President
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
September 16, 2008
The Honorable, The Legislature:
As required by
2005 Wisconsin Act 125, we have reviewed the pupil test score data provided to us by the School Choice Demonstration Project, which is a group of privately funded education researchers who are studying the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. The Choice program provides publicly funded private school tuition for low-income children in Milwaukee.
Project researchers are conducting a five-year longitudinal study of a sample of 2,727 Choice pupils that comprises a random sample of pupils in the third through eighth grades and all Choice pupils in the ninth grade; 2,727 Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) pupils in the third through ninth grades who were selected based on their similarity to the Choice pupils; and a random sample of 2,727 MPS pupils in the third through ninth grades. The researchers plan to track changes in the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination scores and determine how participation in the Choice program affects changes in academic achievement.
We reviewed the project's data for the 2006-2007 school year, the first year that it arranged for the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination to be administered to Choice pupils. We analyzed and confirmed the test score averages and related analyses that the project reported in February 2008. However, we were unable to review average pupil test scores at individual Choice schools because the project, citing confidentiality concerns, did not provide us with this type of information. As a result, we cannot provide legislators and other policymakers with information about academic performance specific to each of the 120 Choice schools that operated in the 2006-07 school year. We also note analytical challenges that the project will need to address when analyzing test scores in the future years.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by the project in conducting this review.
Sincerely,
Janice mueller
State Auditor
__________________
The committee on Health, Human Services, Insurance, and Job Creation reports and recommends:
Relating to examination waivers, temporary licenses and continuing education.
No action taken.
Relating to the regulation of wholesale prescription drug distributors.
No action taken.
Relating to audit, control and financial reporting requirements.
No action taken.
Relating to advisory councils and committees.
No action taken.
Jon Erpenbach
Chairperson
