Syracuse University researcher participates in national school-choice research center

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A Syracuse University researcher is participating in the first national research center to study how different approaches to school choice can “better service disadvantaged students.”

The approaches include voucher programs and charter schools.

Amy Ellen Schwartz, senior researcher at the Center for Policy Research in Syracuse’s Maxwell School, is among those leading the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH), Syracuse University announced.

REACH is housed at Tulane University. The U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences has awarded a five-year, $10 million grant to establish the center.

“REACH brings together organizations that represent a range of perspectives on school choice but share the belief that objective, rigorous evidence is important for evaluating programs and making policy decisions,” Schwartz said in a Syracuse news release. “This excellent team offers an exciting opportunity to make real progress in reducing achievement gaps for disadvantaged students by identifying ways to increase access to high-quality education.”

Schwartz is an economist whose teaching and research at the Maxwell School focus on the “intersection” of economics, education, health and public policy, Syracuse said.

Others involved include Douglas Harris of Tulane, Joshua Cowen and Katharine Strunk of Michigan State University, and Julie Marsh of the University of Southern California.

Researching school choice

Most states have charter-school systems, and more than half have voucher or tuition tax-credit policies that allow students to use public funds to attend private schools. School-choice programs have “delivered some notable successes” in cities like Boston, New York and New Orleans, “but have not succeeded everywhere,” according to Cowen, an associate professor of education policy at Michigan State.

“Policymakers need a better understanding of which choice systems work, who they help—and why they’re effective,” Cowen added.

REACH also includes researchers and policy experts from: the Brookings Institution, Florida State University, Johns Hopkins University, Montclair State University, Santa Monica, California–based RAND Corp., Temple University, University of California-Irvine, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, University of North Carolina, and University of Texas.

Researchers will focus on how school choice is working for minority, low-income, English-language learner and special education students, as well as other disadvantaged students. REACH will track student outcomes and other metrics in “essentially every school and every state,” Syracuse said.

Researchers say five policy areas — transportation, communication strategies, enrollment systems, oversight, and teacher supply — are “most likely to drive the success” of choice policies.

Investigators will study these policies in depth in Denver, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, Oregon, New Orleans, New York City and Washington, D.C.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

Photo credit: Syracuse University news website