and school size are related to achievement, why would high achieving schools accept new kids?

4. Schools with high achievement won't want to accept underachieving kids from low-performing schools because doing so would pull their scores down and make them a lower performing school.

5. Where do you send kids in underachieving rural schools when the next nearest school is nearly a hundred miles away?

6.  Tax payers from wealthy districts who pay high school taxes are going to argue against underachieving kids from poor districts coming into their well-financed schools and taking resources away from their kids.

7. Who will pay for the incredibly complex bussing arrangements to move kids to new schools in all different parts of the community?  Bussing kids from many different neighborhoods to schools all over the geographic area is not only going to be impossible to manage, but incredibly expensive.

8.  We shouldn't confuse high test scores with learning.  Schools will "teach to the test" to score high in the rankings, neglecting the experiments, activities, and discussions that create real learning.  Being able to regurgitate information on large group tests that evaluate superficial levels of learning is not "better education".  Creating trivia experts and "do-it-by-the-numbers" automatons is not the goal of a country that truly values education.

9. Kids with special education needs are not going to be welcomed by high performing schools because they would require extra personnel and accommodations.

10. English language learners and recent immigrants will not be welcomed by high performing schools concerned about high test scores.

An Alternative?
What ever happened to the mantra we used to hear when parents didn't want bussing for racial desegregation?  Remember the chant "Kids should attend schools in their own neighborhood."?  (Actually, the parents chanted other slogans, but they can't be repeated here.)

Let's fix all the schools in all our neighborhoods.
 
 

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