Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowI am stunned by EdChoice President Robert Enlow’s contention that the “trend line is heading the right way” [New voucher study offers something for both sides of issue, June 26 IBJ.com].
Anyone who has even used a statistics textbook as a pillow would wince at that conclusion. How any policymaker at any level can accept that kind of unfounded statement is beyond me. His comments read like a zealous program promoter searching for any morsel, or the suggestion of a morsel, of good news.
So, where are we in Indiana? Basically, we have a one-party political state that holds itself up as being conservative yet we continue to take millions of dollars out of the public school system and plow it in to vouchers and charter schools without any significant, measurable, or quantifiable increase in student achievement. The results in Indiana are similar to those seen in other states that have made earlier forays into this kind of “reform.”
“Reformers” tout the size of our voucher program. At this point, there is no data to help us discern whether or not this is a visionary program or a total waste of money and resources.
__________
James D. Mervilde
Retired school administrator, former Washington Township Schools superintendent
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.