Inquiry Questions: What are the arguments against school vouchers? Are they accurate? What have been the effects of Indiana’s new voucher system?
Cavanagh, Sean. “Vouchers to Evaluations, Indiana Gets Conservative Stamp.” Education Week 30.31 (2011): 20-22. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 12 Oct. 2011.
Sean Cavanagh’s article “Vouchers to Evaluations, Indiana Gets Conservative Stamp”, discusses Indiana’s new education policies passed by Gov. Mitch Daniels. One key element of the new policies is the voucher program and how it is changing the education system at private schools. Indiana’s voucher includes part of the middle class and now requires all private schools who take in voucher students to give ISTEP tests and report their scores; just like the public schools. This information about Indiana’s new voucher program will help me write about the effects it is having on students and private schools.
Cline, Austin. “Arguments Against Vouchers – Private, Religious School Vouchers are Wrong.” About.com Agnosticism/Atheism. About.com, 2011. Web. 12 Oct. 2011.
Austin Cline’s article “Arguments Against Vouchers – Private, Religious School Vouchers are Wrong”, gives reasons why we should not have voucher programs. Cline gives arguments against vouchers using logic, statistics, and information from studies he has cited. As part of the New York Times Company, About.com is liable for all the information they put on the web so it must be accurate. Even though I don’t agree with all the claims that Cline makes against vouchers, he does make a few good points. Despite if I disagree with some of his arguments, Cline’s article can still help me build my argument on vouchers and discuss the problems vouchers have to overcome.
Cline, Austin. “Arguments For Vouchers – Defending Vouchers for Private, Religious Schools .” About.com Agnosticism/Atheism. About.com, 2011. Web. 12 Oct. 2011.
Austin Cline also considers the positive effects of vouchers in his article “Arguments for Vouchers – Defending Vouchers for Private, Religious Schools”. Cline defends the voucher programs by giving several logical reasons and quoting studies to back up his reasons. This article is also part of the New York Times Company so the information should be reliable. In this article Cline came up with less positive reasons to have vouchers compared to his article against vouchers. Even though he has fewer reasons why vouchers are beneficial, he makes some strong arguments that conflict with the arguments against vouchers. Examining both sides of vouchers will help me explain the voucher controversy and defend my argument as I write my paper.
Forster, Greg. “A Win-Win Solution: The Empirical Evidence on School Vouchers.” The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice Mar. 2011: 1-30. Web. 16 Sep. 2011.
Greg Forster’s report focuses on dismissing arguments made against school vouchers. The main argument he focuses on is that school vouchers hurt public schools and have no effect on participants. Through his studies on research done in other states voucher programs, he shows the effects vouchers have on public schools and participants to be either positive or have no effect. Forster’s argues that the vouchers are beneficial to public schools because they provide competition and an initiative for public schools to improve. He also claims that the vouchers can benefit participants by giving them more opportunities. Forster’s report can contribute to my topic because it provides real evidence against some of the arguments made against vouchers and I will take his findings in consideration when making my argument.
Guyett, Susan and Mary Wisiewshki. “Nearly 4,000 Indiana Students Seek Private School Vouchers.” Reuters 8 Sep. 2011. Yahoo! News. Web. 16 Sep. 2011.
Susan Guyett and Mary Wisiewshki’s article discusses Indiana’s voucher system and some of the specific arguments it had to overcome. The article recognizes the teacher unions’ arguments against the new Indiana voucher and how they believe it is against the state constitution. These arguments did not persuade the judge because he did not issue a halt on the voucher. Since the voucher passed, almost 4,000 have applied for the financial aid and been grateful for help to either keep their children in private school or now be able to get them in one. This article can contribute to my paper by providing me with information about Indiana’s voucher system, the arguments they faced, and the results that have come from Indiana’s new voucher.
Trinko, Katrina. “Why School Vouchers are Worth a Shot.” USATODAY.com. USA Today, 18 Apr. 2011. Web. 16 Sep. 2011.
Katrina Trinko’s article covers some of the arguments made against vouchers. The article focuses on dispelling these arguments by providing evidence from state voucher studies and statistics. Trinko explains how vouchers are improving graduation rates and increasing vouchers would not cause any harm. She believes an increase in vouchers could potentially boost the economy as more would graduate with a diploma and have a better chance of getting a job and being able to spend more money. This article can contribute to my paper by giving me a optimistic view on vouchers and how they could potentially affect our economy in a positive way.