by Michelle Tigani
Washington Post
May 13, 2016

Regarding the May 12 Politics & the Nation article “The problem that school choice has not solved”:

Has school choice been able to interrupt the strong link between home environments and academic success? The answer to that question is a resounding yes, especially when looking beyond the sole metric of graduation rates.

In the District, 90 percent of students participating in the Opportunity Scholarship Program graduate from high school. The program serves a population that’s approximately 97 percent minority. The average household income of the program’s students is $22,000. Additionally, 88 percent of D.C. voucher students who graduate go to college. We know charter high school graduates are more likely to stay in college and earn more as adults, thanks to research that does an apples-to-apples comparison of students using real data over time and accounting for variations in school composition, size, longevity and more.

School choice can dramatically improve opportunity and upward mobility, regardless of the neighborhood in which a child resides. The problem that must be solved when it comes to school choice is ensuring that all parents truly have access to high-caliber schools and creating policies that will allow innovative, flexible and accountable learning environments to flourish well into the future.

Michelle Tigani, Washington

The writer is communications director
at the Center for Education Reform.