Jesse lives downtown, in the inner city. She attends the local public school and struggles through her classes. Her mother would like to send her to a private school, where there is less violence and a calmer atmosphere, but cannot afford it.

Then, Jesse's mother learns that a voucher system has put into place for the entire state of Florida. Jesse's inner city, spray-painted elementary school received a failing status, so she can receive a voucher to attend the school of her choice. With the money she receives from the voucher, Jesse's mother is able to send her daughter to the same private school that Susie attends.

Is it fair that Susie's parents pinch pennies while Jesse's mother send her on the bus for free? While meaning well, does the voucher system inadvertently discriminate against children like Susie whose parents must work extra hours to put their children throu

There is another major loophole in the voucher system: there is no way to calculate if any improvement has been made in the academic performance of students using vouchers. A comparison between public and private school students' achievements is prevented because each uses different tests. In Cleveland, where an inner-city voucher system, is in place, researchers have reached no clear conclusions about the program's effectiveness (Whitmire 1). Without this information, there is no way to determine if giving children a voucher brings scholastic improvement.

gh private school? Is the voucher system really the answer to the problems with American education today, or a way to transfer them somewhere else?

Our public schools need immediate attention to the condition of their physical plants, the training of their teachers (many of whom teach in areas which they have no special expertise), the size of their classes and the equipment and supplies they need, and the quality of their hopes for the children entrusted to them. They need the money that vouchers would bleed away (Roberts, Glenn 23).

Are these complaints not the same ones that appeared a century ago? Improvement is desperately needed, but where should it start? Cleveland, Milwaukee, and the state of Florida have suggested an answer: a school voucher system. Voucher proponents believe that the system which they support is a starting place. Voucher proponents across the nation believe that through this program, which places the burden of improvement upon schools, progress can be made.

Tyack, David. "Choice Options: School Choice, Yes - But What Kind?" The American Prospect Online, January - February 1999, 42. [Online] Available http://www.propect.org/archives/42/42tyack.html, May 1, 2000.

Roberts, Nanette M. and Glenn, Charles L. "School Vouchers: Two Views." Sojourners (January - February 1998): 22-25.

American public schools have always had their flaws. In the nineteenth century, colleges complained of under-prepared freshmen; students who could not write an essay or even spell. A main controversy was bilingual education for newly naturalized immigrants. As America entered the early 1

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