Florida Survey Offers Latest, Greatest Proof Parents Love School Choice

The more parents know and experience school choice, the more satisfied they are with it. The Friedman Foundation’s newly-released survey of 808 parents who have participated in Florida’s scholarship tax credit program is just the latest and most overwhelming proof.

Florida’s eight-year-old program provides full tax credit to corporations donating to qualified scholarship granting organizations. Those groups provide scholarships worth up to $3,950 (or full tuition) for low-income students to enroll in the private school of their choice. According to the Friedman report, the latest numbers show 23,259 Florida students attending private school on a tax credit scholarship.

Simply put, participating parents love it:

  • 97 percent are satisfied (including 80 percent very satisfied) with the level of individual attention their students receive at the current school, versus 33 percent (4 very satisfied) with their former school
  • 97 percent are satisfied (including 80 percent very satisfied) with the level of academic progress their students are showing at the current school, versus 42 percent (4 very satisfied) with their former school
  • 96 percent are satisfied (including 76 percent very satisfied) with the level of teacher quality at the current school, versus 56 percent (7 very satisfied) with their former school
  • 96 percent are satisfied (including 76 percent very satisfied) with the level of responsiveness they receive from the current school, versus 41 percent (4 very satisfied) with their former school
  • 95 percent are satisfied (including 62 percent very satisfied) with the student behavior displayed at the current school, versus 39 percent (3 very satisfied) with their former school
  • 94 percent give the current school a rating of 7 or higher on a 1-10 scale (18 percent giving a perfect 10), versus 54 percent rating the former school 7 or higher (and only 2 percent giving a perfect 10)

I think this is what you call a landslide. Another interesting finding is that though 128 of the 808 parents surveyed will not be continuing in the program next year, 81 percent were not dissatisfied and 100 percent said the tax credit program “should continue to be available for others”.

Private school choice programs like the one in Florida show many positive impacts on students and schools, but no factor measures so consistent or strong as the level of parental satisfaction. If my mom and dad say something is good, I may pout or complain a little, but I’m not going to win that fight. In the case of vouchers and tax credits, I happen to agree with them that it’s a good thing.