TN voucher recipients make modest gains, but still underperform public school peers

As Gov. Bill Lee and legislative leaders vow to bring back a bill to establish a new statewide school voucher program next year, newly released state data shows students who participated in Tennessee’s existing voucher program during the 2023-24 school year made modest gains in English language arts and math test scores, but most are still testing significantly below the district-wide average of their public school peers.

Narrowly approved by the legislature in 2019 and implemented in 2022-23 after a years-long legal battle, the existing program, called Education Savings Accounts , offers state-paid scholarships of about $9,000 to low-income students to attend private and parochial schools of their choice in Davidson, Shelby and Hamilton counties, along with the state-run Achievement School District. Lawmakers track the program's success based on annual achievement test data and parent satisfaction survey results.

This year, Lee proposed a new, statewide universal voucher program to offer all students in the state a state-funded scholarship to attend private schools, regardless of their income or ZIP code, without requiring standardized testing to measure success.

Critics of the program argued that lackluster academic performance from current ESA participants during the program's first year should give lawmakers pause as they considered the expansion. During a hearing on the bill, Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds admitted ESA students' test scores were not "anything to write home about." House and Senate leaders proposed their own vastly different proposals for the program, but the two chambers could not reconcile and the legislation did not pass .

Lee and Republican legislative leaders have vowed to bring the proposal back next year and have endorsed and fundraised for Republican primary candidates that have pledged to support voucher programs. Out-of-state pro-voucher groups have poured millions of dollars into Thursday's primary races to ensure pro-voucher candidates win seats.

Data show modest Year-over-year gains

As lawmakers prepare to consider funding a new school voucher program, test results show some year-over-year achievement growth by ESA participants, but overall, performance is still below the statewide average.

The program is designed to offer an alternative students in low-performing schools. Supporters of the program have said that population-wide improvement will occur over years , as ESA participating schools continue to improve their test administration, and ESA students continue to acclimate to their new learning environment.

According to new data from the Department of Education for the 2023-24 year obtained by The Tennessean, the percentage of ESA recipient students that met or exceeded expectations on the state's TCAP achievement test increased by 4.4 percentage points in ELA and 7.2 percentage points in math during the 2023-24 year, seeing consistent improvement across all participating school districts year over year. Hamilton County schools and the Achievement School District were added to the program for the 2023-24 year.

The program's most dramatic success story is in the state's Achievement School District ― the state's aggressive turnaround effort for lowest-performing schools ― which was included in the program beginning in the 2023-24 year.

Just 8.8% of the 3,002 ASD students who remained in public schools met or exceeded expectations in ELA on the TCAP this year, while 37% of the 27 ESA recipients who transitioned to private schools from ASD schools met the standard for ELA. ESA recipients also far outperformed their ASD public school peers in math, though not as starkly, with nearly 24% meeting or exceeding expectations in math, compared with 9.6% of their public school peers.

During the 2023-24 year, 1,251 ESA participants tested statewide made a 4.4-point improvement in language arts test scores from 2022-23, with 27.2% of ESA students statewide meeting or exceeding expectations, up from 22.8% meeting that bar last year.

But overall, student ELA performance remains below the statewide average. Statewide, 38.9% of students meet or exceed expectations – nearly 12 points more than the ESA program population.

Math saw better gains: 18.5% of the 1,015 participating ESA students tested as meeting or exceeding expectations in math, up from 11.3% that met that threshold last year.

While performance improved, fewer ESA participants statewide met or exceeded expectations in math than their statewide public school peers, 18.5% compared to 39.7%.

The Tennessee Department of Education released anonymized average district-wide and statewide test data for ESA participants to The Tennessean in response to a public records request.

School-level scores for schools with 10 or fewer students attending through the ESA program were not disclosed by the department, following federal privacy guidance. The Tennessean first requested the ESA program TCAP data from the Department of Education on June 26, shortly after the release of statewide TCAP results. The Department provided the test score data on July 30.

Applications, participation grows

Interest in the program and the number of applications have grown significantly each year. The five-year pilot ESA program is capped at 5,000 participants total across all participating districts.

During the program's first year in 2022-23, just over 450 students enrolled in private schools through the ESA program in two participating counties, according to the Department of Education.

Last year, with Hamilton County now added to the program, and a provision to grandfather in students that had qualified but could not participate in 2019 due to the legal challenge, 3,640 students applied, 2,755 were approved, and 2,088 students received ESA funds and attended a non-public school, according to the department.

As of July 26, more than 5,600 students had applied to the ESA program for the upcoming 2024-25 school year, and 4,060 were approved to participate according to the department.

Lee administration touts success, teachers group advises caution

In response to inquiries about voucher recipient achievement, Lee's office said participant's achievement growth is a sign of the program's success.

"Tennessee’s Education Savings Account program is proof that students thrive when given the freedom to enroll in the educational environment that best fits their needs, regardless of income or ZIP code," spokesperson Elizabeth Johnson told The Tennessean in a statement.

Lee recently brought the issue to the national stage, calling vouchers the "civil rights issue of our time" during a primetime speech at the Republican National Convention. Critics have pushed back on that framing, noting that private schools aren't required to accept all students like traditional public schools. Others have pointed to ballooning costs with a similar statewide program in Arizona.

Exclusive: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee views school vouchers as a way to 'undo the disparities'

"Parents have their child’s best interest in mind, and the overwhelming majority (99%) are reporting satisfaction with the program as students continue to demonstrate academic gains," Johnson said.

Reynolds cited parent satisfaction as a key metric of the program's success, saying the program is fulfilling its goal by offering parent's alternatives to public schools.

"As ESA students continue making steady academic gains, they are in sync with their peers and thriving, as demonstrated by the 99 percent parent satisfaction rate," Reynolds said in a statement. "ESAs are delivering on their intended purpose by providing low-income families an opportunity to choose the best education option for their child based on their individual needs."

J.C. Bowman, director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, one of the state's leading teacher organizations, cautioned lawmakers to seek more evidence of vouchers' success before pushing to fund more vouchers.

“Policymakers must ensure the effectiveness of the ESA program before expanding vouchers in Tennessee," Bowman told The Tennessean. "State leaders should protect taxpayers, while learning from past experiences to enhance policies and systems. A collaborative approach focused on student success and community involvement is essential for effective educational reform.”

“The underperformance of Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) participants relative to public school peers raises valid concerns about the adequacy of vouchers alone in fostering academic success at this point," Bowman said.

Parent satisfaction remains high

Parents of ESA recipients remain satisfied with the program, according to a parent satisfaction survey sent after the close of the school year. Of the 896 parent respondents, 99% reported that they were satisfied with the program overall.

Parents represented about 43% of the total students enrolled in the program. Parents signaled overwhelming satisfaction with the department’s communication, courtesy, technical assistance, and responsiveness.

Unlike last year, parents were not surveyed in 2024 about their satisfaction with their child’s academic growth or their child’s ESA school experience during the 2023-24 year.

Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@tennessean.com or on X at @Vivian_E_Jones.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TN voucher recipients make modest gains, but still underperform public school peers