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ERIC Number: ED531257
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Apr
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Review of "SCDP Milwaukee Evaluation Report #30"
Cobb, Casey D.
National Education Policy Center
The School Choice Demonstration Project has published a series of reports written in the fifth and final year of its evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP). This review is of Report #30, a final follow up to a five-year study examining high school graduation and post-secondary enrollment rates for students participating in the MPCP. Researchers tracked an initial sample of MPCP students enrolled in either 8th or 9th grade in 2006 and compared their high school graduation and college enrollment rates with a sample of Milwaukee Public School (MPS) students. The report found that voucher students who attended a private school in 8th or 9th grade in 2006 "were more likely to graduate high school," "enroll in a four-year post-secondary institution," and "persist in that four-year institution beyond the first year of enrollment." Such conclusions should be considered alongside at least two important caveats, however. The first is a methodological concern. Roughly 75% of the original sample of 801 MPCP 9th graders were not still enrolled in a MPCP high school in 12th grade. The inferences drawn about the effects of the MPCP on graduation rates compared with those in the MPS are severely clouded by substantial sample attrition. A second concern lies in the report's interpretation of the data. Among the most careful statistically controlled analyses, only one finding was statistically significant at conventional levels. These two limitations prevent broad conclusions being drawn about the relative effectiveness of the MPCP and the MPS on graduation and higher education continuation rates. (Contains 2 notes and references.) [This paper reviews the following document: "Student Attainment and the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program: Final Follow-Up Analysis. SCDP Milwaukee Evaluation Report #30" (ED530067).]
National Education Policy Center. School of Education 249 UCB University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309. Tel: 303-735-5290; e-mail: nepc@colorado.edu; Web site: http://nepc.colorado.edu
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Grade 12; Grade 8; Grade 9; High Schools; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice
Authoring Institution: University of Colorado at Boulder, National Education Policy Center
Identifiers - Location: Wisconsin
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A