NEPC Review: Fiscal Factbook--2025 Edition (EdChoice, July 2024)
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| Title: | NEPC Review: Fiscal Factbook--2025 Edition (EdChoice, July 2024) |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Mark Weber, University of Colorado at Boulder, National Education Policy Center (NEPC) |
| Source: | National Education Policy Center. 2025. |
| Availability: | 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 |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 10 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice |
| Document Type: | Reports - Evaluative Opinion Papers |
| Education Level: | Elementary Secondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Educational Finance, School Choice, Educational Vouchers, Public Schools, Privatization, Elementary Secondary Education, Fiscal Capacity, Expenditure per Student, Costs, Validity, Research Problems, Educational Research, Research Reports |
| Abstract: | As enrollments in school privatization programs grow, advocates continue to argue that school vouchers and education savings accounts (ESAs) have positive effects on public school finances. In its "Fiscal Factbook: 2025 Edition," EdChoice, a well-known advocate of school privatization, presents a collection of data points offered in support of two core claims: that vouchers and ESAs save taxpayers money, and that public schools benefit financially when they experience enrollment losses due to such programs. The data provided, however, do not constitute evidence supporting those assertions. The claim, for example, that per-pupil public school funding has increased substantially even as school privatization has grown, is undermined by the report's use of an inappropriate inflation adjuster. Furthermore, correlations between aggregate spending across the nation and school voucher growth are meaningless when privatization programs, as well as many other factors affecting costs, vary greatly among states. Similarly, simple comparisons of privatization programs' expenditures and public school spending do nothing to inform a comparative analysis of each sector's cost, especially when differences in student populations and outcomes are omitted. These, and other faulty attempts to use data to back up its claims, render the report useless for informing school funding policy. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | ED677405 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | As enrollments in school privatization programs grow, advocates continue to argue that school vouchers and education savings accounts (ESAs) have positive effects on public school finances. In its "Fiscal Factbook: 2025 Edition," EdChoice, a well-known advocate of school privatization, presents a collection of data points offered in support of two core claims: that vouchers and ESAs save taxpayers money, and that public schools benefit financially when they experience enrollment losses due to such programs. The data provided, however, do not constitute evidence supporting those assertions. The claim, for example, that per-pupil public school funding has increased substantially even as school privatization has grown, is undermined by the report's use of an inappropriate inflation adjuster. Furthermore, correlations between aggregate spending across the nation and school voucher growth are meaningless when privatization programs, as well as many other factors affecting costs, vary greatly among states. Similarly, simple comparisons of privatization programs' expenditures and public school spending do nothing to inform a comparative analysis of each sector's cost, especially when differences in student populations and outcomes are omitted. These, and other faulty attempts to use data to back up its claims, render the report useless for informing school funding policy. |
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