School Voucher Program

Ever since the phenomenal school voucher program was introduced in numerous states, it came under sharp reaction, regarding its suitability to address the fundamental issues, affecting many parents. Texas has not been excluded from this debate and the issue has been analyzed from different viewpoints. Those supporting the implementation of the school voucher system in Texas cite benefits like equality in terms of accessing education opportunities, while those opposing the implementation cite that it has not brought significant benefit to the education system. Nevertheless, in as much as the system has both positive and negative attributes, I support that the positive gains outweigh its faults.

First, the introduction of the program has led to the enhancement of equal education opportunities for all Texans. This has been enabled by the fact that the program has targeted socioeconomics gaps that exist between different families, especially those that inhibit the capability of some parents to spend on education. According to the Verder (2003), the school voucher system is advantageous because it empowers the unable parents to fulfill their parental responsibilities, while it guarantees the disadvantaged and poor children an opportunity to access education. Using this mechanism, the school voucher system helps to bridge the developmental gap existing between different families by enabling the children from both families to safeguard a better future.

Second, the school voucher system in Texas has led to the enhancement of education standards in different school settings. This is because the system has an effective distribution mechanism that ensures that segregation of school settings, based on their performance, is minimized.  This is partly because it brings together students with different learning capacities in a similar school setting, which improves their interaction and the possibility to learn from each other. According to Verder (2003), the school voucher system in Texas improved the competition levels in the school setting by moving students from low performing schools to high performing schools. Initially, parents were unable to pay the fees in high performing schools, but now they can choose the school, where they would like their students to excel, and the school voucher system provides them with suitable financial support for success.

Third, the introduction of the school voucher system has further increased the difference between public and private schools. Ever since it was introduced, there was a major shift in focus among parents from the public school system to the private school system. This is mainly because of the fact that public schools are associated with inferior facilities compared to their private counterparts. According to Smith (2012), the public school system focuses on making profits, the school voucher system increases the chances of making money because of their prohibitive costing framework. This is further complicated by the fact that parents prefer private schools.

Fourthly, people need to acknowledge that there are multiple factors, affecting the outcomes in the education system. According to Carnoy (2001), the school voucher system cannot be fully blamed for the poor performance in some schools in Georgia, but this can be attributed to the school grading system that is normally used to categorize schools, based on their historic performance. Hence, the disparities, existing between the public and private schools, may be as a result of other factors apart from the school voucher system.

Finally, it is important to acknowledge the fact that the school voucher system has led to a positive impact in the education system of Texas. The system has improved equality in education and competition levels among students. On the other hand, it has widened the gap between public and private schools, but this mainly driven by other factors, which interact with the variable of education.