美国国家公共电台 NPR School Vouchers 101: What They Are, How They Work — And Do They Work?

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: 

Before the election, candidate Trump¹ called school choice the new civil rights issue of our time, and his signature education proposal is a $20 billion school voucher² plan. Again, traditional vouchers³ let parents use public money to pay for private schools, including religious schools. Now, for more on this, I'm joined by another member of the NPR Ed team, Cory Turner. Welcome to the studio.

CORY TURNER, BYLINE⁴: Thanks, Audie.

CORNISH: So Cory, we just heard a lot from Eric about charter schools in Michigan but less about vouchers in part because Michigan doesn't allow for them. But vouchers are central to Trump's plan. So who has them, and how do they work?

TURNER: Yeah, so they're in about 14 states plus Washington, D.C. - traditional voucher programs. Wisconsin really pioneered the idea in 1990, starting in Milwaukee. We've seen them in lots of other states - Florida, Ohio, Indiana. I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that generally these vouchers are limited to students in certain categories - first and foremost low-income students, sometimes students who are zoned⁵ to a failing public school and also students with disabilities.

There's one interesting exception in Indiana, which also has one of the largest statewide voucher programs in the country. It's got about 34,000 students. Indiana has slowly been broadening access to its program beyond low-income kids to include some middle-class students. Although I should say that the higher their parents' income, the less money they get from the state.

CORNISH: Now, I mentioned that quote from Donald Trump calling school choice the new civil rights issue of our time. Help us understand that terminology⁶.

TURNER: Yeah, so vouchers really took off as a big city movement, a conservative idea that crossed political lines because many African-American and Latino families who were really frustrated⁷ with their failing neighborhood schools - they liked the idea. That said, traditional civil rights allies like teachers' unions don't like them. They say they drain money from the public school system and that often vouchers don't really cover the full cost of private school tuition, which means that it's really not choice for a lot of low-income kids.

The research on vouchers is really hotly debated. There's one 2007 overview⁸ of voucher research that found some positive results for African-American students. But there are also a lot of important caveats⁹ in that research. A more recent review from 2011 found voucher students doing roughly the same as public school kids, really no better. And some of the newest research frankly¹⁰ - we heard a little bit of it in Eric's piece there - out of Louisiana and Ohio both found some negative academic effects for voucher students.

CORNISH: So what might be some of the obstacles to a national school voucher program?

TURNER: There are actually several big ones, Audie. First in 2002, the U.S. Supreme¹¹ Court ruled that vouchers are constitutional, but a majority of states still have what are called Blaine Amendments¹² which prohibit them from using state money to fund religious schools.

There are a few other obstacles. The price tag on Donald Trump's plan is roughly $20 billion. It is not clear where that money would come from. Also, it seems like to get this done, they would have to crack open the very big federal education law that Congress passed last year and took a long time to come to agreement on. And I'm not sure that Congress is in the mood to do that.

But maybe most important of all really is that vouchers are not universally popular even among conservative voters. They may make a certain amount of sense in a large school district or a city where there are enough students to support multiple choices. But if you think about it, in a lot of small towns - we've seen this on the Ed desk. In much of rural America, schools are closing or consolidating¹³. There just aren't enough students to support choice. And for parents who live in these places, vouchers just seem like an abstract concept.

CORNISH: That's Cory Turner of the NPR Ed team. Thanks so much.

TURNER: Thank you, Audie.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 voucher   

n.收据；传票；凭单，凭证

参考例句：

• The government should run a voucher system.政府应该施行凭证制度。
• Whenever cash is paid out,a voucher or receipt should be obtained.无论何时只要支付现金，就必须要有一张凭据或者收据。

3 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 zoned   

adj.划成区域的，束带的v.（飞机、汽车等）急速移动( zoom的现在分词 )；（价格、费用等）急升，猛涨

参考例句：

• This small town has been zoned as a shopping area. 这个小镇已划作商业区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They zoned the house into sleeping, sitting and dining rooms. 他们将房子区分成卧室、客厅和餐厅。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 terminology   

n.术语；专有名词

参考例句：

• He particularly criticized the terminology in the document.他特别批评了文件中使用的术语。
• The article uses rather specialized musical terminology.这篇文章用了相当专业的音乐术语。

7 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 overview   

n.概观，概述

参考例句：

• The opening chapter gives a brief historical overview of transport.第一章是运输史的简要回顾。
• The seminar aims to provide an overview on new media publishing.研讨会旨在综览新兴的媒体出版。

9 caveats   

警告

参考例句：

• I would offer a caveat for those who want to join me in the dual calling. 为防止发生误解，我想对那些想要步我后尘的人提出警告。 来自辞典例句
• As I have written before, that's quite a caveat. 正如我以前所写，那确实是个警告。 来自互联网

10 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

11 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

12 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

13 consolidating   

v.（使）巩固， （使）加强( consolidate的现在分词 )；（使）合并

参考例句：

• These measures are meant for consolidating the system of basic medical care. 这些举措旨在夯实基层医疗体系，让老百姓看大病不必出远门。 来自互联网
• We are consolidating the Chinese and English versions of our homepage. 我们将为您提供中英文版本一起的主页。 来自互联网