ERIC Number: EJ1029484
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0161-956X
EISSN: N/A
The "Developing" Achievement Gap: Colombian Voucher Reform
Stern, Jonathan M. B.
Peabody Journal of Education, v89 n1 p43-57 2014
The achievement gap in many developing countries is defined in terms of rich/poor and public/private. The prevailing explanation for the "developing" achievement gap is an underfunded, inefficient, and/or inadequately supplied public school sector. Via an analysis of a Colombian voucher experiment, this article examines the extent to which income-contingent vouchers can narrow the achievement gap and provide a cost-effective method for increasing secondary school enrollments. Despite structural and implementation flaws, which diminish the program's impact on achievement and enrollments, its successes strengthen the argument that implementing an income-contingent voucher program can help narrow the achievement gap in developing countries. To cost-effectively increase enrollments, however, significant modifications and expansions to the program would be necessary--as explained in the conclusion of this article.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Achievement Gap, Educational Vouchers, Educational Change, School Choice, Educational Finance, Secondary Education, Cost Effectiveness, Enrollment Influences, Educational Legislation, Ancillary School Services, Access to Education, Equal Education, Efficiency, Academic Achievement, Change Strategies, Educational Assessment
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Colombia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A