I generally have a great deal of sympathy for regular schmoes who look inordinately like famous people.  Through no fault of their own, they walk through life being judged on what they are not (the famous person), rather than what they are (a working stiff that is sick of being told he looks like Jim from “The Office.”)

Imagine if you were the guy who works at Kinko’s who looks sort of like Matt Damon. (Trust me, this is going somewhere.) People don’t notice that you may be better looking than your average guy – they only judge you on how far you fall short of looking like Jason Bourne.  (After all, if you looked exactly like Matt Damon, you probably wouldn’t be working at Kinko’s.  Staples, maybe – but certainly not Kinko’s.)

On Wednesday of this week, the results of a longitudinal study of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) were released.  The study, mandated by a state law enacted in 2006 and conducted by researchers at the University of Arkansas, is an attempt to compare student achievement in the Choice program in Milwaukee to similar students in the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS).

In the report, the mountain of student testing data can be sliced as thinly as Paulie cuts the garlic in “Goodfellas.”  But the bottom line is this:

School choice advocates (of which I consider myself one) wanted the report to be Natalie Portman.  Instead, they got the girl that works at the record store with the tattoo that kind of looks like Natalie Portman, enough so that your palms kind of get sweaty when you talk to her, you stammer a little bit, and you refuse to buy a Pearl Jam CD because you know she’ll think that’s too obvious.  Anyway.

The report essentially says that MPCP student achievement gains are “slightly higher, but not significantly different” than comparable kids in MPS.  This isn’t exactly the home run for which we choice advocates were waiting.  But just because it falls short of the ideal dream scenario, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot in the report to love.

First, it is indisputable that the choice program spends less than half per pupil than MPS, and manages to do just as well at educating kids.  According to the Department of Public Instruction, a choice pupil in 2009-10 cost taxpayers $6,442, while MPS spent $14,011 per pupil.  Thus, choice schools are spending 46% as much to get the same results as the public schools.  This is not insignificant, given the constant pressure applied by public schools to tax more in the name of “the kids.” 

The report also contradicts the claims of choice opponents that somehow the program “cherry-picks” the best students out of MPS, thereby inflating student test scores.  In fact, the report demonstrates that fourth graders in the MPCP actually enter the program with lower reading and math skills than their MPS counterparts.  By the eighth grade, that disparity has flipped, with the MPCP students scoring slightly better.  The researchers note that this is consistent with past reports – and while the reason for the improvement is unknown, it clearly shows that the MPCP and MPS are dealing with kids of similar backgrounds and abilities.

Furthermore, MPCP schools can be much more nimble in reacting to the data presented in the report.  Need to improve test scores?  Fire some teachers and hire better ones.  Are schools underperforming?  Close them down or pull them out of the program.  Are there programs out there statistically proven to increase student achievement?  Get off your butt and implement them.  All of these options are unavailable to the monolithic public school system, which is suffocating itself with bureaucracy and cumbersome teacher union contracts.

Obviously, “kids can learn just as little at half the price” isn’t exactly a message that inspires state lawmakers to rush back to the Capitol to back the MPCP.  But the reporting is only half done at this point – next year, the kids who began the study as ninth graders will begin to graduate.  This will give us a better look at whether the program increases attainment in addition to achievement. (Studies in Florida and Chicago have demonstrated that charter schools increase student degree attainment up to 12 percent.)

This school choice report is not George Clooney.  It has love handles and a monobrow.  But you can take it on a date.  It will snuggle with you by a warm fire.  If you love it enough, it will love you back just as much. Just give it that chance, and don't judge it for what it isn't.

-April 8, 2010

-Christian Schneider is a senior fellow at WPRI and clearly has a lingering resentment to often being told he looks like a certain terrible Hollywood actor.

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