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JEB BUSH: THE IMPACT TO DATE

SOOYON YOUH

ELIZABETH HUMBERSTONE

CYNDI GREENBERG

DAVID MCKINNEY

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1. CHOICE/VOUCHERS (1) FACTUAL IMPACT AT SCHOOL SYSTEM LEVEL

Charter: In 2012-13, 206,000 Florida students (3rd highest behind CA, TX) in 578 charter schools (2nd highest in the nation behind CA)

136 charters rated as “high-performing” “impressive and staggering” performance of charter school

students compared to TPS (according to the Foundation) ↔ mixed/insignificant results from research

Voucher McKay Scholarship: satisfaction, academic benefits ↑ OSP: increased student performance in low-performing

schools (later ruled unconstitutional) Private

larger gains for low-income students receiving the Tax Credit Scholarship

union lawsuit against TCS dismissed; movement towards ESA

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1. CHOICE/VOUCHERS (2) PUBLIC/KEY CONSTITUENT PERCEPTION

Advocates “Education is the great equalizer.”: access to superior

quality education for low-income students Promote free-market competition; improved quality and

efficiency for schools of choice (Hoxby, 1998 & 2001) Public schools’ improvement due to voucher programs in

Florida (Greene & Winters, 2003) Critics

Voucher/Scholarship programs draining resources/funding from public schools and eroding standards (e.g. NEA)

Potential for privatization of public services Problem of “unlucky” students who did not get a space in

schools of choice Students’ outcome not significantly different from TPS

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2. SCHOOL GRADING FACTUAL IMPACT AT SCHOOL SYSTEM LEVEL

A and B schools: 21%(1999) → 79%(2009) → 72%(2012) D and F schools: 28%(1999) → 7%(2009) → 9%(2012)

PUBLIC/KEY CONSTITUENT PERCEPTION

Advocates: easy-to-comprehend measures for parents Critics: putting the “scarlet letter” on schools

improved school grade = better at the FCAT (≠ learning more?) Lack of factoring in whether the school serves suburban kids or

poorer urban children; no consideration of school demographics

Punitive measures for “F schools” vs. bonuses for “A schools” – might be more challenging for teachers in urban neighborhoods

Resources for low-performing schools: not a long-term incentive for teachers

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3. TESTING/ACCOUNTABILITY FACTUAL IMPACT AT SCHOOL SYSTEM LEVEL

Florida – the test-score gap ↓ b/t white and black 4th graders (NCES, U.S. Dept. of Ed.) ~ but, similar to the national trend

NAEP: 4th graders reading at grade level 70% (2007) vs. 53% (1998) Increased student gains among blacks and Hispanics (Heritage

Foundation) Bolstered achievement among students in low-performing schools

(Urban Institute, 2007)

PUBLIC/KEY CONSTITUENT PERCEPTION

Advocates: testing + pressure of a bad school grade: shifted the school’s focus to students who needed it most!

Critics FCAT: “one-size-fits-all”, no consideration for minorities/ELLs Narrowing the scope of instruction to focus on the FCAT; “template-

writing” Non-tested subjects neglected

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4. READING/GRADUATION FACTUAL IMPACT AT SCHOOL SYSTEM LEVEL

4th grade reading in Florida: 35th (1998) → 22nd (2007), outperforming the national average in every subgroup (2013) including low-income & Hispanic students

In 2006, high school grad rate remains among the lowest in the nation (63.6%) compared to the national average (73.4%)

In 2013-14, steadily improved, reached a historic high of 76% / drop-out rate - historic low

PUBLIC/KEY CONSTITUENT PERCEPTION

less impressive results in math or 8th grade reading; retention students dropping out after repeatedly failing the 10th grade FCAT

→ low graduation rate (discouraging effect of FCAT) students moving to alternative programs not counted as dropouts

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REFERENCES Foundation for Excellence in Education. Florida Formula for Student Achievement. Retrieved from

http://excelined.org/about-us/reform-agenda/florida-formula-for-student-achievement/

Foundation for Excellence in Education. Florida’s High-Performing Charter Schools. Retrieved from http://excelined.org/?attachment_id=6620

Foundation for Excellence in Education. Florida’s McKay Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities. Retrieved from http://excelined.org/?attachment_id=6621

Foundation for Excellence in Education. Florida’s Opportunity Scholarship Program. Retrieved from http://excelined.org/?attachment_id=6622

Foundation for Excellence in Education. Florida’s Tax Credit Scholarship Program. Retrieved from http://excelined.org/?attachment_id=6619

Foundation for Excellence in Education. How School Choice Programs Improve K-12 Education. Retrieved from http://excelined.org/?attachment_id=6618

Fryer, R. (2012). The Hamilton Project: Learning from the success and failure from the charter schools. Brookings.

Greene, J. & Winters, M. (2003). When schools compete: The effects of vouchers on Florida public school achievement. Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. Working Paper.

Hoxby, C. (1998). Analyzing School Choice Reforms that Use America’s Traditional Forms of Parental Choice” in Paul E. Peterson and Bryan C. Hassel eds., Learning from School Choice, Brookings Institution.

Hoxby, Caroline. (2001). Rising tide. Education Next.

Mathematica Policy Research. (2011). Do Charter Schools Improve Student Achievement? Evidence from a National Randomized Study. Working Paper.

Mathematica Policy Research. (2012). Charter-School Management Organizations: Diverse Strategies and Diverse Student Impacts. The National Study of Charter Management Organization (CMO) Effectiveness.

Mazzei, P. (2009, July 28). Jeb Bush's education reforms, 10 years later: Grades better, though graduation rates lag. The Miami Herald. Retrieved from http://www.tcpalm.com/news/jeb-bushs-education-reforms-10-years-later-rates

Op-ed. (2014, September 14). Florida's School Choice Showdown, The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/articles/floridas-school-choice-showdown-1410561578

Strauss, V. (2015, February 28). How Jeb Bush’s school reforms really played out in Florida. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet-wp/2015/02/28/how-jeb-bushs-school-reforms-played-out-in-Florida