John F. Witte is Director of the Robert La Follette School of Public Affairs and Professor of Political Science and Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the author of five other books and was the official evaluator of America's first voucher program in Milwaukee from 1990 to 1995.

"[Witte] was Wisconsin's 'official evaluator' of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the nation's first educational voucher program...Witte describes in detail Milwaukee's experience, concluding that the program was successful, given its intent, but warning against using that success to justify other programs designed to satisfy different goals"--Booklist "Less polemic than a tool to foster closer consideration of an idea whose time may or may not have come."--Kirkus Reviews "Amid the welter of claims and counterclaims, it is heartening to hear the careful study of the voucher movement by John Witte."--Howard Gardner, New York Review of Books "Of [particular] interest ... is Witte's description of the historical context of the program, the competing agendas of advocates on both sides, and the political process involved in creating, operating and attempting to evaluate a voucher program in light of these diverse constituencies."--James G. Mulligan, Economics of Education Review "Anyone interested in school choice should read this book. Though it is grounded in a detailed case study, the book's message resonates far beyond... [It] transcends the predictable polemics that can overwhelm the choice debate."--Scott Davies, Contemporary Sociology

• List of Figures ix List of Tables xi Preface xiii Acknowledgments xv 1. Introduction 3 2. The Enduring Controversy over Educational Choice 11 3. Educational Choice and the Milwaukee Voucher Program 29 Appendix to Chapter 3: Historical MPS Achievement Test Data 49 4. Who Participates in Choice Programs? 52 5. The Milwaukee Choice Schools 83 6. Outcomes of the Milwaukee Voucher Program 112 Appendix to Chapter 6: Modeling Selection Bias 152 7. The Politics of Vouchers 157 8. Implications and Conclusions 190 References 211 Index

John F. Witte is Director of the Robert La Follette School of Public Affairs and Professor of Political Science and Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the author of five other books and was the official evaluator of America's first voucher program in Milwaukee from 1990 to 1995.

"[Witte] was Wisconsin's 'official evaluator' of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the nation's first educational voucher program...Witte describes in detail Milwaukee's experience, concluding that the program was successful, given its intent, but warning against using that success to justify other programs designed to satisfy different goals"--Booklist "Less polemic than a tool to foster closer consideration of an idea whose time may or may not have come."--Kirkus Reviews "Amid the welter of claims and counterclaims, it is heartening to hear the careful study of the voucher movement by John Witte."--Howard Gardner, New York Review of Books "Of [particular] interest ... is Witte's description of the historical context of the program, the competing agendas of advocates on both sides, and the political process involved in creating, operating and attempting to evaluate a voucher program in light of these diverse constituencies."--James G. Mulligan, Economics of Education Review "Anyone interested in school choice should read this book. Though it is grounded in a detailed case study, the book's message resonates far beyond... [It] transcends the predictable polemics that can overwhelm the choice debate."--Scott Davies, Contemporary Sociology

• List of Figures ix List of Tables xi Preface xiii Acknowledgments xv 1. Introduction 3 2. The Enduring Controversy over Educational Choice 11 3. Educational Choice and the Milwaukee Voucher Program 29 Appendix to Chapter 3: Historical MPS Achievement Test Data 49 4. Who Participates in Choice Programs? 52 5. The Milwaukee Choice Schools 83 6. Outcomes of the Milwaukee Voucher Program 112 Appendix to Chapter 6: Modeling Selection Bias 152 7. The Politics of Vouchers 157 8. Implications and Conclusions 190 References 211 Index