Evaluation of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, Participation, Compliance and Test Scores in 2012-13, August 2014 state Department of Education report found that, “…the typical student participating in the program gained a year’s worth of learning in a year’s worth of time. It is important to note that these national comparisons pertain to all students nationally, and not just low-income students.”

The report also notes that those who choose the scholarship were struggling academically at their previous school, a pattern that is “becoming stronger” over time.

Scholarship participants have significantly poorer test performance in the year prior to starting the scholarship program than do non-participants. These differences are large in magnitude and are statistically significant, and indicate that scholarship participants tend to be considerably more disadvantaged and lower-performing upon entering the program than their non-participating counterparts.

A recent report from the Urban Institute also discovered that scholarship students were more likely to attend and graduate from college.

Academic Results
Long-Term Impact

March 2009 survey of 1,994 households, June 2010 state Department of Education report:

1) The report found a 95.4 percent approval rating among participating parents. Of that total, 75.1 percent said their schools were “excellent” and 20.3 percent said they were “good.”

2) Low-income parents with children in public schools were one-third as likely to rank their schools excellent and 13 times more likely to rate their schools as poor.

Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program Fiscal Year 2008-2009 Fiscal Impact, March 2010 State Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability report

1) For fiscal year 2008-2009, the scholarship program saved taxpayers $36.2 million.

2) For every $1 lost to tax credits, the state saved $1.44. “While the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program reduces the amount of tax revenues received by the state, it produces a net fiscal benefit. This occurs because education spending for students receiving scholarships is reduced by more than the amount of revenue lost.”

Cost Savings Fact Sheet

May 2010 report: Competitive Effects of Means-Tested School Vouchers, by Northwestern University economics and social policy professor David Figlio:

1) The creation of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship in 2001 led immediately to academic improvements in public schools that were the most likely to lose students to a learning alternative.

2) Learning gains were the largest in the public schools with the greatest number of nearby private schools and those with the greatest incentives to keep federal money received based on the number of lower-income students. “Our results indicate that the increased competitive pressure faced by public schools associated with the introduction of Florida’s FTC Scholarship Program led to general improvements in public school performance.