Abt to Evaluate the Only Federally Funded School Voucher Program

Rockville, Md.  –  Abt Global has been awarded a contract from the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences to evaluate the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP). The contract calls for designing and carrying out studies to examine how the D.C. OSP is implemented and how participating students are progressing academically.  This evaluation of the OSP—the only federally funded school voucher program—is mandated by the U.S. Congress.

Abt’s expertise in education spans early childhood to adulthood and emphasizes helping disadvantaged and underrepresented students. After more than 50 years of developing rigorous methodologies to help federal, state, and local policymakers and education professionals develop—and fix—policies and programs, this is the company’s first large-scale evaluation of a school choice initiative.

“To date, evidence on the effectiveness of school voucher programs is mixed,” said Abt Project Manager Tamara Linkow. “These studies will be designed to provide critical new evidence about school voucher programs, in particular about the factors related to how they work and the quality of instruction students receive.”

About Abt Global
Abt Global is an engine for social impact, dedicated to moving people from vulnerability to security.  Harnessing the power of data and our experts’ insights, we provide research, consulting and technical services globally in the areas of health, environmental and social policy, technology and international development. www.abtglobal.com

Contact:
Amy Dunaway
Amy_Dunaway@abtassoc.com
301.347.5056