School Vouchers In DC? What Do They Have To Lose?

12 Jun, 2003 by John Hawkins

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School Vouchers In DC? What Do They Have To Lose?: There is a big debate going on about setting up a voucher program for DC schools. But when you look at, the numbers, it becomes obvious that they’re not exactly taking a big risk by setting up a voucher program…

“…A November 2002 report by the school superintendent showed that 70 percent of students in the system performed at or below a basic level in reading and math on one national test.

The average score for D.C. graduating pubic high school seniors in 2002 on another standardized test, the SAT, was 796 compared to a national average of 1020, the report said. Federal statistics also show Washington has one of the highest school dropout rates in the country.”

If your first concern is our children’s education, this is slam dunk for vouchers. After all, if we can give parents the option of moving their kids from a failing school system to private schools where their kids can usually be educated at a cost BELOW what the public school systems charge per pupil, what’s not to like? If YOU lived in DC, wouldn’t you rather send your kid to some top notch private school rather than a public school where you know your kid has a 70% chance of performing, “at or below a basic level in reading and math?” With what we pay as a nation to educate our kids, no student should be forced to go to a mediocre public school when they could be going to a private school instead.