Elementary students who received scholarships through Illinois’ controversial Invest in Kids tax credit program lagged in reading and math proficiency, on state standardized tests, compared to public school students, according to a new report submitted to the Illinois State Board of Education Friday.
Conducted by the nonprofit research agency WestEd, the 14-month study contrasts the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) reading and math scores of scholarship recipients in grades 3-8, with their public school peers. In 2022 and 2023, Invest in Kids recipients fared worse in both subjects. At the high school level, researchers juxtaposed students’ SAT performance, with mixed results.
The report, which the 2017 Invest in Kids Act mandated ISBE to create, comes in the wake of fierce debate over the merits of continuing the program past its scheduled Dec. 31, 2023 end date. Lawmakers allowed the program to sunset – bucking a national trend that’s seen several states expand or create voucher programs in recent years.
Invest in Kids supporters argued the program gave students who couldn’t otherwise access private schools a shot at a better education. Opponents said it was a diversion of tax dollars to bolster theological-based programs that exclude certain students – while Illinois continues to fall short of the state funding it’s determined public schools are owed.
School culture and special education
Along with student performance on standardized tests, the WestEd study aims to assess “how private schools are organized to support students’ success,” drawing on a total of around 1,000 survey responses from students, parents and educators and interviews at 10 schools. Faith-based schools comprise the vast majority of schools that received Invest in Kids funds, according to the Dept of Revenue’s most recent annual report on the program. Researchers found that faith is “a critical organizing element in school culture, curricula, and interpersonal relationships,” according to the study. Just over 8 percent of teachers surveyed said they worked at an independent private school without a religious affiliation.
In some schools, researchers said teachers see prayer as a way to connect with students and address disruptive behavior, while principals stressed the need for parents to align with their school’s mission and values, according to the study, which notes that one school encourages families to sign statements of faith.
Invest in Kids participants mostly praised administrators and teachers for cultivating trusting school environments that welcome parent involvement and feel safe, according to the study. However, several people who spoke with researchers shared concerns that their schools could not meet diverse learners’ needs. (State and federal laws that protect the right of students with disabilities to a public education don’t similarly apply to private schools).
“This girl did not belong…She had extreme behavioral issues…Like it’s not that we don’t want that child or it’s not like we’re un-Christian, but it’s like we don’t have the resources for it…We don’t have a special ed program or a behavioral program,” said a parent at one of ten schools researchers visited, according to the study which does not name participants.
WestEd noted it doesn’t have data on how many schools, beyond those researchers visited, that share similar concerns. But the sentiment was echoed during parent interviews at another private school researchers wrote. “Some kids who have special needs function here. But some kids, with their needs—I don’t know,” said another parent included in the study.
“Smaller schools lack the resources to add services and programs they might need, like special education and counseling, and many programs they want to add, such as after-school programs,” WestEd notes.
Invest in Kids students tend to have lower scores
“Parents think their children are getting a good education,” the study notes. But, on average, Invest in Kids scholarship recipients in elementary school fared worse in both reading and math, in each of the two years of Illinois Assessment of Readiness standardized test scores studied, according to the report. More than 13,000 Invest in Kids recipients’ scores are included in WestEd’s analysis.
“In both 2022 and 2023, Illinois public schools had a higher percentage of grades 3–8 students meeting or exceeding expectations in [English Language Arts] compared to [Invest in Kids] scholarship recipients,” WestEd researchers wrote.
In 2022, 30 percent of public school students met or exceeded standards, compared to 21 percent of scholarship recipients, according to the report, which notes that in the following year, 35 percent of public school students met or exceeded reading standards, compared to 23 percent of Invest in Kids scholarship recipients.
“The same was true in Math for both 2022 and 2023,” the study continues. “Illinois public schools had a higher percentage of grades 3–8 students meeting or exceeding expectations than [Invest in Kids] scholarship recipients.”
According to the study, 26 percent of public school students met or exceeded math standards in 2022, compared to 18 percent of scholarship recipients. In 2023, the gap remained, with 27 percent of public school students meeting or exceeding IAR math standards, compared to 16 percent of scholarship recipients.
Among high school students, WestEd analyzed SAT scores in the 2022-23 school year, finding that Illinois public school students performed slightly lower in reading and slightly higher in math than Invest in Kids scholarship recipients. Compared to 32 percent of public school students, 34 percent of scholarship recipients met or exceeded state proficiency standards in reading, while 27 percent of public school students met or exceeded state benchmarks in math, compared to 24 percent of scholarship recipients.
Given the limited number of testing years and other limitations, WestEd urged the findings to be interpreted with caution. Some schools in the study are well-funded, with scholarship recipients representing a small portion of students, while other schools relied significantly on Invest in Kids funds, the report notes. Since the program sunset, the Archdiocese of Chicago has announced plans to close or consolidate several schools.
