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State's tuition plan evaluated By Will Sentell A pilot plan backed by Gov. Bobby Jindal that uses state tax dollars so certain students can attend private schools is producing low test scores, a new study says. The review was conducted by Leslie Jacobs of New Orleans, a former member of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. The pilot stems from a 2008 state law that provided $10 million for up to 1,500 students in troubled New Orleans public schools to attend private or parochial schools, with the state paying the tuition. Backers call the payments scholarships and a way out of dead-end public schools. Opponents call them vouchers, and public school leaders say they rob their schools of vital state aid. Jacobs served on BESE from 1996-2008. She was one of the most influential voices in public education circles, and a key leader of Louisiana's latest push to improve public schools. Any dispute about the effect of the scholarships/vouchers could hurt efforts to expand them to Baton Rouge and elsewhere. During the 2009-10 school year, 1,113 children from kindergarten through fourth grade took advantage of the payments to attend one of 32 nonpublic schools taking part. Jacobs' study says that 240 third- and fourth-graders were tested this year. Third-graders took iLEAP, which is a skills test and stands for integrated Louisiana Educational Assessment Program. Fourth-graders took LEAP, which is designed to make sure students master basic skills before they move to the next grade. No state tests are given students in kindergarten, first and second grades. The aim is for students to score at least "basic" on the tests, which is the middle of five state grading levels. The results of Jacobs' study show that: - Fourth-graders getting state scholarships/vouchers scored significantly below their counterparts attending public Recovery School District schools for English, math, science and social studies. - In English, 29 percent of students getting scholarships scored "basic" or above compared to 48 percent of RSD students. In math, 27 percent of scholarship students scored "basic" or above compared to 53 percent of RSD students. - Third-graders getting state scholarships/vouchers also scored well below their RSD counterparts in English, math, science and social studies. - In English, 35 percent of scholarship students scored "basic" or above compared to 49 percent of RSD students. - In math, 28 percent of third-graders getting scholarships earned a rating of "basic" or above compared to 44 percent of RSD test takers. "Parents should be given data on how those schools are doing," Jacobs said. The 2008 state law, she said, made no such requirement and parents assume the private schools are better. Jacobs, a former New Orleans mayoral candidate, said schools also should be required to demonstrate improved academic performance to stay in the state program. State Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek said it is too early to draw conclusions from Jacobs' report. Pastorek also said it is up to parents to decide whether the state's scholarship/voucher program is right for their children. |
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