At Gov. Bill Lee’s behest, the General Assembly this year expanded the state’s private school discount coupon scheme – now costing $300 million.

As part of that expansion, policymakers also decided that students accepting vouchers would no longer have to take state standardized tests – so, we won’t know in the future whether students using vouchers have “improved” academic outcomes.

We do, however, have numbers from the program so far – a program that has been around since its passage in 2019.

Data analysis shows that Tennessee kids using vouchers score 20 points or more WORSE than their public school peers.

The Tennessean notes that only 17% of kids receiving vouchers scored proficient on the state’s standardized math test and 24% reached proficiency in English.

I mean, that sounds bad – but, how does it compare to public school results?

Public school students scored 43% in math proficiency and 40% in English.

MORE EDUCATION NEWS

How We Pay Our Teachers Says A Lot About How We Value Kids

Will Lawmakers Invest the State’s Budget Surplus in Schools?