To answer this question we looked at the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program: one of five publicly funded school voucher programs in the U.S. The Milwaukee program, implemented in 1990, has seen mixed results.

Negative results. In 1998 the district of Milwaukee had a student population in which 74 percent of the students were classified as high-need/high-cost pupils. During this time, the district was dealing with a $22 million loss in funds due to vouchers-a problem that consequently led to the current $32 billion budget deficit. Equally disturbing has been the disappearance of safeguards guaranteeing that the program would benefit families most in need and the lack of other necessary public school reform measures such as better facilities and better-educated staff.

Positive results. On the other hand, different sources have presented a more positive view of the Milwaukee experiment. Some of the assessments have shown that parental involvement and satisfaction were strong. Research conducted by Dr. Paul E. Peterson at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government found significant, positive academic progress in the third and fourth years of the program. Also, some believe that the program has had a positive effect on public schools by forcing them to pursue academic reforms in order to compete with private schools.

Like Milwaukee, programs in Ohio and Florida have seen mixed results from their school voucher programs. It remains to be seen if school voucher programs can have the intended effect of helping more students, especially those in poor, inner-city students' neighborhoods, to achieve academically, while increasing parental involvement, mobilizing public schools to undertake necessary reforms, and accomplishing all of this while ensuring an equitable, quality education.