In the wake of statewide test results showing the opposite, a University of Wisconsin professor released a study Wednesday on Milwaukee’s voucher program that showed enrolled students did benefit from the system.

The study was coordinated by the School Choice Demonstration Project, a national research organization that evaluates school choice programs. The project enlisted the help of several experts in the field of education reform for the study, including UW professor of public affairs and political science John Witte alongside University of Arkansas professors Patrick Wolf and Jay Greene.

The study looked at the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program over four years, which Witte said increased the accuracy of his study’s findings over conclusions being drawn from recent statewide testing.

“Our methods are much more rigorous; we study the students over time to assess the effectiveness of their schooling,” Witte said.

Witte’s study found approximately 94 percent of students who stayed in the MPCP throughout their high school careers graduated, compared to just 75 percent of students in Milwaukee’s traditional public schools. Voucher school students were also more likely to go to college after high school.

The study also found that the voucher program saved the government nearly $52 million in 2011.

The conclusions drawn from Witte’s study seem to contradict the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination results, which found students in voucher programs tested at the same level or below their public school peers.

“”The most recent [WKCE] test results show Wisconsin has a long way to go in narrowing the achievement gap between white students and African American students and improving overall performance by students in both Milwaukee’s public schools and those in private schools that get taxpayer subsidies through the voucher programs,” Wisconsin Association of School Boards Executive Director John Ashley said in a statement.

But organizations’ interpretations of the WKCE data is still mixed considering Witte’s study found MPCP has had no discernible effect on the racial segregation of schools or
housing costs across neighborhoods.

Witte’s study would seem to support Gov. Scott Walker and other Republicans’ intentions to expand the voucher program in Milwaukee. Provisions included in the proposed biennial budget would eliminate enrollment caps and would raise income eligibility limits.