WHY PARENTS
CHOOSE
A Survey of Private School and School
Choice Parents in Indiana
Andrew D. Catt
and Evan Rhinesmith
JUNE 2016
About the Friedman Foundation
for Educational Choice
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice is a 501(c)(3)
nonprot and nonpartisan organization, solely dedicated to
advancing Milton and Rose Friedman’s vision of school choice for
all children. First established as the Milton and Rose D. Friedman
Foundation in 1996, the Foundation promotes school choice as the
most eective and equitable way to improve the quality of K–12
education in America. The Friedman Foundation is dedicated to
research, education, and outreach on the vital issues and implications
related to school choice.
We are grateful for the generous nancial support of the Dekko Foundation
which made this report possible.
WHY PARENTS
CHOOSE
A Survey of Private School and School
Choice Parents in Indiana
Andrew D. Catt
and Evan Rhinesmith
JUNE 2016
Table of Contents
Executive Summary.......................................................................................................................1
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................3
Literature Review...........................................................................................................................4
How Informed Are Choice Users? .........................................................................................5
Are Parents Satised? ..............................................................................................................5
Why Are Parents Satised With Their Choice?....................................................................6
Methodology and Data Sources...................................................................................................7
Results and Finidings ....................................................................................................................9
School Choice Families Surveyed in Both 2013 and 2016...................................................9
Program Retention.............................................................................................................9
Reasons For Leaving .......................................................................................................10
Most Important Reason Families Left Their Voucher or
Tax-Credit Scholarship School.......................................................................................11
2016 Survey: Choice and Non-Choice Families.......................................................................11
Usage of School Vouchers and Tax-Credit Scholarships...................................................11
School Satisfaction Level ................................................................................................12
How Parents Initially Heard About Their Private School .........................................14
Attractive School Qualities.............................................................................................14
Most Important School Quality .....................................................................................15
Parental Involvement......................................................................................................17
Previous School.......................................................................................................................18
Previous School Satisfaction Level ...............................................................................20
Why Families Left Their Previous Schools ..................................................................20
Most Important Reason Families Left Their Previous Schools .................................21
Previous School’s Reaction to Families Leaving .........................................................22
Discussion and Policy Implications...........................................................................................22
Future Research............................................................................................................................24
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................24
Appendix 1: Phase I Response Rates Using AAPOR RR2 .....................................................27
: Number of Phase II ...............................................................................................28 Appendix 2
Appendix 3: Survey Procedures by Phase................................................................................29
: Data Tables .............................................................................................................30 Appendix 4
Notes ..............................................................................................................................................37
About the Authors .......................................................................................................................39
Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................40
Friedman Foundation Survey Project And Prole
TITLE: Why Parents Choose: A Survey of Private School and School Choice Parents in Indiana
SURVEY SPONSOR: The Dekko Foundation
SURVEY DEVELOPER: The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
SURVEY DATA COLLECTION AND QUALITY CONTROL: The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
INTERVIEW DATES: January 26 to April 19, 2016
INTERVIEW METHOD: Web; SurveyMonkey
INTERVIEW LENGTH: 6.38 minutes (median)
LANGUAGE(S): English only
SAMPLE METHOD: Friedman Foundation’s snowball sample of Indiana private school parents, rst implemented in 2013
POPULATION SAMPLE: Statewide sample of private school parents in Indiana
SAMPLE SIZES: School Parents, N = 2,056 (partial and complete)
Indiana Voucher Parents, N = 861 (partial and complete)
Indiana Tax-Credit Scholarship Parents, N = 120 (partial and complete)
Indiana School Choice Parents, N = 1,185 (partial and complete)
Non-Choice Parents, N = 871 (partial and complete)
MARGINS OF ERROR: N/A (snowball sample)
RESPONSE RATES: N/A (snowball sample)
WEIGHTING? No
OVERSAMPLING? No
The authors are responsible for overall survey design; question
wording and ordering (see separate Indiana Parent Survey
Questionnaires at www.edchoice.org/INParentSurvey); this
paper’s analysis, charts, and writing; and any unintentional errors
or misrepresentations.
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
Executive Summary
If Indiana’s private school choice programs were
judged solely on parental satisfaction, they would be
considered an obvious success. However, parental
satisfaction without explanation provides little
substance to policymakers. With that in mind, this
report presents data that sheds light on the experiences
and motivations underlying parents’ attitudes toward
private school choice programs. The purpose of
the survey is to better understand the experiences
of private school parents and examine the reasons
behind parents’ schooling decisions, especially when
their children are using a voucher.
These data come from an original survey of parents
whose children are enrolled in private schools in
Indiana. The survey was administered in two phases.
The first phase followed up with voucher parents that
responded to a Friedman Foundation survey in 2013,
and the second phase was expanded to include all
current private school parents in Indiana.
This report addresses four research questions:
1. What motivates parents to leave one school for
another school?
2. How important is academic quality, safety, and
transportation to their decisions?
3. How difficult is it for parents to find the preferred
private school for their children?
4. How satisfied were parents with their former
schools, and how satisfied are they with their
current schools?
Of the 1,397 school choice parents who completed the
2013 survey, 49 percent also responded to the 2016
survey (see Appendix 1). The majority of these parents
(84 percent) still have at least one child participating
in the voucher or tax-credit scholarship program, 4
percent no longer meet the eligibility requirements for
the school choice programs, and 2 percent no longer
have any children in K–12 education.
Sixteen percent of parents who responded to both
the 2013 and 2016 surveys no longer have any
children in the program, and half of those parents
transferred their children back to their public district
(neighborhood) schools. This directly contradicts
the Indiana Department of Education’s assertion
that voucher students would attend private school
regardless of whether or not the program existed.
1
When looking at all 2016 survey respondents, a
majority of school choice parents were at least
somewhat satisfied with the school they had left:
• 29 percent were very satisfied with their previous
school
• 24 percent were somewhat satisfied with their
previous school
• 18 percent were somewhat dissatisfied with their
previous school
• 27 percent were very dissatisfied with their
previous school
By contrast, school choice parents are overwhelmingly
satisfied with their current private school, with 81
percent being very satisfied and 12 percent being
somewhat satisfied. The proportion of Indiana school
choice parents stating they are “very satisfied” is
higher than any public or private school parent
response from a national survey.
2
The majority of school choice parents surveyed
(83 percent) said they were easily able to find their
current private school under Indiana’s voucher or
tax-credit scholarship program. However, there are
some statistically significant differences between
voucher and tax-credit scholarship parents:
• 75 percent of voucher parents said it was very
easy, compared to 57 percent of tax-credit
scholarship parents
School choice parents overwhelmingly view their
social networks as the most trusted source for learning
about their new private school, with 50 percent citing
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friends or relatives and 26 percent citing church as
their most trusted source for school information.
The most important qualities school choice parents list
for choosing their current schools are also the most
important reasons they left their former schools:
• 39 percent of school choice parents said the most
important reason they chose their current voucher
or tax-credit scholarship school was religious
environment/instruction; 13 percent said the
most important reason for leaving their
former school was a lack of religious
environment/instruction
• 20 percent said the most important reason for
choosing their new school was better academics;
15 percent said a lack of academic quality was
their most important reason for leaving their
former school
• 19 percent said the most important reason for
choosing their new school was
morals/character/values instruction; 6 percent
said a lack of this type of instruction was
their most important reason for withdrawing
from their previous school
The majority of private school parents are more
involved in a variety of activities since enrolling their
children in their current school compared to their
previous school: communicating with teachers (69
percent), participating in school activities (67 percent),
volunteering/community service (61 percent), and
working on math or arithmetic with their children
(56 percent). Voucher parents were signicantly more
likely to say they now participate more in volunteering
and community service activities compared to tax-
credit scholarship parents.
Taken together, these results indicate that parents are
leaving public schools because they are not the best t
for their children. When choosing private schools, they
are looking for the ones that will help their children
develop into moral, educated citizens who know the
dierence between right and wrong and have a sense
of values. School choice parents report that they are
having an easy time nding the right voucher or tax-
credit scholarship school, and nearly twice as many
are satised with their new school compared to their
former school.
Why Parents Choose: A Survey of Private School and School Choice Parents in Indiana 2
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
Introduction
Indiana is home to the nation’s largest school voucher
program.
3
Vouchers give parents the freedom to choose
a private school for their children using all or part of the
public funding set aside for their children’s education.
Under Indiana’s program, funds typically expended
by a school district are allocated to a participating
family in the form of a voucher to pay partial or full
tuition for a child to attend a private school, including
both religious and nonreligious options.
4
Participation in Indiana’s voucher program, known as
the Choice Scholarship Program and launched in the
2011–12 school year, has grown from 3,911 students in
the first year to 32,686 students in 2015–16 (see Figure
1). Students from families that qualified for the federal
free and reduced-price lunch (FRL) program can
receive a voucher worth up to 90 percent of the state
per-student spending amount for the sending district.
Students from families earning up to 150 percent of the
FRL rate ($67,295 for a family of four in 2015–16) can
receive a voucher worth up to 50 percent of the state
FIGURE 1
Indiana School Choice Participation
35,000
funding allocation for the sending district. Moreover,
students eligible to receive special education funds
are eligible to use those funds for special education
services at a voucher-accepting school.
5
The average
voucher value in 2014–15 was $3,867.
6
This is about
40 percent of the $9,566 the state spends per pupil,
based on the most recently available data.
7
Although
teachers’ union officials and others challenged
Indiana’s voucher program in state court, alleging
the Indiana Constitution prohibits funding of
religious schools, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled
unanimously on March 26, 2013 that the Choice
Scholarship Program does not violate any provision of
the state constitution.
8
Indiana also has a tax-credit scholarship program,
known as the School Scholarship Tax Credit, which
was launched in 2010. This program has grown
from 386 scholarships awarded in its first year to
9,127 scholarships awarded in 2014–15, which is the
latest release of data from the Indiana Department
of Education (see Figure 1). Students are eligible for
scholarships if their family income does not exceed
200 percent of the FRL rate ($89,726 for a family of four
Students Participating
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16
386
N/A
559
N/A
2,890
3,911
4,638
9,139
11,067
19,809
9,127
29,148
N.A.
32,686
Tax-Credit Scholarship Voucher
Source: The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, The ABCs of School Choice: The Comprehensive Guide to Every Private School Choice Program in America, 2016 ed. (Indianapolis: Friedman Foundation
for Educational Choice, 2016), pp. 39–42, http://www.edchoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2016-ABCs-WEB-2.pdf.
edchoice.org 3
edchoice.org
in 2015–16). The average scholarship value in 2014–15
was $1,361.
9
This is about 14 percent of what the state
spends per pupil, based on the most recently available
data.
10
Tax-credit scholarships allow taxpayers to
receive full or partial tax credits when they donate to
nonprofits that provide private school scholarships.
Eligible taxpayers can include both individuals and
businesses.
11
Indiana’s School Scholarship Tax Credit
program allows individuals and corporations to claim
a 50 percent tax credit for contributions to approved
Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs), which
provide the private school scholarships. There is
no limit on the dollar amount that can be claimed,
although the total amount of tax credits awarded
statewide is limited to $8.5 million. This limit increases
to $9.5 million in 2016–17.
12
Although thousands of parents are choosing among
public and private providers in Indiana, it had not
previously been known exactly why Hoosier parents
choose. To this end, the Friedman Foundation surveyed
more than 4,000 private school parents in 2013, the results
of which can be found in Paul DiPerna’s 2014 brief, Why
Indiana Voucher Parents Choose Private Schools.
13
The new survey outlined in this report followed up
with about half of the voucher parents who responded
in 2013, and the survey was also sent to a larger
network of Indiana private schools that, in turn,
distributed the survey invitation to their parents. This
report looks first at parents who are using the state’s
TABLE 1 Empirical Studies on School Choice
school choice programs and then at the broader group
that includes private school parents who do not use
the state’s school choice programs.
The purpose of this project is to better understand the
experiences of private school parents and why they
decide to choose a different school for their children,
especially when those children are using a voucher.
This report addresses the following research questions:
1. What motivates parents to leave one school for
another school?
2. How important is academic quality, safety, and
transportation to their decisions?
3. How difficult is it for parents to find the preferred
private schools for their children?
4. How satisfied were parents with their former
schools, and how satisfied are they with their
current schools?
Literature Review
This research focuses on parental satisfaction and
schooling experiences, but the bulk of the research on
school vouchers has focused on student achievement
and other outcomes. The findings have been mostly
positive (see Table 1).
14
Any Positive Effect No Visible Effect Any Negative Effect
Academic Outcomes of Choice Participants 14 2 2
Academic Outcomes of Public Schools 31 1 1
Fiscal Impact on Taxpayers and Public Schools 25 3 0
Racial Segregation in Schools 9 1 0
Civic Values and Practices 8 3 0
Note:
Shows the number of empirical studies with each type of nding. The rst row includes all studies using random-assignment methods. Other rows include all studies using all types of methods.
Source:
Greg Forster, A Win-Win Solution: The Empirical Evidence on School Choice, 4th ed. (Indianapolis: Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, 2016), p. 2, table 1,
http://www.edchoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/A-Win-Win-Solution-The-Empirical-Evidence-on-School-Choice.pdf.
Why Parents Choose: A Survey of Private School and School Choice Parents in Indiana 4
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
Parental satisfaction often is included as a secondary
result in private school choice research. Parental
satisfaction research has used both experimental and
observational designs to measure the effects of school
choice programs, finding that parents who have the
opportunity to choose a school outside of their assigned
neighborhood public school are generally more satisfied.
In this section, we review the literature examining how
informed school choice users are, how they choose, and
why they choose via private school choice programs. A
comprehensive examination of this research is beyond
the scope of this paper; instead, we have included results
from recently published research that seeks broadly to
answer these three questions.
How Informed Are Choice Users?
Often times, observational studies are treated
with little consequence and even ignored due
to methodological criticisms. Though there are
methodological shortcomings due to parents self-
reporting satisfaction, critics of school choice have also
claimed that low-income parents—those most often
participating in targeted school choice programs—are
unqualified to choose a school for their children. The
claim is that these parents often lack the resources to
make an informed decision.
15
Using data from the second year evaluation of the
Washington Scholarship Fund (WSF), Kisida and Wolf
test whether low-income treatment group parents in
the first two years of the WSF possessed more accurate
information than control group parents to choose a
school for their children. Using parent surveys and
data on chosen schools, the researchers were most
interested in parents’ ability to approximate the
number of students in their children’s school and
number of students in their children’s class. They
used parent responses and school data to measure
“distance” from the correct answer over both years of
the program. Their results show that treatment group
parents were more likely to possess more accurate
information than their control group counterparts. The
results show that parents in this program who often
show low levels of civic and consumer information
become more informed educational consumers.
However, the researchers note that the voucher did not
cover the full cost of tuition, so parents had to invest
in their children’s education, which could provide
the incentive for parents to become more informed
consumers.
16
Research on parents becoming more informed
consumers in school choice programs has slowly
grown over the last 15 years. One of the first such
studies came from Schneider, Teske, and Marschall,
who examined public school districts in New York
and New Jersey that required parents to choose their
children’s schools. Their research focused on parents
who differ from the parents surveyed for this report, as
they examined public school parents, and this report
focuses on private school choice. However, the results
of their research found that suburban parents in New
Jersey were more informed than the urban parents in
New York.
17
Are Parents Satisfied?
Though not a result that is given as much weight as
educational achievement and attainment, researchers
have included results of surveys and focus group
research for parents who applied for school vouchers.
Typically, research compares the results of parent
responses for those who were awarded a voucher and
those who were assigned to continue with the status
quo. These observational studies are the most common
when it comes to parent satisfaction research. To the
authors’ knowledge, there has been only one study of
parent satisfaction using experimental methods.
18
In perhaps one of the most expansive studies of
private school choice programs, William Howell
and Paul Peterson’s The Education Gap examines the
effects of school vouchers in urban schools. When
the authors examine satisfaction in New York City,
Dayton, the national Children’s Scholarship Fund,
and Washington, D.C. school choice programs, they
conclude that “Overall, the findings are unambiguous.
The effects on parents’ initial satisfaction with their
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5
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child’s switch from a public to a private school...were
large, clear, sustained, and positive.”
19
In a study of the Cleveland Scholarship Tutoring
Program from 1996 to 1999, Kim Metcalf conducted
a comparison study of satisfaction levels of 468
scholarship recipients to 487 families enrolling in
public schools and 526 applicants to the program who
did not receive a scholarship. Metcalf’s study showed
parents of scholarship students tend to be more
satisfied with their children’s schools.
20
John F. Witte’s study of the Milwaukee Parental Choice
Program examined outcomes of the nation’s first urban
private school voucher program. Witte administered
parent surveys to those who used a voucher to enroll in
a private school and those who enrolled their children
in a Milwaukee Public School (MPS). This provided
611 voucher (those who both won and lost the lottery)
parents and 1,541 MPS parents who responded. The
initial surveys asked voucher parents to rate their
previous public school, showing choice parents were
“approximately two points less satisfied with their prior
schools. Than were nonchoosing MPS parents.”
21
These
results reversed when choice parents were asked about
their chosen private school, as choice parents stated
they were “somewhat satisfied” or “very satisfied.”
Choice parents were most satisfied with the educational
environment and discipline in their new schools, two
areas where MPS parents were least satisfied.
22
Why Are Parents Satisfied With Their
Choices?
We have seen that parents participating in school
voucher programs are systematically more satisfied
when they are given the opportunity to choose
a school outside of their assigned neighborhood
school. However, very few studies are able to provide
explanations of why parents are satisfied when they
are given the opportunity to choose.
In their evaluation of the Washington, D.C. Opportunity
Scholarship Program (OSP), Wolf et al.’s 2010 study of
the OSP included an examination of parent satisfaction
in the program through the percentage of parents and
students who assigned a grade of either A or B to their
chosen school and responses on a satisfaction survey.
They found “parents were 8 percentage points more
likely to give their child’s school a grade of A or B if
offered a scholarship as compared with the control
group.”
23
Additionally, parents receiving a scholarship
whose children were enrolled in schools in need of
improvement (SINI) and parents of male students
were less likely to give their school a high grade. These
subgroups also did not show significant achievement
gains as a result of receiving a scholarship. Therefore,
it is possible that these parents were not satisfied after
the program did not have the desired results for their
children.
In a follow-up study of parental satisfaction in the
D.C. OSP, Kisida and Wolf examined levels of
satisfaction for parents using a voucher to attend
a private school and whether voucher parents
experiencing high levels of satisfaction aligned with
students’ academic outcomes. Parents of treatment
group students provided higher grades for their
children’s schools and expressed higher levels of
satisfaction on a Likert-type scale. These satisfaction
results held for nearly all subgroups of parents,
the exceptions being students with lower baseline
achievement scores and parents whose children
attended failing schools. For treatment group
students, there were improved outcomes in reading
achievement and high school graduation. This is a
partial confirmation of the researchers hypothesis that
“satisfied DC parental customers are choosing schools
that offer tangible benefits related to the goals of public
education.”
24
Research on private school choice has shifted from
simply comparing survey responses over the last few
years. Instead, researchers have begun to examine
whether parents in school choice programs gather more
information to become more informed consumers and
whether their reported satisfaction and school quality
aligns with student achievement. Private school choice
parents satisfaction has shown that parents who are
choosing gather more information to make informed
choices, are more satisfied after choosing, and have
Why Parents Choose: A Survey of Private School and School Choice Parents in Indiana 6
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
chosen schools that provide improved student
outcomes. As Paul Peterson writes in summary of his
research of school choice programs in multiple cities,
“If the only thing that counts is consumer satisfaction,
school choice is a clear winner.”
25
Methodology and Data Sources
The web survey of Indiana private school parents
had two fieldwork phases. On January 26, at the
launch of Phase I, the Friedman Foundation emailed
survey invitations to the 1,454 unique email addresses
of voucher and/or tax-credit scholarship parents
collected in the Friedman Foundation’s last survey of
Indiana private school parents. Reminder emails were
sent on February 3, February 11, February 18, and
February 24. During Phase I, there were 613 complete
responses received from parents, resulting in a 44
percent complete response rate (see Appendix 1 for
number of responses to each question and response
rates).
Phase II began on March 3 using a snowball sampling
technique. A partner organization, the Indiana Non-
Public Education Association (INPEA), distributed
the survey invitation to 354 private school principals
who were asked to send it to the parents of children
enrolled at their schools.
A snowball sampling technique was employed
because there is not a comprehensive list of private
school parents in Indiana, to the authors’ knowledge.
Snowball sampling is a surveying method using a
nonprobability sample to contact members of hard-to-
reach or hidden populations.
26
INPEA sent a reminder to principals in late March.
On April 6, there were 652 complete responses. At
this time, a pair of questions was added asking the
parent all of the means by which they heard about the
school, providing a checklist of options and “other,”
and the most trusted means by which they heard
about the school. Additionally, a question was added
asking parents how frequently they participate in a
variety of academic- and civic-related activities since
enrolling their children in their new private schools.
Finally, a question was added asking the parents for
the primary language spoken at home. The authors
thought that capturing responses to these questions
Jan. 26
Feb.
3
Feb. 11
Feb. 18
Feb. 24
Feb. 29
Ma
r. 3
Ma
r. 21
Ap
r. 6
Ap
r. 8
Ap
r.
19
1,600
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
FIGURE 2
Number of Respondents (Partial and Complete) Over Time Aggregated by Phase
Phase I followed up with 2013 survey respondents while the combined Phase I and Phase II responses are reported in the
"2016 Survey: Choice and Non-Choice Families" section.
685 (Phase I) + 1,371 (Phase II) = 2,056 Responses Analyzed
Number of Respondents
181
391
517
604
672
685
558
774
872
1,371
50
PHASE I PHASE II
Questions
Added
Numbers of respondents for each item are in Appendix 1 (Phase I) and Appendix 2 (Phase II).
edchoice.org 7
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would provide an added layer to understanding
family decision-making when it comes to choosing a
school and involvement. INPEA sent a reminder to all
354 private school principals and their jurisdictional
heads on April 8 asking them to send a reminder to
all private school parents. The survey window closed
on April 19, and there were a total of 1,099 complete
responses for Phase II (see Appendix 2 for number of
responses to each question).
27
Parents were told the Friedman Foundation would
keep their responses confidential. Regarding the
INPEA-assisted snowball sample recruiting, we
estimate 354 private schools distributed invitations
and reminders to their parents. Parents were not
explicitly asked to share the survey invitation with
other parents. Since it is unknown how many parents
received the survey invitation from principals, it is not
possible to calculate a response rate for Phase II. While
it is possible to see which schools are not represented
in the survey responses, that is not necessarily an
indication of whether or not the principal or school
sent the survey invitation to the parents.
We understand there are limitations to the methods for
the survey analyzed in this report because no statistical
adjustments were made with respect to demographics,
and we did not employ randomized or probability-
based sampling or ask demographic questions such
as household income, age, or race/ethnicity. Rather,
we sought to achieve a census of private school
households by using a snowball sampling technique
(see Appendix 3).
Phase I survey results reflect the experiences of
Indiana’s private school families who had at least one
voucher or tax-credit scholarship student in Winter
2013 and who were successfully contacted for follow-
up for the 2016 survey. The original findings from the
Winter 2013 survey were published in Paul DiPerna’s
2014 brief, Why Indiana Voucher Parents Choose Private
Schools.
28
Although the respondents to the 2013 survey were
all private school parents at that time, not all of them
were still private school parents when we conducted
the 2016 survey, which is reflected in some of the 2016
findings (see “School Choice Families Surveyed in
both 2013 and 2016”).
The Phase II survey sample captures the experiences
of Indiana’s private school families, regardless of
whether or not that student is enrolled in one of
the state’s two school choice programs. However,
comparisons are made between choice and non-choice
respondents, and comparisons are also made between
voucher and tax-credit scholarship respondents. While
we did ask parents if they had students participating
in both programs, we did not include these responses
in the voucher or tax-credit scholarship categories
in order to see if there were any differences between
voucher-only and tax-credit scholarship-only
respondents.
29
Based on the combined Phase I and Phase II survey
responses, we estimate the total sample of 2,015
private school parents (defined as unique respondents)
cover approximately 3,682 students (defined as the
number of private school students in the household
reported by the responding parent).That coverage
represents approximately 3 percent of the state’s
111,872 private school students.
30
Moreover, total
survey responses cover 7 percent of the state’s 32,686
voucher students
31,
and 10 percent of the state’s 9,127
tax-credit scholarship students.
32
Based on Phase I survey responses, which only
include school choice families, we estimate the sample
of 683 private school parents (defined as unique
respondents) cover approximately 1,274 students
(defined as the number of private school students in
the household reported by the responding parent).
That coverage represents approximately 1 percent of
the state’s private school students.
33
Moreover, Phase I
survey responses cover 3 percent of the state’s voucher
students,
34
and 4 percent of the state’s tax-credit
scholarship students.
35
Based on Phase II survey responses, which include
both school choice and non-choice families, we
estimate the sample of 1,332 private school parents
(defined as unique respondents) cover approximately
Why Parents Choose: A Survey of Private School and School Choice Parents in Indiana 8
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
3,682 students (defined as the number of private
school students in the household reported by the
responding parent). That coverage represents
approximately 2 percent of the state’s private school
students.
36
Moreover, Phase II survey responses cover
3 percent of the state’s voucher students,
37
and 6
percent of the state’s tax-credit scholarship students.
38
Results and Findings
From a list of provided reasons, school choice parents
who responded to this survey said the most important
reason they left their previous school was a lack of
academic quality. However, more parents provided
their own reason as the most important reason for
leaving. The third most popular reason for leaving a
school was lack of religious environment/instruction.
It is important to note that the reasons parents leave
are not necessarily the same as the qualities they seek
in their new school.
School choice parents said the most important
reasons for choosing their current voucher or tax-
credit scholarship school was religious environment
instruction. This was followed by better academics
and then morals/character/values instruction.
More than four out of five school choice parents said
it was easy to find their current private school when
using the state’s voucher or tax-credit scholarship
program. Based on responses to the survey, parents
generally found it easier to find their school using
the voucher program than the tax-credit scholarship
program.
Although many school choice parents were not
satisfied with their previous school, more than half
were satisfied. When it comes to current school
satisfaction, however, 93 percent of school choice
parents are satisfied—slightly more than the non-
choice parents.
School Choice Families Surveyed in both
2013 and 2016
The Friedman Foundation surveyed school choice
parents in 2013 and followed up with them in 2016. Of
the 1,397 respondents that completed the 2013 survey, 49
percent responded to the 2016 survey (see Appendix 1).
The majority of the parents who responded to
both the 2013 and 2016 surveys still have a student
participating in either the voucher or tax-credit
scholarship program. The parents who had a student
leave the program did so because they no longer meet
the eligibility requirements, no longer have a child
enrolled in K–12 education, were offered a voucher
but chose not to use it or, among other open-ended
responses, moved out of state.
Program Retention
We know based on Indiana Department of Education
(IDOE) data that anywhere from 76 percent to 81
percent of students participating in the state’s voucher
program have stayed in the program each year from
2011–12 to 2015–16.
39
However, IDOE does not track
the reasons why participants leave the program.
The Friedman Foundation asked known 2013–14
participants if they were still participating in the
Reasons Former Choice Parents No Longer
FIGURE 3
Use Indiana’s School Choice Programs
4%
2%
<1%
9%
84%
Still participating No longer meet eligibility requirements
Open-ended response No longer have any children in K–12
Offered voucher but didn't use
Number of parents responding = 675
edchoice.org
9
edchoice.org
program and, if not, the reason why they no longer
participate.
Based on responses to the 2016 survey, more than four
out of five parents (84 percent) who had a student
participating in one of Indiana’s school choice programs
when surveyed in 2013 said they still have at least one
child attending private school and participating. The
remaining 16 percent of parents who no longer have
a child participating in either of the two school choice
programs said it was because they no longer meet
the programs’ eligibility requirements (4 percent), no
longer have any children enrolled in K–12 education
(2 percent), or were offered a voucher but chose not
to use (less than 1 percent). The remaining 9 percent
gave the reason for no longer participating as “other”
and these answers varied (see Figure 3 on previous
page).
40
In their open-ended responses, five parents
indicated they no longer participate in the program
because they moved out of state.
The IDOE’s calculation of the cost of the voucher
program to the state assumes that voucher students
would attend private school regardless of whether
or not the program existed.
41
However, based on the
Friedman Foundation’s follow-up with 2013 survey
respondents, the IDOE’s assumption is incorrect. More
than half of the former school choice parents (54 percent)
transferred their children to public charter or district
(neighborhood) schools from their former voucher or
tax-credit scholarship schools (see Figure 4).
FIGURE 4
Reasons for Leaving
Other than having their children graduate from high
school, the reasons behind leaving a voucher or tax-
credit scholarship school were previously unknown.
How important were academic quality, safety, and
transportation to their decisions?
When asked to select all of the applicable reasons, 11 out
of 62 former school choice parents (18 percent) said
they left their voucher or tax-credit scholarship schools
because of problems with teachers and/or
administrators. Thirteen percent of parents (8 out of
62) left because the school did not have the next grade
level (e.g. student going from K–8 to high school). Seven
out of 62 parents (11 percent) left because of academic
quality. Other frequently cited reasons were problems
with other students (6 out of 62; 10 percent) such as
bullying, transportation issues (6 out of 62; 10 percent),
not enough individual attention (5 out of 62; 8 percent),
poor discipline (5 out of 62; 8 percent), lack of diversity (5
out of 62; 8 percent), and location (5 out of 62; 8 percent).
The majority of parents (40 out of 62; 65 percent) cited
“other” as their reason for leaving, and those open-
ended responses varied (see Table 2 on following page).
Just like they did when asked why they no longer
participate, five out of 62 parents (8 percent) indicated
in their open-ended response they left their voucher or
tax-credit scholarship schools because they moved out
of state. Some of the parents who indicated they no
longer participate because they no longer qualify for the
program said this was a reason they left their voucher or
tax-credit scholarship schools.
Where Students Who Left Indiana Voucher and Tax-Credit Scholarship Programs Now Attend School
Most students now attend a public school.
Public district (neighborhood) school
Still in private school (not in either program)
Homeschool
Public charter school
49%
32%
13%
5%
0% 10% 20% 30%
40%
50% 60%
Number of parents responding = 92 (including one respondent who indicated in their response to this question that they no longer have any children in K–12 education, which is not shown on the chart)
Why Parents Choose: A Survey of Private School and School Choice Parents in Indiana 10
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
TABLE 2
Reasons for Leaving Voucher or Tax-Credit Scholarship Schools
Reason
Number of Respondents
Selecting
Number of Respondents
Indicating Most
Important Reason
Open-ended response
40
37
Problems with teachers/administrators
11
7
Did not have grade level needed
8
4
Academic quality
7
3
Transportation issues
6
3
Location
5
2
Lack of diversity
5
2
Problems with other students (e.g. bullying)
6
1
Not enough individual attention
5
1
Large class size
2
1
Lack of morals/character/values instruction
3
0
Lack of extracurricular activities
2
0
Unsafe environment
1
0
School too big
0
0
Lack of religious environment/instruction
0
0
Number of parents responding = 62
Most Important Reason Families Left Their
Voucher or Tax-Credit Scholarship School
When asked which single reason was most important
for leaving their private school, seven out of 62 parents
(11 percent) said problems with teachers and/or
administrators. Four out of 62 parents (6 percent) said
it was because the next grade level was not available,
three out of 62 (5 percent) cited transportation issues,
and another 5 percent (3 out of 62) said it was because
of issues with the academic quality of the school. The
majority of parents (37 out of 62; 60 percent) said their
open-ended response was the most important reason.
2016 Survey: Choice and
Non-Choice Families
The results in Phase I of this report are drawn from
those families who completed the survey in both 2013
and 2016. Phase II incorporates additional respondents,
both in the school choice program and non-choice
private school families, who participated after receiving
the survey from their schools via INPEA. This section
aggregates the findings from both phases.
Usage of School Vouchers and Tax-Credit
Scholarships
School choice skeptics worry that parents may find
it too burdensome to find the right school for their
children under a voucher or tax-credit scholarship
program.
42
However, more than four out of five school
choice parents (83 percent) said it was easy to find their
current private school when using Indiana’s voucher
or tax-credit scholarship programs, and only 1 percent
said it was difficult.
Within the set of school choice parents, there are some
statistically significant differences between voucher
and tax-credit scholarship parents.
43
More than four
out of five voucher parents (85 percent) found it easy
to find their current private schools, while less than
11 edchoice.org
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edchoice.org
FIGURE 5
Ease of Finding School Using School Choice Program
It was easier for voucher parents to nd their current private school than it was for tax-credit scholarship parents.
80%
75%
70%
60%
57%
50%
40%
30%
25%
20%
10%
2%
<1%
<1%
0%
Very Easy Somewhat Easy Neither Easy Nor Difcult Somewhat Difcult Very Difcult
Voucher Parents Tax-Credit Scholarship Parents
10%
16%
14%
Note: Full results are in Appendix 4.
Number of parents responding = 856 Voucher; 118 Tax-Credit Scholarship
three-quarters of tax-credit scholarship parents (73
percent) found it easy (see Figure 5).
School Satisfaction Level
The U.S. Department of Education tracks parental
school satisfaction levels for assigned public school,
chosen public school, religious private school, and
nonsectarian private school.
44
But, how do Indiana
parental satisfaction levels for private schools,
regardless of religiosity, compare to these national
data points? Moreover, how do private school choice
parents compare to non-choice parents?
An overwhelming majority of parents (92 percent)
are at least satisfied with their current private
school, with approximately 76 percent saying “very
satisfied” and 16 percent saying “somewhat satisfied.”
Approximately 7 percent of parents said they are
dissatisfied with their current schools (5 percent “very
dissatisfied” and 2 percent “somewhat dissatisfied).
As shown in the accompanying chart on the following
page, a higher proportion of private school parents
are very satisfied when compared to assigned or
chosen public school parents. Parents with students
participating in a school choice program in Indiana
reported the highest proportion of “very satisfied”
compared to any other state or national grouping (see
Figure 6 on following page).
There are some statistically significant differences
when comparing the current private school satisfaction
levels of choice parents and non-choice parents.
45
Approximately four out of five school choice parents
(81 percent) are very satisfied with their current school,
while slightly more than two-thirds of non-choice
parents (68 percent) are very satisfied (see Figure 7
on following page). One potential explanation for this
finding is that non-choice parents potentially have only
had experiences with private schools and do not have
any direct experiences with public schools, which may
affect their satisfaction away from the upper extreme.
Why Parents Choose: A Survey of Private School and School Choice Parents in Indiana 12
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
FIGURE 6
Parents Very Satised with Their Children’s Schools: National (2012) vs. Indiana (2016)
U.S. Assigned
Public School
U.S. Chosen
Public School
U.S. Religious
Private School
U.S. Nonsectarian
Private School
Indiana Private
School Parents
Indiana Choice
Parents
Indiana Non-Choice
Parents
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0
53%
56%
80%
78%
76%
81%
68%
Parents Parents Parents Parents
Note: Full results are in Appendix 4. The national survey was only given to parents with children in grades 3–12, while the Friedman survey results encompass all grade levels K–12.
Source: Thomas D. Snyder, Cristobal de Brey, and Sally A. Dillow, Digest of Education Statistics 2014, NCES 2016-006 (Washington, DC: US Dept. of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2016),
p. 134, table 206.50, http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2016/2016006.pdf.
FIGURE 7
Current School Satisfaction
A higher proportion of school choice parents were "very satised" with their current private school compared to non-choice parents.
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0
81%
68%
12%
23%
<1% <1%
2%
3%
5%
5%
Very Satised Somewhat Satised Neither Satised Somewhat Dissatised Very Dissatised
Nor Dissatised
Choice Parents Non-Choice Parents
Note: Full results are in Appendix 4.
Number of parents responding = 1,154 Choice; 667 Non-Choice
13 edchoice.org
edchoice.org
How Parents Initially Heard About Their
Private School
How do parents in Indiana search for a school? When
asked for all of the sources from which they heard
about their chosen private school, most parents said
they were told by friends or relatives (52 percent)
or they heard about the school through church (47
percent). None of the other 12 sources exceeded 8
percent. Sixteen percent of parents selected “other”
and provided open responses that varied.
Private school parents also were asked to list the source
of information they most trusted, and school choice
parents were more likely than non-choice parents to
select “friends or relatives,” while non-choice parents
were more likely than school choice parents to select
“church” (see Figure 8).
Attractive School Qualities
Unlike public school students, private school students
are not required to attend a certain private school
based on geographic proximity. Because of the
plethora of private school options in most areas,
parents take a variety of factors into account when
choosing the right private schools for their children.
When asked to list all of the qualities that made parents
choose their current private schools, the most common
responses were religious environment/instruction (85
percent) and morals/character/values instruction (81
percent). Nearly two-thirds of private school parents
(65 percent) said better academics, while more than
half said smaller classes (55 percent), safer environment
(52 percent), and/or more individual, one-on-one time
(51 percent). These findings are fairly consistent when
splitting the sample into choice parents and non-
choice parents (see Figure 9 on following page).
FIGURE 8 Most Trusted Source of Information for Learning About Private School
School choice parents are more likely to see friends or relatives as the most trusted source, compared to non-choice parents.
50%
Friends or Relatives
43%
Church
34%
14%
Open-Ended Response
14%
3%
Other Private School
2%
2%
Internet
3%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
50%
60%
Choice Parents Non-Choice Parents
26%
Note: See Appendix 4 for full results.
Number of parents responding = 221 Choice; 293 Non-Choice
Why Parents Choose: A Survey of Private School and School Choice Parents in Indiana 14
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
FIGURE 9 Top 10 School Qualities Chosen by Private School Parents
A higher proportion of school choice parents pick their school based on smaller classes and more individual, one-on-one
time than non-choice parents.
80%
82%
64%
66%
51%
58%
49%
54%
47%
53%
48%
49%
42%
46%
18%
23%
31%
20%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
50%
60% 70% 80%
90%
Religious Environment/Instruction
Morals/Character/Values Instruction
Better Academics
Smaller Classes
Safer Environment
More Individual, One-on-One Time
Smaller School
Better Discipline
Extracurricular Activities Offered
Closer to Home and/or Work
85%
84%
Choice Parents Non-Choice Parents
Note: See Appendix 4 for full results.
Number of parents responding = 1,151 Choice; 663 Non-Choice
Within the subgroup of school choice parents, the main
difference between voucher parents and tax-credit
scholarship parents is that a higher proportion of the
voucher parents values a school that is small and has
better discipline, while a higher proportion of the tax-
credit scholarship parents values a school that is closer
to home and/or work (see Figure 10 on following page).
Most Important School Quality
Though there are myriad reasons why parents choose
private school for their children, the single most
important factor was previously unknown. In its 2013
survey, the Friedman Foundation asked school choice
parents their top three most important reasons. This
year, the survey allowed for the selection of only one
response for this question to help further discern how
parents make school decisions.
15 edchoice.org
When asked to select the single most important reason
for selecting a private school, the top five reasons
that private school parents selected were religious
environment/instruction (38 percent), better academics
(20 percent), morals/character/values instruction (19
percent), more individual, one-on-one time (6 percent),
and smaller classes (4 percent). When comparing
school choice parents to non-choice parents, it can be
seen that a higher proportion of school choice parents
see religious environment/instruction as the most
important reason they choose their private school,
while non-choice parents place a slightly stronger
emphasis than choice parents on better academics and
smaller classes (see Figure 11 on following page).
School choice parents overall are more likely than
non-choice parents to say that religious environment/
instruction was the most important reason they chose
their private school. Within that group of school
edchoice.org
FIGURE 10 Top 10 Attractive School Qualities Chosen by Voucher and Tax-Credit Scholarship Parents
A higher proportion of tax-credit scholarship parents choose their school based on proximity to their home
and/or work compared to voucher parents.
78%
82%
66%
66%
56%
57%
48%
53%
51%
52%
41%
49%
38%
47%
19%
22%
25%
19%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
50%
60% 70% 80%
90%
Religious Environment/Instruction
Morals/Character/Values Instruction
Better Academics
Smaller Classes
Safer Environment
More Individual, One-on-One Time
Smaller School
Better Discipline
Extracurricular Activities Offered
Closer to Home and/or Work
85%
83%
Voucher Parents Tax-Credit Scholarship Parents
Note: See Appendix 4 for full results.
Number of parents responding = 837 Voucher; 116 Tax-Credit Scholarship
FIGURE 11 Five Most Important Reasons Parents Choose a Private School
39%
Religious Environment/Instruction
Better Academics
Morals/Character/Values Instruction
More Individual, One-on-One Time
Smaller Classes
0% 5% 10% 15% 20%
25%
30% 35% 40%
45%
36%
22%
20%
19%
19%
6%
6%
5%
4%
Choice Parents Non-Choice Parents
Note: See Appendix 4 for full results.
Number of parents responding = 1,150 Choice; 663 Non-Choice
Why Parents Choose: A Survey of Private School and School Choice Parents in Indiana 16
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
choice parents, tax-credit scholarship parents are more
inclined to select religious environment/instruction as
the most important reason when compared to voucher
parents, who are more inclined to see academic quality
as the most important reason (see Figure 12).
Parental Involvement
Research has shown that parental involvement
strongly influences academic success, regardless of
demographic or socioeconomic characteristics.
46
When
asked to indicate their participation level in a variety
of activities, parents responding to the survey for this
FIGURE 12 Five Most Important Reasons Voucher and Tax-Credit Scholarship Parents Choose a Private School
Voucher parents are more likely to see academic quality as the most important factor when choosing a private
school than tax-credit scholarship parents.
Religious Environment/Instruction
Better Academics
Morals/Character/Values Instruction
More Individual, One-on-One Time
Smaller Classes
43%
37%
16%
21%
18%
19%
6%
6%
2%
4%
Voucher Parents
Tax-Credit Scholarship Parents
0% 5% 10% 15% 20%
25%
30% 35% 40% 45%
50%
Note: See Appendix 4 for full results.
Number of parents responding = 1,150 Choice; 663 Non-Choice
FIGURE 13 Parental Activity Levels Compared to Previous School
Two-thirds of parents communicate with teachers more often in their current school compared to their previous school.
Communicating with Teachers
3%
26% 38%
<1%
Participate in School Activities
29%
3%
32%
2%
Volunteering/Community Service
4%
33%
32%
2%
Work on Math or Arithmetic
4%
37%
33%
3%
Read with or to Your Child
5%
46%
2%
Use an Online Educational Resource
16% 10% 43%
31%
34%
29%
23%
24% 24%
20% 11%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
50%
60% 70% 80% 90%
100%
Much Less Often Less Often
A Similar Amount More Often Much More Often
Note: See Appendix 4 for full results.
Number of parents responding = 469, 468, 464, 466, 465, and 448, respectively
17 edchoice.org
36%
32%
edchoice.org
FIGURE 14 Percent of Parents Stating a Type of Previous School
School choice parents are much more likely to have their children previously enrolled in a public school than non-choice parents.
55%
Public District (Neighborhood) School
Other Private School
60%
7%
Homeschool
4%
6%
Public Charter School
<1%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
70%
Choice Parents
Non-Choice Parents
report indicated they are more involved since enrolling
in their current private school compared to their
previous school. These activities include reading with
or to their children, working on math or arithmetic,
using an online educational resource, participating in
school activities, volunteering and community service,
and communicating with teachers (see Figure 13 on
previous page).
There were no statistically significant differences
in any area between school choice and non-choice
parents, which may be due to the nature of the
self-reporting and no one wanting to seem like an
uninvolved parent. However, voucher parents were
statistically significantly more likely to say they were
more involved in volunteering and community service
activities since enrolling in their current school than
tax-credit scholarship parents.
47
That finding should be
interpreted cautiously given the limited sample of tax-
credit scholarship parents responding to the question.
Previous School
The IDOE tracks whether or not a voucher student
previously attended an Indiana public school prior
to participation in the state’s voucher program. In
fact, they show approximately half (52 percent) of the
state’s voucher participants in 2015–16 never attended
a public school in Indiana.
48
How do non-choice
private school students compare to school choice
students in general when it comes to previous public
school attendance? What about tax-credit scholarship
students compared to voucher students?
Though the research for this paper did not involve
individual student-level matching and tracking to
determine if a student ever attended a public school
in Indiana, the survey did ask the type of school the
students attended prior to their current private school.
Approximately half of the private school parents that
responded to this question (51 percent) indicated
that their children never had a previous school. In
other words, their child has been in the same school
throughout the duration of their K–12 education or
just started their educational endeavors. One out
of four parents (25 percent) said the school their
children previously attended was a public district
(neighborhood) school, while one of five (20 percent)
said it was a different private school. These findings,
however, are only for the most recent previous school
the child attended. That could hypothetically be their
middle school before they transitioned to high school.
The findings in no way indicate the type of school a
student has ever attended.
When looking at only the types of schools stated by
parents, school choice parents are much more likely
than non-choice parents to have their children’s most
recent school be a public school, whether that was a
district (neighborhood) school or a charter school.
Interestingly, of the non-choice parents who previously
Note: See Appendix 4 for full results. Percentages in this chart reect only those parents who said they previously enrolled their children in a different school.
Number of parents responding = 663 Choice; 245 Non-Choice
Why Parents Choose: A Survey of Private School and School Choice Parents in Indiana 18
0
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
FIGURE 15
Private School Parents’ Satisfaction Levels: Current School vs. Previous School
School choice parents are signicantly more likely be dissatised with their previous school than non-choice parents.
90%
81%
CURRENT SCHOOL SATISFACTION
80%
68%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
23%
20%
10%
5%
5%
3%
2%
<1% <1%
12%
Very Satised Somewhat Satised Neither Satised Somewhat Dissatised Very Dissatised
Nor Dissatised
Number of parents responding = 1,154 Choice; 667 Non-Choice
Choice Parents Non-Choice Parents
PREVIOUS SCHOOL SATISFACTION
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0
29%
42%
24%
21%
2%
1%
18%
12%
27%
23%
Very Satised Somewhat Satised Neither Satised Somewhat Dissatised Very Dissatised
Nor Dissatised
Note: See Appendix 4 for full results.
Number of parents responding = 617 Choice; 233 Non-Choice
19 edchoice.org
edchoice.org
enrolled their children in a different school, more than
one-third (36 percent) said their children were most
recently enrolled in a public school (see Figure 14 on
page 18).
Previous School Satisfaction Level
Though there are national datasets on current school
satisfaction, there are no known such data sets when
it comes to previous school satisfaction. The survey for
this report not only asked parents what type of school
their children were most previously enrolled in, but also
asked their satisfaction level with that specific school.
More than half of private school parents (56 percent)
reported that they were satisfied with their children’s
previous schools, while 42 percent said they were
dissatisfied (see Appendix 4). When comparing the
satisfaction levels of school choice parents and non-
choice parents, the former is statistically significantly
more likely to report that they were dissatisfied with
their previous schools (see Figure 15 on previous page).
49
This finding is similar when comparing voucher and
tax-credit scholarship parents. Voucher parents are
statistically significantly more likely to say they are
dissatisfied with their previous schools compared
to tax-credit scholarship parents (see Figure 16).
50
However, that finding should be interpreted cautiously
given the limited sample of tax-credit scholarship
parents responding to the question.
Why Families Left Their Previous Schools
Aside from leaving a public school in order to
participate in the voucher or tax-credit scholarship
program, why are parents leaving their previous
schools? Parents listed a variety of reasons and most
added their own reason that was not on the provided
list.
When asked to list all of the reasons why they left
their previous school, nearly one out of three parents
FIGURE 16
School Choice Parents’ Satisfaction Levels with Previous School
Voucher parents are signicantly more likely to be dissatised with their previous schools than tax-credit scholarship parents.
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0
28% 28%
41%
23%
32%
2%
2%
19%
12% 12%
Very Satised Somewhat Satised Neither Satised Somewhat Dissatised Very Dissatised
Nor Dissatised
Voucher Parents Tax-Credit Scholarship Parents
Note: See Appendix 4 for full results.
Number of parents responding = 478 Voucher; 41 Tax-Credit Scholarship
Why Parents Choose: A Survey of Private School and School Choice Parents in Indiana 20
32%
20%
35%
22%
31%
17%
31%
17%
28%
16%
27%
11%
28%
18%
21%
13%
19%
22%
15%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20%
25%
30% 35%
40%
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
FIGURE 17 Top 10 Reasons Parents Left Previous School
Open-Ended Response
38%
Lack of Religious Environment/Instruction
Academic Quality
Lack of Morals/Characters/V
alues Instruction
Not Enough Individual Attention
Problems with Other Students
Large Class Size
Problems with Teacher/Administrators
Poor Discipline
Did Not Have Grade Level Needed
Choice Parents
Non-Choice Parents
Note: See Appendix 4 for full results.
Number of parents responding = 611 Choice; 232 Non-Choice
(31 percent) said it was because of a lack of religious
environment/instruction. Twenty-nine percent of
parents cited academic quality and 27 percent cited a
lack of morals/character/values instruction
51
.
Roughly
or more than one in five private school parents said
they left due to not enough individual attention (25
percent), problems with other students (24 percent),
large class size (23 percent, or problems with teachers
and/or administrators (20 percent). More than one
out of three parents (34 percent) cited “other” as their
reason for leaving, and those open-ended responses
varied (see Appendix 4).
School choice parents and non-choice parents’ reasons
varied in the proportion that listed them. School choice
parents were more likely to say they left because of
a lack of religious environment/instruction, while
non-choice parents were more likely to say they left
because the school did not have the grade level
needed, such as a child going from middle school to
high school (see Figure 17).
Most Important Reason Families Left Their
Previous Schools
When it came to the most important reason for leaving
a previous school, nearly one out of six parents (14
percent) said issues with academic quality. More
than one out of 10 parents said either lack of religious
environment/instruction (11 percent) or the school
did not have the next grade level needed (13 percent).
More than one out of four parents (29 percent) said
their open-ended response was the most important
reason for leaving their previous schools (see
Appendix 4). School choice parents were more likely
than non-choice parents to say academic quality was
the most important reason they left their previous
schools, and this was the top offered selection among
school choice parents (see Figure 18 on following
page).
21 edchoice.org
edchoice.org
FIGURE 18 Top 10 Most Important Reasons Parents Left Previous School
28%
Open-Ended Response
34%
Academic Quality
Lack of Religious Environment/Instruction
Did not have Grade Level Needed
20%
Lack of Morals/Characters/V
alues Instruction
Problems with Other Students
Problems with Teacher/Administrators
Not Enough Individual Attention
Location
5%
3%
Large Class Size
2%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20%
25%
30% 35%
40%
10%
15%
8%
13%
11%
4%
6%
5%
6%
5%
5%
3%
4%
3%
Choice Parents
Non-Choice Parents
Note: See Appendix 4 for full results.
Number of parents responding = 609 Choice; 231 Non-Choice
Previous School’s Reaction to Families
Leaving
As shown previously in this report, some private
school parents heard about their current private
schools from their former schools. Of the Indiana
private school parents that said “yes” or “no,” nearly
three out of four (72 percent) said their previous
schools supported their decision to switch schools.
School choice parents were less likely to have their
previous schools support their decision to switch than
non-choice parents (see Figure 19 on following page).
In fact, the difference between the two populations is
statistically significant.
52
Approximately one out of five (21 percent) of Indiana
private school parents whose children previously
attended a different school said the school did not try
to persuade them to stay. This finding held consistently
among both school choice and non-choice parents (see
Figure 20 on following page).
Discussion and Policy
Implications
Parents of children participating in school choice
programs have been surveyed for nearly two decades
on their schooling satisfaction levels, and the findings in
this report are in line with and add to the previous body
of research. If Indiana’s private school choice programs
were judged solely on parents’ self-reported satisfaction,
these programs would be considered an obvious
success. However, parents saying they are satisfied with
no explanation provides little substance to policymakers.
With that in mind, we have attempted to gather and
present clarifying information and data in this report.
Parents enrolling their children in Indiana’s private
schools are very satisfied with the choice they have
made. Additionally, a majority of the parents who
responded stated they were at least somewhat
satisfied with the school they had left. This is an
Why Parents Choose: A Survey of Private School and School Choice Parents in Indiana 22
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
FIGURE 19 Proportion of Parents Reporting Whether or Not Their Previous Schools Supported Their Decision to Leave
Yes
No
79%
69%
14%
19%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
90%
80%70%
Choice Parents
Non-Choice Parents
Note: See Appendix 4 for full results.
Number of parents responding = 371 Choice; 149 Non-Choice
FIGURE 20 Proportion of Parents Reporting Whether or Not Their Previous Schools Persuaded Them to Stay
Yes
No
20%
21%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
90%
80%70%
80%
79%
Choice Parents
Non-Choice Parents
Note: See Appendix 4 for full results.
Number of parents responding = 438 Choice; 157 Non-Choice
interesting result, as one might expect some level of
dissatisfaction with their previous school leading
parents to withdraw their children and find a more
satisfying option. This is not to say that some parents
are not dissatisfied with their previous school, and
we found that those parents were more likely to state
they were very dissatisfied instead of saying they were
somewhat dissatisfied.
It would appear the best interpretation of these
results is that while many parents were happy with
their previous schools, they would prefer to enroll
their children in a school that offered characteristics
more in line with their own preferences. In this case,
respondents preferred enrolling their children in
schools offering moral/character/values instruction
and a religious environment/instruction. Many
parents left their old school because they believed it
lacked the quality of academics they want for their
children, and many chose their new schools for the
religious environment/instruction that is offered at a
variety of private schools.
One important data point in this survey that
policymakers should note is the fact that more than
half of the former school choice parents transferred
their children to a public school from their former
voucher or tax-credit scholarship schools. This directly
counters the IDOE’s assertion that voucher students
would attend private school regardless of whether or
not the program existed.
53
Overall, this survey makes it clear that a large majority
of parents are more satisfied with their current private
schools compared to their previous schools, which
indicates that their former school was not the best
fit. This is one of many reasons that individuals and
organizations should encourage policymakers to
create and grow private school choice programs.
All families should have the opportunity to be very
satisfied when it comes to the school in which their
children are educated, and, although this may wind
up being a ZIP Code-assigned neighborhood school,
all families should have the option to identify and
choose the school that is the best fit for each child in
their family, regardless of income.
23 edchoice.org
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Future Research
Though parents are satisfied with their choice to enroll
their children in a new school, the survey presents a
unique opportunity for future research finding why
parents are so much more satisfied with their schools of
choice. Indiana’s school accountability system provides
us the opportunity to see if parents enrolled their
children in a school that offers higher quality academics
than the school they chose to leave. An important caveat
to this research, however, is that school quality is often
measured using standardized test scores, which, while
imperfect, do provide a measure of quality on which
to gauge parents’ ability to find schools that offer what
they value.
54
However, any research using these scores would have
certain limitations. For example, while school grades
provide great information for parents who place a high
value on math, reading, or overall academic scores,
they may be poor or incomplete indicators for parents
whose schooling preferences are multi-dimensional or
weighted differently than the state’s accountability
system.
55
In this branch of qualitative school choice research
we have confirmed what previous researchers have
found: when given the autonomy to choose, parents
are satisfied with their chosen schools. According to
the survey data analyzed in this report, many parents
choosing schools in Indiana value the religious
environment their new private schools offer them.
This is something the neighborhood public school—
the type of school most parents left in the survey—
cannot offer. Though it is encouraging that this
research is finding similar results, these results, much
like previous school choice satisfaction research, do
not explain the reasons for this satisfaction. With the
information provided by parents in the survey, this
report adds to the existing body of research.
Aside from replicating the survey in other states with
school choice programs, there are many ways in which
the survey research showcased in this report could be
augmented to add to the growing research on private
school choice. For example:
• There could be great value in conducting
qualitative analyses on the open-ended responses
when parents indicated “other” as their reason for
no longer participating in a school choice program,
their source of information for finding their current
school, their reason for leaving their children’s
previous school, and their reason for choosing
their current school.
• It could be highly valuable to the field of school
choice research to conduct a short follow-up
survey with parents whose children attend school
outside of their residential district and ask for their
home address; this could lead to a network distance
analysis using GIS that shows how far children
travel to get to their chosen school compared to
the school they would otherwise attend based on
their residential address.
• Since the first phase of the survey for this report
directly followed up with parents that responded
in 2013, respondents could be matched using
the email address they provided for the drawing,
assuming it is the same they provided in 2013. This
could lead to further analysis to see how much
specific respondents’ satisfaction levels have
changed.
• There is also the potential to resurvey in the future
the school choice parents that responded to
the survey to see if their satisfaction levels or views
change or if they changed schooling type and, if so,
why or why not. Additional questions could be
asked, such as whether or not they visited the
current private school prior to enrolling, whether
or not they visited any private school when
making their decision, how many schools were
visited and how many visits were made, and what
types of schools were visited.
Conclusion
When the Friedman Foundation started surveying
private school choice parents in Indiana, there were
approximately 30,000 students using vouchers and
tax-credit scholarships to access a school of choice.
Now there are more than 40,000 students accessing
Why Parents Choose: A Survey of Private School and School Choice Parents in Indiana 24
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
private schools of choice, and we expect that number
to continue to grow. We believe that a regular
surveying of parents’ preferences, their understanding
and usage of the choice programs, and how and why
they choose schools is critical in order to give feedback
to the public about choice programs, to policymakers
as they make adjustments to the programs, and to
education providers who wish to serve these choice
families.
25 edchoice.org
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
Appendix 1: Phase I Response Rates Using AAPOR RR2
Question/Item
Voucher
Respondents
Tax-Credit
Scholarship
Respondents
Choice
Respondents
Non-Choice
Respondents
Total Phase I
Respondents
Phase I
Response
Rate
School District* 433 32 545 140 685 49%
School Choice Program Participation* 433 32 545 136 681 49%
Oldest Child Participation*
Another Child Participation*
433
12
32
2
545
15
25
23
570
38
41%
3%
Reason No Longer Participating* N/A N/A N/A 105 105 8%
School Transferred To
School Type*
School Name*
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
92
50
92
50
7%
4%
Reasons for Leaving Voucher/TCS School
Any Reason*†
Most Important Reason*
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
62
62
62
62
4%
4%
Name of Current Private School* 430 32 542 24 566 41%
Ease of Finding Current Private School* 429 32 541 24 565 41%
Previous School
School Type*
School Name*
Year Last Attended*
428
246
246
32
14
14
540
300
300
23
12
12
563
312
312
41%
22%
22%
Previous School Satisfaction Level* 245 14 298 12 310 22%
Reasons for Leaving Previous School
Any Reason*†
Most Important Reason*
243
243
14
14
295
295
12
12
307
307
22%
22%
Reaction of Previous School
Decision Support Level*
Persuasion*
243
243
14
14
295
295
12
12
307
307
22%
22%
Current Private School Satisfaction Level* 426 32 535 23 558 40%
Current Private School Choosing Qualities
Any Quality*†
Most Important Quality*
425
425
32
32
534
534
23
23
557
557
40%
40%
Number of Children
Participating in Both School Choice Programs
Participating Only in Voucher
Participating Only in Tax-Credit Scholarship
Attending Private School, Neither Program
Attending Public District (Neighborhood) School
Attending Public Charter School
Attending Homeschool
167
394
126
129
153
125
120
12
9
26
10
9
6
6
249
433
176
160
182
151
148
46
42
42
62
66
42
50
295
475
218
222
248
193
198
21%
34%
16%
16%
18%
14%
14%
Completed Survey 425 32 534 79 613 44%
*Response to this item was required in order to continue survey.
†Parents could select more than one item in response to this question.
27 edchoice.org
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Appendix 2: Number of Phase II Respondents
Question/Item
Voucher
Respondents
Tax-Credit
Scholarship
Respondents
Choice
Respondents
Non-Choice
Respondents
Total Phase II
Respondents
Language Spoken at Home
144 39 216 337 553
School District*
428 88 640 702 1,342
School Choice Program Participation
Oldest Child Participation*
Another Child Participation*
428
12
88
8
640
27
692
690
1,332
717
Ease of Finding School*
427 86 636 N/A 636
Private School Name*
426 86 634 681 1,315
Grade Child Enrolled*
426 86 634 680 1,314
Sources for Finding School
Any Source†
Most Trusted Source
157
149
40
37
232
221
320
293
552
514
Frequency of Parental Participation
Read with or to Child
Work on Math or Arithmetic
Use Online Educational Resource
School Activities
Volunteer/Community Service
Communicate with Teachers
137
136
131
138
135
138
34
36
34
35
36
36
203
204
193
205
202
206
262
262
247
263
262
263
465
466
448
468
464
469
Previous School
School Type*
School Name*
Year Last Attended*
419
234
234
84
27
27
624
320
320
652
222
222
1,276
542
542
Previous School Satisfaction Level*
233 27 319 221 540
Reasons for Leaving
Any Reason*†
Most Important Reason*
231
229
27
27
316
314
220
219
536
533
Reaction of Previous School
Decision Support Level*
Persuasion*
229
229
27
27
314
314
217
217
531
531
Current School Satisfaction Level*
414 84 619 644 1,263
Current School Choosing Qualities
Any Quality*†
Most Important Quality*
412
412
84
84
617
617
640
640
1,257
1,257
Number of Children
Participating in Both Programs
Participating Only in Voucher
Participating Only in Tax-Credit Scholarship
Attending Private School, Neither Program
Attending Public District (Neighborhood) School
Attending Public Charter School
Attending Homeschool
136
389
106
122
123
96
98
23
26
72
23
25
17
18
274
447
202
171
179
136
141
251
247
247
593
273
231
235
525
694
449
746
452
367
376
Completed Survey
275 55 408 691 1,099
*Response to this item was required in order to continue survey.
†Parents could select more than one item in response to this question.
Why Parents Choose: A Survey of Private School and School Choice Parents in Indiana 28
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
Appendix 3: Survey Procedure by Phase
Phase I
Took list of survey respondents to 2013 survey who self-reported email addresses in order to enter in
random draw and separated email addresses from names and responses. All respondents to the 2013
survey were voucher or tax-credit scholarship parents at the time of that survey’s completion.
1/26/16: Sent email invitation with survey link included to list of 1,454 unique email addresses, and 60
emails bounced back. Between Jan. 26 and Feb. 3, there were 221 complete survey responses.
2/3/16: Sent email reminder with survey link to remaining 1,173 unique email addresses, and three
emails bounced back. Between Feb. 3 and Feb. 11, there were 182 complete survey responses and one
person indicated refusal.
2/11/16: Sent email reminder with survey link to remaining 987 unique email addresses, and three emails
bounced back. Between Feb. 11 and Feb. 17, there were 98 complete survey responses and three people
indicated refusal.
2/18/16: Sent email reminder with survey link to remaining 883 unique email addresses, and one email
bounced back. Between Feb. 18 and Feb. 22, there were 55 complete survey responses and four people
indicated refusal.
2/24/16: Sent email reminder to 823 unique email addresses. Between Feb. 24 and the close of the survey
window, there were 56 complete survey responses and one person indicated refusal.
Phase II
3/3/16: Executive Director of the Indiana Non-Public Education Association (INPEA) sent an email to
354 private school principals. That email included the survey invitation and link that the principals
were asked to forward to all parents of children enrolled at their schools.
Week of 3/21/16: INPEA sent a reminder to all 354 private school principals, asking them to forward a
reminder to all private school parents and encourage them to complete survey.
4/6/16: Questions added asking the parents all of the means by which they heard about the school, pro-
viding a checklist of options and “other,” and the most trusted means by which they heard about the
school. Question added asking parents how frequently parents participate in a variety of academic- and
civic-related activities since enrolling their children in their new private school. Question added asking
the parents for the primary language spoken at home.
4/8/16: INPEA sent a reminder to all 354 private school principals and their jurisdictional heads, asking
them to send a reminder to all private school parents and encourage them to complete survey.
4/19/16: Survey window closed.
29 edchoice.org
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Appendix 4: Data Tables
Ease of Finding School Using School Choice Program
Voucher
Parents
Tax-Credit
Scholarship
Parents
Choice
Parents
Non-Choice
Parents
Total
Very Easy (4)
75.2% 56.8% 72.3% 45.8% 71.8%
Somewhat Easy (3)
9.7% 16.1% 11.0% 16.7% 11.1%
Neither Easy Nor Difcult (0)
14.1% 25.4% 15.6% 37.5% 16.0%
Somewhat Difcult (2)
70.0% 1.7% 0.9% - 0.9%
Very Difcult (1) 0.2% - 0.3% - 0.3%
Number of Respondents 856 118 1,177 24 1,201
Mean 3.317* 2.788* 3.24† 2.33†
Note: Parents were sorted as “Non-Choice” if they selected “Not Sure” when asked if they had a child participating in either the voucher or tax-credit scholarship program.
*Difference is statistically signicant at the 99 percent level.
†Difference is statistically signicant at the 95 percent level.
Parental Satisfaction Levels with Various Types of Private Schools
Very Somewhat Neither Satised Somewhat Very
Satised Satised Nor Dissatised Dissatised Dissatised
U.S. Assigned Public School Parents (2012) 52.5% 37.6% - 7.4% 2.5%
U.S. Chosen Public School Parents (2012) 56.2% 34.0% - 7.6% 2.3%
U.S. Religious Private School Parents (2012) 80.0% 16.4% - 2.9% 0.7%
U.S. Nonsectarian Private School Parents (2012) 77.8% 19.4% - - -
Indiana Private School Parents (2016)
76.0% 16.0% 0.7% 2.4% 4.9%
Choice Parents
80.5% 12.0% 0.6% 2.0% 4.9%
Non-Choice Parents
68.1% 22.8% 0.9% 3.1% 5.1%
Note: The national survey did not give the answer option of “neither satised nor dissatised,” and it was only given to parents with children in grades 3–12, while the Friedman survey results encompass all
grade levels.
Source: Thomas D. Snyder, Cristobal de Brey, and Sally A. Dillow, Digest of Education Statistics 2014, NCES 2016-006 (Washington, DC: US Dept. of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2016),
p. 134, table 206.50, http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2016/2016006.pdf.
Satisfaction Level with Current Private School
Voucher
Parents
Tax-Credit
Scholarship
Parents
Choice
Parents
Non-Choice
Parents
Total
Very Satised (4)
80.2% 81.9% 80.5% 68.1% 76.0%
Somewhat Satised (3)
12.1% 12.9% 12.1% 22.8% 16.0%
Neither Satised Nor Dissatised (0)
0.6% 0.9% 0.6% 0.9% 0.7%
Somewhat Dissatised (2)
2.1%
2.6% 2.0% 3.2% 2.4%
Very Dissatised (1) 4.9% 1.7% 4.9% 5.1% 4.9%
Number of Respondents 840 116 1,154 667 1,821
Mean 3.665 3.733 3.67* 3.52*
*Difference is statistically signicant at the 99 percent level.
Why Parents Choose: A Survey of Private School and School Choice Parents in Indiana 30
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
Appendix 4: Data Tables
Sources of Information for Learning About Private School
Voucher
Parents
Tax-Credit
Scholarship
Parents
Choice
Parents
Non-Choice
Parents
Total
Friends or Relatives
56.1%
55.0%
55.2%
72.7%
51.6%
Church
38.9%
45.0%
40.5%
77.8%
47.5%
Open-ended response
13.4%
17.5%
15.1%
24.1%
15.8%
Other Private School
10.2%
10.0%
10.3%
6.5%
6.9%
Internet
5.1%
2.5%
5.6%
8.8%
5.8%
Flyer/Brochure
4.5%
2.5%
5.6%
2.8%
3.4%
Community Event
3.8%
2.5%
3.9%
3.2%
2.9%
Public District (Neighborhood) School
3.2%
-
2.6%
4.6%
2.9%
Newspaper/Magazine
1.9%
5.0%
2.6%
2.8%
2.2%
Call from School
3.2%
-
2.2%
0.9%
1.3%
Home Visit
1.3%
-
1.3%
1.9%
1.3%
Television/Radio
-
2.5%
0.9%
0.0%
0.4%
Public Charter School
0.6%
-
0.4%
0.5%
0.4%
Community Center
-
-
-
-
-
Number of Respondents
157
40
232
320
552
Note: Respondents were asked to select all that apply.
Most Important Source of Information for Learning About Private School
Voucher
Parents
Tax-Credit
Scholarship
Parents
Choice
Parents
Non-Choice
Parents
Total
Friends or Relatives
49.7%
51.4%
49.8%
43.3%
46.1%
Church
27.5%
21.6%
25.8%
34.5%
30.7%
Open-ended response
12.1%
18.9%
14.0%
14.3%
14.2%
Internet
2.0%
2.7%
2.3%
3.4%
2.9%
Other Private School
3.4%
2.7%
3.2%
1.7%
2.3%
Call from School
2.7%
-
1.8%
0.0%
0.8%
Public District (Neighborhood) School
1.3%
-
0.9%
0.7%
0.8%
Newspaper/Magazine
0.7%
-
0.5%
0.7%
0.6%
Community Event
0.7%
-
0.5%
0.7%
0.6%
Flyer/Brochure
-
2.7%
0.9%
-
0.4%
Home Visit
-
-
-
0.7%
0.4%
Television/Radio
-
-
0.5%
-
0.2%
Community Center
-
-
-
-
-
Public Charter School
-
-
-
-
-
Number of Respondents
149
37
221
293
514
Note: Respondents were asked to select only one.
31 edchoice.org
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Appendix 4: Data Tables
School Choosing Qualities
Voucher
Parents
Tax-Credit
Scholarship
Parents
Choice
Parents
Non-Choice
Parents
Total
Religious environment/instruction
84.8%
82.8%
85.0%
83.7%
84.5%
Morals/character/values instruction
81.7%
78.5%
81.6%
79.6%
80.9%
Better academics
66.4%
65.5%
66.5%
63.7%
65.4%
Smaller classes
57.0%
56.0%
58.0%
50.8%
55.4%
Safer environment
52.6%
48.3%
53.7%
49.5%
52.2%
More individual, one-on-one time
52.5%
50.9%
53.2%
46.6%
50.8%
Smaller school
49.5%
41.4%
49.3%
48.1%
48.8%
Better discipline
46.8%
37.9%
45.9%
42.4%
44.6%
Closer to home and/or work
18.8%
25.0%
20.0%
30.6%
23.9%
Extracurricular activities offered
22.0%
19.0%
22.9%
17.7%
21.0%
More diversity
8.2%
7.8%
8.5%
7.8%
8.3%
Open-Ended Response
5.7%
6.9%
5.5%
5.6%
5.5%
Problems with other students at prior school
5.5%
4.3%
6.0%
3.3%
5.0%
Problems with teacher/administrators at prior school
5.0%
3.5%
5.1%
3.5%
4.5%
Number of Respondents
837
116
1,151
663
1,814
Note: Respondents were asked to select all that apply.
Most Important School Choosing Quality
Voucher
Parents
Tax-Credit
Scholarship
Parents
Choice
Parents
Non-Choice
Parents
Total
Religious environment/instruction
36.8%
43.1%
38.9%
35.8%
37.7%
Better academics
21.2%
16.4%
19.7%
21.6%
20.4%
Morals/character/values instruction
18.7%
18.1%
19.0%
18.7%
18.9%
More individual, one-on-one time
6.3%
6.0%
5.9%
5.9%
5.9%
Smaller classes
4.2%
1.7%
3.7%
4.5%
4.0%
Safer environment
3.6%
2.6%
3.5%
2.3%
3.0%
Open-ended response
3.0%
4.3%
3.0%
2.6%
2.8%
Closer to home and/or work
1.4%
3.5%
1.6%
4.1%
2.5%
Smaller school
2.0%
3.5%
1.9%
1.5%
1.8%
Better discipline
1.2%
0.9%
1.1%
1.7%
1.3%
Problems with teacher/administrators at prior school
0.5%
-
0.6%
0.6%
0.6%
Problems with other students at prior school
0.5%
-
0.5%
0.5%
0.5%
More diversity
0.2%
-
0.4%
0.3%
0.3%
Extracurricular activities offered
0.4%
-
0.4%
0.2%
0.3%
Number of Respondents
836
116
1,150
663
1,813
Note: Respondents were asked to select only one.
Why Parents Choose: A Survey of Private School and School Choice Parents in Indiana 32
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
Appendix 4: Data Tables
Parental Involvement
Since enrolling your child in their new private school, how often do you read with or to your child?
Voucher
Parents
Tax-Credit
Scholarship
Parents
Choice
Parents
Non-Choice
Parents
Total
Much More Often
More Often
A Similar Amount
Less Often
Much Less Often
26.3%
20.4%
45.3%
6.6%
1.5%
26.5%
20.6%
50.0%
2.9%
-
25.6%
21.7%
45.8%
5.9%
1.0%
22.9%
25.2%
45.8%
4.2%
1.9%
24.1%
23.7%
45.8%
5.0%
1.5%
Number of Respondents
137
34
203
262
465
Since enrolling your child in their new private school, how often do you work on math or arithmetic with your child?
Much More Often
More Often
A Similar Amount
Less Often
Much Less Often
22.8%
31.6%
35.3%
5.9%
4.4%
19.4%
27.8%
44.4%
5.6%
2.8%
21.6%
32.4%
36.8%
5.9%
3.4%
24.1%
33.2%
37.8%
2.7%
2.3%
23.0%
32.8%
37.3%
4.1%
2.8%
Number of Respondents
136
36
204
262
466
Since enrolling your child in their new private school, how often do you use an online educational resource
(such as Khan Academy)?
Much More Often
More Often
A Similar Amount
Less Often
Much Less Often
13.0%
22.9%
36.7%
11.5%
13.0%
17.7%
17.7%
41.2%
8.8%
14.7%
13.5%
22.3%
38.9%
10.9%
14.5%
9.7%
18.2%
45.3%
9.7%
17.0%
11.4%
20.0%
42.5%
10.2%
15.9%
Number of Respondents
131
34
193
247
448
Since enrolling your child in their new private school, how often do you participate in school activities?
Much More Often
More Often
A Similar Amount
Less Often
Much Less Often
34.1%
32.6%
28.3%
2.2%
2.9%
34.3%
25.7%
37.1%
2.9%
-
35.6%
30.2%
29.3%
2.9%
2.0%
33.5%
33.8%
29.3%
2.3%
1.1%
34.4%
32.3%
29.3%
2.6%
1.5%
Number of Respondents 138 35 205 263 468
Since enrolling your child in their new private school, how often do you participate in
volunteering/community service?
Much More Often (5)
More Often (4)
A Similar Amount (3)
Less Often (2)
Much Less Often (1)
28.2%
34.8%
31.9%
3.0%
2.2%
25.0%
22.2%
41.7%
2.8%
8.3%
29.7%
30.2%
33.7%
3.5%
3.0%
28.6%
32.8%
32.8%
4.2%
1.5%
29.1%
31.7%
33.2%
3.9%
2.2%
Number of Respondents
Mean
135
3.837*
36
3.528*
202
3.802
262
3.828
464
Since enrolling your child in their new private school, how often do you communicate with teachers (email, phone, etc.)?
Much More Often
More Often
A Similar Amount
Less Often
Much Less Often
32.6%
40.6%
22.5%
4.4%
-
33.3%
41.7%
19.4%
2.8%
2.8%
32.5%
41.3%
22.3%
3.4%
0.5%
30.4%
35.4%
29.7%
3.4%
1.1%
31.3%
38.0%
26.4%
3.4%
0.9%
Number of Respondents
138
36
206
263
469
*Difference is statistically signicant at the 90 percent level.
33 edchoice.org
edchoice.org
Appendix 4: Data Tables
Previous School Type
Voucher
Parents
Tax-Credit
Scholarship
Parents
Choice
Parents
Non-Choice
Parents
Total
Does Not Apply (N/A)
39.4% 62.1% 43.0% 63.7% 50.6%
Public District (Neighborhood) School
34.5% 14.7% 31.5% 12.9% 24.7%
Other Private School
18.5% 19.8% 18.4% 21.9% 19.7%
Homeschool
4.0% 2.6% 3.8% 1.3% 2.9%
Public Charter School
3.5% 0.9% 3.3% 0.2% 2.1%
Number of Respondents
847 116 1,164 675 1,839
Satisfaction Level with Previous School
Voucher
Parents
Tax-Credit
Scholarship
Parents
Choice
Parents
Non-Choice
Parents
Total
Very Satised
27.8%
41.5%
28.7%
42.5%
32.5%
Somewhat Satised
23.4%
31.7%
23.8%
21.5%
23.2%
Neither Satised Nor Dissatised
1.9%
2.4%
2.1%
1.3%
1.9%
Somewhat Dissatised
19.0%
12.2%
18.3%
11.6%
16.5%
Very Dissatised
27.8%
12.2%
27.1%
23.2%
26.0%
Number of Respondents
478
41
617
233
850
Mean
2.475*
2.976*
2.499†
2.807†
*Difference is statistically signicant at the 99 percent level.
†Difference is statistically signicant at the 99 percent level.
Why Parents Choose: A Survey of Private School and School Choice Parents in Indiana 34
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
Appendix 4: Data Tables
Reasons for Leaving Previous School
Voucher
Parents
Tax-Credit
Scholarship
Parents
Choice
Parents
Non-Choice
Parents
Total
Open-ended response
31.0%
46.3%
31.9%
37.9%
33.6%
Lack of religious environment/instruction
37.1%
22.0%
35.2%
20.3%
31.1%
Academic quality
30.8%
26.8%
31.1%
22.4%
28.7%
Lack of morals/characters/values instruction
30.6%
22.0%
31.1%
17.2%
27.3%
Not enough individual attention
29.1%
17.1%
27.5%
17.2%
24.7%
Problems with other students
25.5%
14.6%
26.5%
16.4%
23.7%
Large class size
30.0%
12.2%
28.0%
10.8%
23.3%
Problems with teacher/administrators
21.7%
12.2%
21.1%
17.7%
20.2%
Poor discipline
20.5%
7.3%
19.5%
12.9%
17.7%
Did not have grade level needed
14.1%
22.0%
14.9%
22.4%
17.0%
Unsafe environment
14.4%
7.3%
14.2%
6.5%
12.1%
Location
8.9%
17.1%
8.7%
8.6%
8.7%
School too big
8.9%
2.4%
8.2%
4.7%
7.2%
Lack of extracurricular activities
6.8%
2.4%
6.7%
7.3%
6.9%
Transportation issues
5.3%
2.4%
4.3%
2.2%
3.7%
Lack of diversity
2.1%
-
2.5%
2.6%
2.5%
Number of Respondents
474
41
611
232
843
Note: Respondents were asked to select all that apply.
35 edchoice.org
edchoice.org
Appendix 4: Data Tables
Most Important Reason for Leaving Previous School
Voucher
Parents
Tax-Credit
Scholarship
Parents
Choice
Parents
Non-Choice
Parents
Total
Open-ended response
26.5%
41.5%
27.6%
33.8%
29.3%
Academic quality
15.7%
12.2%
15.4%
10.0%
13.9%
Lack of religious environment/instruction
13.8%
2.4%
12.6%
7.8%
11.3%
Did not have grade level needed
9.8%
12.2%
10.5%
19.9%
13.1%
Lack of morals/characters/values instruction
6.1%
4.9%
6.4%
4.3%
5.8%
Problems with other students
5.7%
4.9%
6.1%
5.2%
5.8%
Problems with teacher/administrators
5.9%
4.9%
5.4%
5.2%
5.4%
Location
3.2%
9.8%
3.5%
5.2%
3.9%
Not enough individual attention
4.7%
2.4%
4.1%
3.0%
3.8%
Large class size
3.2%
-
2.8%
1.7%
2.5%
Unsafe environment
1.5%
2.4%
2.0%
1.3%
1.8%
Poor discipline
1.9%
-
1.5%
0.4%
1.2%
School too big
1.5%
-
1.3%
-
1.0%
Lack of extracurricular activities
-
-
0.2%
1.7%
0.6%
Transportation issues
0.4%
2.4%
0.5%
-
0.4%
Lack of diversity
0.2%
-
0.2%
0.4%
0.2%
Number of Respondents
472
41
609
231
840
Note: Respondents were asked to select only one.
Proportion of Parents Reporting Whether or Not Their Previous School Supported Their Decision to Leave
Voucher
Parents
Tax-Credit
Scholarship
Parents
Choice
Parents
Non-Choice
Parents
Total
Yes (2)
38.8%
48.8%
42.2%
51.5%
44.8%
No (1)
18.9%
12.2%
18.7%
13.5%
17.3%
Does Not Apply (0)
42.4%
39.0%
39.1%
34.9%
38.0%
Number of Respondents
472
41
609
229
838
Mean
1.036
1.098
1.031*
1.166*
*Difference is statistically signicant at the 90 percent level.
Why Parents Choose: A Survey of Private School and School Choice Parents in Indiana 36
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
Notes
1. Jeff Spalding, “School Choice: It’s Easy as 1, 2, 3, but Not for IDOE,”
EdChoice blog, June 30, 2014, http://www.edchoice.org/blog/school-
choice-its-easy-as-1-2-3-but-not-for-idoe.
2. Thomas D. Snyder, Cristobal de Brey, and Sally A. Dillow, Digest of
Education Statistics 2014, NCES 2016-006 (Washington, DC: US Dept. of
Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2016), p. 134, table
206.50, http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2016/2016006.pdf.
3. Chelsea Schneider, “New Report Shows Indiana Remains National
Leader on School Vouchers,” Indianapolis Star, Apr. 14, 2016, http://
www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2016/04/14/new-report-
shows-indiana-remains-national-leader-school-vouchers/83039918.
4. The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, The ABCs of
School Choice: The Comprehensive Guide to Every Private School Choice
Program in America, 2016 ed. (Indianapolis: Friedman Foundation for
Educational Choice, 2016), p. 5, http://www.edchoice.org/wp-content/
uploads/2016/02/2016-ABCs-WEB-2.pdf.
5. Ibid., pp. 41–42.
6. “School Choice in America,” Friedman Foundation for Educational
Choice, last modified May 9, 2016, http://www.edchoice.org/school-
choice/school-choice-in-america.
7. Author’s calculation; US Census Bureau, Public Education Finances:
2013, G13-ASPEF (Washington, DC: US Census Bureau, 2015), p. 8, table
8, http://www2.census.gov/govs/school/13f33pub.pdf.
8. Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, The ABCs of School
Choice, p. 130.
9. Ibid., pp. 39–40.
10. See note 7 above.
11. See note 4 above.
12. See note 9 above.
13. Paul DiPerna, Why Indiana Voucher Parents Choose Private Schools
(Indianapolis: Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, 2014),
http://www.edchoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Indiana-
Survey.pdf.
14. See Greg Forster, A Win-Win Solution: The Empirical Evidence on School
Choice, 4th ed. (Indianapolis: Friedman Foundation for Educational
Choice, 2016), p. 2, table 1, http://www.edchoice.org/wp-content/
uploads/2016/05/A-Win-Win-Solution-The-Empirical-Evidence-on-
School-Choice.pdf; M. Danish Shakeel, Kaitlin P. Anderson, and Patrick
J. Wolf, The Participant Effects of Private School Vouchers across the Globe:
A Meta-Analytic and Systematic Review, EDRE Working Paper 2016-07
(Fayetteville: Univ. of Ark., Dept. of Education Reform, 2016), http://
www.uaedreform.org/downloads/2016/05/the-participant-effects-
of-private-school-vouchers-across-the-globe-a-meta-analytic-and-
systematic-review-2.pdf.
15. David C. Berliner and Bruce J. Biddle, The Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Fraud,
and the Attack on America’s Public Schools (New York: Harper Collins, 1995).
16. Brian Kisida and Patrick J. Wolf, “School Governance and Information:
Does Choice Lead to Better-Informed Parents?” American Politics Research
38, no. 5 (2010), pp. 783-805, doi:10.1177/1532673X09350981.
17. Mark Schneider, Paul Teske, and Melissa Marschall, Choosing Schools:
Consumer Choice and the Quality of American Schools (Princeton, NJ:
Princeton Univ. Press, 2000).
18. Patrick J. Wolf, Babette Gutmann, Michael Puma, Brian Kisida, Lou
Rizzo, Nada Eissa, and Matthew Carr, Evaluation of the DC Opportunity
Scholarship Program: Final Report, NCEE 2010-4018 (Washington, DC:
US Dept. of Education, National Center for Education Evaluation and
Regional Assistance, 2010), http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20104018/
pdf/20104018.pdf.
19. William G. Howell and Paul E. Peterson, The Education Gap: Vouchers
and Urban Schools (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 2002), p. 170.
20. Kim K. Metcalf, Evaluation of the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring
Grant Program: 1996-1999 (Bloomington: Ind. Univ., Ind. Center for
Evaluation, 2001), http://cdm16007.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/
collection/p267401ccp2/id/1948.
21. John F. Witte, The Market Approach to Education: An Analysis of America’s
First Voucher Program (Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press, 2001), pp. 67-
68, http://press.princeton.edu/titles/6751.html.
22. Witte, The Market Approach to Education.
23. Wolf et al., Evaluation of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, p. xxi.
24. Brian Kisida and Patrick J. Wolf, “Customer Satisfaction and
Educational Outcomes: Experimental Impacts of the Market-Based
Delivery of Public Education,” International Public Management 18, no. 2
(2015), p. 280, doi:10.1080/10967494.2014.996629.
25. Paul E. Peterson, “School Choice: A Report Card,” in Learning
from School Choice, ed. Peterson and Bryan C. Hassel (Washington,
DC: Brookings Institution, 1998), p. 18, http://www.brookings.edu/
research/books/1998/schchoic.
26. Reg Baker, J. Michael Brick, Nancy A. Bates, Micke Battaglia,
Mick P. Couper, Jill A. Dever, Krista J. Gile, and Roger Tourangeau,
Report of the AAPOR Task Force on Non-Probability Sampling (Oakbrook
Terrace, IL: American Association for Public Opinion Research),
p. 20, https://www.aapor.org/AAPOR_Main/media/MainSiteFiles
/NPS_TF_Report_Final_7_revised_FNL_6_22_13.pdf.
27. The Friedman Foundation incentivized parents to complete the
survey by entering them into a randomized drawing to win one of five
$200 gift cards or one of 10 $100 gift cards.
28. See note 13 above.
29. We also asked parents at the end of the survey how many children
they had in each of the following categories: participating in both the
voucher and tax-credit scholarship program, participating only in
the voucher program, participating only in the tax-credit scholarship
program, attending private school but not participating in either
program, attending a public district (neighborhood) school, attending a
public charter school, and attending homeschool. The results from this
question will most likely be used in future analyses.
30. Authors’ calculations; Stephen P. Broughman and Nancy L. Swaim,
Characteristics of Private Schools in the United States: Results From the 2011-
12 Private School Universe Survey, NCES 2013-316 (Washington, DC: US
37 edchoice.org
edchoice.org
Dept. of Education, National Center for Education Statistics), table 15, p.
20, http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013316.pdf.
31. Authors’ calculations; The Friedman Foundation for Educational
Choice, The ABCs of School Choice, p. 41.
32. Ibid., p. 39.
33. See note 29 above.
34. See note 30 above.
35. See note 31 above.
36. See note 29 above.
37. See note 30 above.
38. See note 31 above.
39. Ind. Dept. of Education, Choice Scholarship Program Annual Report:
Participation and Payment Data (Indianapolis: Ind. Dept. of Education,
2016), p. 19, http://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/choice/2015-
2016-choice-scholarship-program-report-final-april2016.pdf.
40. The percentages do not sum to the pre-stated total due to rounding.
This occurs throughout the report.
41. See note 1 above.
42. See note 15 above.
43. The means of the responses for the two groups had a 0.528 difference
that was statistically significant at the 99 percent level. These means were
calculated by assigning difficulty values on a 5-point Likert-type scale.
Higher values corresponded to lower levels of difficulty: Very Easy = 4;
Somewhat Easy = 3; Somewhat Difficult =2; Very Difficult = 1; Neither
Easy Nor Difficult = 0. While the significance of the differences between
voucher and tax-credit scholarship parents was calculated for every
possible question, it is only stated in this report when the difference is
statistically significant.
44. Thomas D. Snyder, Cristobal de Brey, and Sally A. Dillow, Digest of
Education Statistics 2014, NCES 2016-006 (Washington, DC: US Dept. of
Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2016), p. 134, table
206.50, http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2016/2016006.pdf.
45. The means of the responses for the two groups had a 0.15 difference
that was statistically significant at the 99 percent level. These means were
calculated by assigning satisfaction values a score on a 5-point Likert-
type scale. Higher values corresponded to higher levels of satisfaction:
Very Satisfied = 4; Somewhat Satisfied = 3; Somewhat Dissatisfied = 2;
Very Dissatisfied = 1; Neither Satisfied Nor Dissatisfied = 0.
46. See Andrew J. Houtenville and Karen S. Conway, “Parental Effort,
School Resources, and Student Achievement,” Journal of Human Resources
43, no. 2 (Spring 2008), pp. 437-53, doi:10.3368/jhr.43.2.437; Mikeaela
J. Dufur, Toby L. Parcel, Kelly P. Troutman, “Does Capital at Home
Matter More Than Capital at School? Social Capital Effects on Academic
Achievement,” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 31 (Mar. 2013),
pp. 4-21, doi:10.1016/j.rssm.2012.08.002.
47. The means of the responses for the two groups had a 0.309 difference
that was statistically significant at the 90 percent level. These means were
calculated by assigning participation values a score on a 5-point Likert-
type scale. Higher values corresponded to higher levels of participation:
Much More Often = 5; More Often = 4; A Similar Amount = 3; Less Often
= 2; Much Less Often = 1.
48. Ind. Dept. of Education, Choice Scholarship Program Annual Report, pp.
16-17.
49. The means of the responses for the two groups had a 0.308 difference
that was statistically significant at the 99 percent level. These means were
calculated by assigning satisfaction values a score on a 5-point Likert-
type scale. Higher values corresponded to higher levels of satisfaction:
Very Satisfied = 4; Somewhat Satisfied = 3; Somewhat Dissatisfied = 2;
Very Dissatisfied = 1; Neither Satisfied Nor Dissatisfied = 0.
50. The means of the responses for the two groups had a 0.501 difference
that was statistically significant at the 99 percent level. These means were
calculated by assigning satisfaction values a score on a 5-point Likert-
type scale. Higher values corresponded to higher levels of satisfaction:
Very Satisfied = 4; Somewhat Satisfied = 3; Somewhat Dissatisfied = 2;
Very Dissatisfied = 1; Neither Satisfied Nor Dissatisfied = 0.
51. Although they may not realize it, parents’ reasoning for leaving their
previous school due to a lack of morals/character/values instruction is
in line with the literature. In a review of literature on civic engagement
and values in private schools, Wolf examined results from 21 different
studies examining the impacts of private schools on political tolerance,
voluntarism, political knowledge, political participations, social capital,
civic skills, and patriotism. The 21 studies reviewed provided 59 unique
findings from studies that use more rigorous methodologies and
those using more basic methods to compare private school students to
traditional public school students on these 7 different categories of civic
engagement. For the more rigorous research, 12 findings were statistically
significant in favor of private school students, 10 were neutral, and only
1 found an advantage for traditional public schools. For the 36 findings
from more basic studies, 21 found a private school advantage, 13 neutral
findings, and 3 in favor of traditional public schools measuring civic
engagement. These findings show that private schools enhance civic
values for students. See Patrick J. Wolf, “Civics Exam: Schools of Choice
Boost Civic Values,” Education Next 7, no. 3 (Summer 2007), pp. 66-72,
http://educationnext.org/files/ednext_20073_66.pdf.
52. The means of the responses for the two groups had a 0.135 difference
that was statistically significant at the 90 percent level. These means were
able to be calculated by assigning values a score on a 3-point scale: Yes =
2; No = 1; Does Not Apply (N/A) = 0.
53. See note 1 above.
54. Test scores account for anywhere from 20 percent to 100 percent of a
school’s assigned letter grade. Ind. Dept. of Education, How to Calculate
A-F School Grades, accessed May 12, 2016, http://www.doe.in.gov/sites/
default/files/accountability/how-calculate-f-school-grades-04-27-2016.
pdf.
55. James P. Kelly and Benjamin Scafidi, More Than Scores: An Analysis
of Why and How Parents Choose Private Schools (Indianapolis: Friedman
Foundation for Educational Choice, 2013), http://www.edchoice.
org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/More-Than-Scores.pdf; Dara
Zeehandelaar and Amber M. Winkler, eds., What Parents Want: Education
Preferences and Trade-Offs (Washington, DC: Thomas B. Fordham Institute,
2013), http://edexcellence.net/publications/what-parents-want.html;
Paul DiPerna, Indiana K-12 and School Choice Survey: What Do Voters
Say About K-12 Education?, Polling Paper 27 (Indianapolis: Friedman
Foundation for Educational Choice, 2016), http://www.edchoice.org/
wp-content/uploads/2016/06/IN-Poll-Final.pdf.
Why Parents Choose: A Survey of Private School and School Choice Parents in Indiana 38
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
About the Authors
Andrew D. Catt is the director of state research and policy analysis for the Friedman
Foundation for Educational Choice. In that role, Drew conducts analyses on private
school choice programs, conducts surveys of private school leaders, and supports
quality control as the Foundation’s research and data verier. Prior to joining the
Friedman Foundation in May 2013, Drew served as the program associate for The
Clowes Fund, a private family foundation located in Indianapolis that awards
grants to nonprots in Seattle, Greater Indianapolis, and Northern New England.
Drew graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree
in Human and Organizational Development, specializing in Leadership and
Organizational Eectiveness. While at Vanderbilt, Drew served as research assistant
for North Star Destination Strategies, a community branding organization. During
that time, Drew also researched the eects of homeschooling on socialization.
Drew received his Master of Public Aairs in Nonprot Management at Indiana
University’s School of Public and Environmental Aairs in Indianapolis. He also
received his Master of Arts in Philanthropic Studies through the Lilly Family
School of Philanthropy. While in graduate school, Drew’s research focused on
teacher performance incentives and cross-sector collaboration. Drew is currently
pursuing a graduate certicate in Geographic Information Science (GIS) at IUPUI.
Drew is a native of central Indiana and currently resides in downtown Indianapolis
with his wife Elizabeth.
Evan Rhinesmith is a Ph.D. candidate and Doctoral Academy Fellow in the
University of Arkansas’s Department of Education Reform. Evan’s research
focuses on parent satisfaction in private school choice programs and charter
schools, post-secondary remediation and developmental course policies, and
school responses to market-based reforms. Evan graduated magna cum laude
from Wabash College in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in History and a double
minor in Economics and Spanish. During his time at Wabash, Evan was a four-
year varsity letter winner, as well as an athletic and academic All American on
the swim team. In the spring of 2011, Evan enrolled in the University of Notre
Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) program and graduated in 2013
with a master’s degree in Education. During his time in ACE, he taught third and
fourth grade at Sacred Heart Bilingual Catholic School in the Columbia Heights
neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Evan currently lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas
with his wife Jamie and their daughter Clare.
The interpretations, views, and recommendations expressed in this report are solely those of the author(s).
39 edchoice.org
edchoice.org
Acknowledgments
We would like to rst and foremost thank the Dekko Foundation, whose nancial
generosity made this report possible. We would also like to express our thanks to Paul
DiPerna for helping us brainstorm and tighten the questionnaire wording, in addition
to providing a wonderfully helpful review of the report. We thank Marty Leuken for
providing a great review and helping us think about other ways we can explore the
collected data in the future. We are very grateful for Brian Kisida, whose extremely
thorough review and substantive comments guided this report into its current form.
We would like to thank Katie Brooks and Jen Wagner for making us sound less esoteric
and Jacob Vinson for making this report look like more than just another brick in the
wall. All remaining errors are our own. Finally, we thank John Elcesser and the Indiana
Non-Public Education Association for helping us get the survey in the hands of current
private school parents and all of the parents that took the time to ll out the survey.
Why Parents Choose: A Survey of Private School and School Choice Parents in Indiana 40
Incentivizing Innovation: Can Competition Transform K–12 Education in the U.S.? 10
edchoice.org
Commitment to Methods & Transparency
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice is committed to research that adheres
to high scientic standards, and matters of methodology and transparency are taken
seriously at all levels of our organization. We are dedicated to providing high-quality
information in a transparent and ecient manner.
All individuals have opinions, and many organizations (like our own) have specic
missions or philosophical orientations. Scientic methods, if used correctly and followed
closely in well-designed studies, should neutralize these opinions and orientations.
Research rules and methods minimize bias. We believe rigorous procedural rules of
science prevent a researcher’s motives, and an organization’s particular orientation,
from pre-determining results.
If research adheres to proper scientic and methodological standards, its ndings
can be relied upon no matter who has conducted it. If rules and methods are neither
specied nor followed, then the biases of the researcher or an organization may become
relevant, because a lack of rigor opens the door for those biases to aect the results.
The authors welcome any and all questions related to methods and ndings.
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edchoice.org
Dr. Milton Friedman, Founder
Nobel Laureate
Dr. Rose D. Friedman, Founder
Noted Economist
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dr. Patrick Byrne, Chairman
Founder, Overstock.com
Janet F. Martel, Vice Chairperson
Lawrence A. O’Connor, Jr., Treasurer
J. Scott Enright, Secretary
Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Emmis Communications
Robert C. Enlow
President & CEO, Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
Charles H. Brunie
Dr. David D. Friedman
Professor, Santa Clara University
William J. Hume
Chairman of the Board, Basic American, Inc.
Fred S. Klipsch
Chairman, Hoosiers for Quality Education
Fred Reams
Reams Asset Management
Virginia Walden Ford
Education Activist
Dr. Michael Walker
President, The Fraser Institute Foundation
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